First attemp at smokeing a Butt

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muddstopper

muddstopper

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Got a new gas grill this week for a early Father's day present. This morning my wife decided to cook a boston butt for supper. Now she usually cooks the butts in the crockpot, drains the grease and adds BBQ sauce and its pretty good. Not today, we going to cook it on the new grill. Of course I didn't have anything to use for a rub, no wood chips for smoking, no meat thermometer, none of the stuff you need to cook a smoked piece of meat. So I run to TSC, its the nearest store that might have the things I wanted. Nope, Then to Lowes, nope, Walmart, got some wood chips, a thermometer, and a grilling pan with rack, then to Ingles for some Apple juice. Could not find an injector needle anywhere. OK going to cook it without the injections juice. Lit up the grill and with my new digital thermometer, got the heat up to 275f exactly. Went to add the wood chips in their little smoke box and of course dropped the box inside the grill and had to turn off the burner to clean up the mess. Got that done and relit the burner and got the stove back up to temp. Put the meat on the grill and inserted the temp probes and started the waiting game. 2 hrs, turned the meat around, added more rub and closed the grill lid. Pulled every rookie mistake, even knowing better, but couldn't resist taking a peek every now and then. Meat turned a red smokey color but didn't crust over, and the internal temps seemed to get stuck at about 140F. I had read that might happen so I just decided to let it cook some more. About 4 hrs into the cook, it started getting cloudy. No rain in the forecast, but my weather rock was starting to get damp which means rain. It didn't just rain, it came a cloud burst, grill cooled off to 190F. even tho I was steadly turning up the heat. Internal meat temp still around 140F. Grabbed some aluminum foil and wrapped the meat and threw in the oven at 300F. about a hr later, meat temp is 198F. Done!. We opened up the foil and the meat was juicy and tender, but it wasn't pull apart ready. Ate it anyways, because I was hungry and it sliced real easy. My wife said this isn't BBQ, but she ate 2 platefulls. The Butt has a real good taste, not to smokey, not to spicy, but it wasn't pull apart-able. So what did I do wrong? Also, the thermometer on the grill lid is about 20degrees off of what the digital thermometer said it was.
 
Its hard to cook a butt on a gas grill. I cheat. I put it on the grill to sear it. Smoking chips soaked in water and rolled in foil with the ends open. Sear on high heat for a few minutes per side, turn it down and let the chips put some smoke flavor in it. Then it goes in the crock pot to finish. Has the BBQ flavor and still pulls apart plus you can go fishing while it cooks!

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk
 
I use my grill for steaks, burgers, chicken. Never tried a boston butt. I use my smoker for pork shoulders and brisket and I like to cook 'em slow. I run it at 240 - 260 and it takes 6 hours to reach 165. After that, I wrap it and put in the oven at 175 - 200 for another 6 hours - longer for brisket.
 
I would say your thermometer is probably not accurate, especially being from Wally World. If you know your elevation you can find out how far off you are by temping boiling water. The measured temp you plateaued at is a pretty big giveaway though. That generally happens in the 160° range. I usually smoke mine to 195, so even at 190 it should pull apart pretty easily as the connective tissue rendering is what makes the stall in the rise in temperature.

I have never cooked a butt on a grill but I have more than one friend who has indirectly over coal on a weber kettle. 275 would be a decent compromise in temp.

The important thing with any slow and low cooking is to remember that you're cooking to temperature, not for a specific amount of time. I've had butts finish in 12 hours at 225 in my WSM, and I've had some that I ran out of time at 18 hours and had to use the "texas crutch" in the oven. At least with butts you can be done early, wrap them in foil, and put them in a cooler or pre-heated and shut off oven to rest for hours and still pull them out hot and ready to pull apart.
 
Slow cook at 220 for 8 hours or 160/165, smoke on for about 6 hours, set smoker for 185, wrap, and let sit in smoker and self-baste over night. If I want real good Butts I do it over open pit with hickory and charcoal , low heat, baste often, turn, and keep covered, whole hog the same way.
 
I usually just do hotdogs, burgers, and steak on the grill. When smoking, its usually whole shoulders, not just the butt, and in a dedicated smoker. When we went to buy the new grill, I had intentions of buying a small grill, but this one was on sale and I had a gift card so it only cost $163. It has 5 burners and a side burner. This is where you get in trouble watching youtube. Saw a video of a guy smoking on a gas grill and had to try it. To tell the truth, It worked way better than I expected. the digital thermometer is a Weber 4 probe expert model, $20 so?? As to how accurate it is, It showed 20 degrees colder than the factory one in the lid. Anyways, I plan on another try in the near future. I think about 4 hrs of smoke was just right for the taste so I might smoke and then do the Texas Cheat and wrap it up for the oven, which is basically what I ended up doing this time. The stove in my new house is all digital, I cant even cook a egg on it, but you can set the temps 1 degree at a time. It even tells you when a cake is done. Wife loves it.







333
 
Getting ready to smoke my second butt. Nothing big, only doing small 2-3lb size butts while I learn. I have checked my digital thermometer in a pan of boiling water. At my elevation water is supposed to boil at around 209.5 degrees. thermometer hit 210f so I am guessing its pretty close to accurate. I hit every store in town looking for a injection needle with no luck. Every where I went the clerks would say I know we sell them, but for some reason they didn't have any. I should have hit amazon, but found one at a feed and seed store that sold those green egg cookers. $32, yikes, but I bought it anyways. Stainless steel and should last forever and all that, but over priced for certain.

Meat prices have actually fallen a little bit from what they where a couple weeks ago. $3.98lb for butt's. I will be using apple chips again and some more store bought rub since I had plenty left over from the first attempt. I don't plan on making to many changes as how I smoked the last one. Biggest change will be starting cooking a lot earlier and starting with a lower heat. I will be injecting the meat with a apple juice/ apple cider vinegar with a little rub mixed in. I also plan on keeping a little of the injection solution to spray on the meat as it cooks. I also plan on allowing some time to let the meat rest after smoking and allowing the internal temp to get up to around 200-205 degrees. It hit 198f last time and no resting period.

My first attempt produced some very good tasting pork, it just wasn't falling apart good. I hope the longer cooking time over lower heat will help with that. Any other suggestion are welcome.
 
Anything big green egg is very pricy but they do make a very versatile grill/pizza oven/slow cooker. I usually do Boston butts in a crock pot. One butt, one bottle of bullseye BBQ sauce (it has a lot of smoke flavor) a chopped onion and a can of soda. Some folks like coke but I prefer a good high-quality ginger ale (the kind that puts a hurt on you). About 4-5 on high or about 8-10 on low. Pull the pork, ditch the drippings and back into the pot with another bottle of BBQ sauce. Make this a lot for summer gatherings and it is always a hit, inexpensive and super easy.
 
A crock pot has always been my wifes favorite way to cook a butt roast. Never tried the soda, but she has tried about every kind BBQ sauce on the market. She got one of those insta pots a few months ago and has burnt every piece of meat she has put in it. Hope she figures it out soon. My son is the pit master around my house. Each year he smokes several on a small smoker for friends and family. I have always been a fan of smoking, just never got into doing it myself. My first attempt was kind of a spur of the minute decision. I am trying to plan the second one a little better.
 
Bullseye BBQ sauce is common here but I don’t think it is available everywhere. You could also add a couple of drops of liquid smoke to your preferred BBQ sauce. I don’t usually do a lot of smoked food but the best meat I have ever found for smoking is turkey. I have a big weber with a rotisserie and a big green egg. I usually do whole turkeys or turkey breasts (dry brine) on the rotisserie. If you can find them, turkey tenderloins are excellent on the BGE. You can make smoke packets out of aluminum foil and chips and place them on your grill burner. A better method I have found is a smoke tube.



https://www.amazon.com/LIZZQ-Premiu...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=




Basically, it is a stainless-steel tube you fill with wood pellets, light one end and it burns like a cigar. These things smoke like a train for hours. You can get many different varieties of pellets or pellet blends. You can also cold smoke cheese or fish with one of these things. Super easy even with a gas grill if you like smoked food.
 
We have Bullseye. I thought it was everywhere. Never been a fan of Liquid Smoke unless doing jerky. Turkey also isn't real high on my list of favorite foods. Like the drumsticks at Thanksgiving and the pot pie after, but any fowl not pan fried or made into dumplins is kind of off my eating list. I will eat kfc and Bojangles before I eat Mikey D/s or most of the burger places. I think that probably comes of eating on the road for the last 40 years. Aint much fast food I do like.

I bought a couple of those smoke boxes for the chips. Kind of like the tubes and I would have probably bought a tube if I has found one local. I fill two of those boxes up and put them on the grill one at a time as the first one runs out. I have a 5 gal bucket with a hole in the lid I made for cold smoking side meat. I set it on top of a turkey fryer and under the hanging meat. I use silver maple chunks for the smoke. I think it takes about as long to cold smoke bacon as it does to cook smoke a butt.
 
CentaurG2 said:
Bullseye BBQ sauce is common here but I don’t think it is available everywhere. You could also add a couple of drops of liquid smoke to your preferred BBQ sauce. I don’t usually do a lot of smoked food but the best meat I have ever found for smoking is turkey. I have a big weber with a rotisserie and a big green egg. I usually do whole turkeys or turkey breasts (dry brine) on the rotisserie. If you can find them, turkey tenderloins are excellent on the BGE. You can make smoke packets out of aluminum foil and chips and place them on your grill burner. A better method I have found is a smoke tube.



https://www.amazon.com/LIZZQ-Premiu...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=




Basically, it is a stainless-steel tube you fill with wood pellets, light one end and it burns like a cigar. These things smoke like a train for hours. You can get many different varieties of pellets or pellet blends. You can also cold smoke cheese or fish with one of these things. Super easy even with a gas grill if you like smoked food.
Click to expand...
muddstopper said:
We have Bullseye. I thought it was everywhere. Never been a fan of Liquid Smoke unless doing jerky. Turkey also isn't real high on my list of favorite foods. Like the drumsticks at Thanksgiving and the pot pie after, but any fowl not pan fried or made into dumplins is kind of off my eating list. I will eat kfc and Bojangles before I eat Mikey D/s or most of the burger places. I think that probably comes of eating on the road for the last 40 years. Aint much fast food I do like.

I bought a couple of those smoke boxes for the chips. Kind of like the tubes and I would have probably bought a tube if I has found one local. I fill two of those boxes up and put them on the grill one at a time as the first one runs out. I have a 5 gal bucket with a hole in the lid I made for cold smoking side meat. I set it on top of a turkey fryer and under the hanging meat. I use silver maple chunks for the smoke. I think it takes about as long to cold smoke bacon as it does to cook smoke a butt.
Click to expand...
Properly smoked pork, fowl, or beef is almost always superior to the methods listed. If your chicken or turkey or other lean meat is too dry, look into brining. Ribs cooked too long can dry out, as will a pork butt not cooked long enough. Check out some of the BBQ message boards similar to this one and take your BBQ skills to the next level guys. Feel free to message me as well. I can get you going.
 
Smoked meat is just like reggae music. Sure, a little is OK but a steady diet…yuck. Not worth the time or trouble it takes to "do it right" but to each his own.
 
I like good BBQ, but to much is to much. I can say the same about deep fried anything. Hard to beat Momma's pan fried chicken. My wife makes the best chicken and dumpling I have ever ate. Sorry Mom.
Made me think of a family reunion just a few short years ago. Wife made a big pot of chicken and dumplins to take for the dinner. My Aunt who was about 90 years old had also made a big pot of Dumplins. I was sitting with my uncle who was about 80 years old and he said, I think I will go get some more of Sis's dumplins. She makes the best dumplins he had ever eat. I watched as he went to my wifes big pot of dumplins and spooned out a plateful. He came back and sit down and started eating. I asked him if the dumplins where any good. He said, best he had ever eaten. I laughed and said you know My wife made those. He said he could tell Sis's chicken and dumplins anywhere and Sis made those dumplins. I called the wife over and told her, Uncle doesn't believe you made that pot of dumplins, pointing to her pot. She said she did. My uncle then said those dumplins taste just like Sis's, Wife told him its probably because his, and Sis's mother, my grandmother, was the one that taught her how to make dumplins. My Aunt passed a couple years ago and my Uncle is now 83. My Uncles wife makes the best squirrel dumplins I ever eat. She said my grandmother taught her how to make them.
 
Not a big fan of smoked cheese either. The best smoked food is wild caught trout and salmon. With a little cream cheese, some dill or chives, red onion, maybe some capers on a nice baguette or bagel. Well at least I know what I am having for dinner.
 
CentaurG2 said:
Bullseye BBQ sauce is common here but I don’t think it is available everywhere. You could also add a couple of drops of liquid smoke to your preferred BBQ sauce. I don’t usually do a lot of smoked food but the best meat I have ever found for smoking is turkey. I have a big weber with a rotisserie and a big green egg. I usually do whole turkeys or turkey breasts (dry brine) on the rotisserie. If you can find them, turkey tenderloins are excellent on the BGE. You can make smoke packets out of aluminum foil and chips and place them on your grill burner. A better method I have found is a smoke tube.



https://www.amazon.com/LIZZQ-Premiu...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=




Basically, it is a stainless-steel tube you fill with wood pellets, light one end and it burns like a cigar. These things smoke like a train for hours. You can get many different varieties of pellets or pellet blends. You can also cold smoke cheese or fish with one of these things. Super easy even with a gas grill if you like smoked food.
Click to expand...

Cool. I've never heard of those. I just ordered one. I have two smokers but my problem is I like to nap during the day, but my smokers are old school "fill with wood and charcoal" type that you have to feed every 45 mins or so. Now I can smoke meats and nap. Two of my favorite pastimes.
 

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