How long do you smoke your butts?

[O.S.O.K.]

I've got a nice bone-in boston butt in the smoker right now - went in at 2:00 CST - the fire was already lit and going. It's gonna stay in there until 6.

So, about 4 hours.

I inject mine with my special secret marinade (which has peanut oil and soy sauce, spices) and top it with some onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and a liberal amount of paparica.

Using some hickory chips - about three doses (put some on, they burn out, put some more on...) on top of the charcoal. This is in a two-chamber smoker (horizontal).

So how long do you smoke yours?

[awp101]

I smoke mine down to the "Marlboro"...

[Terry Murbach]

TO MAKE THE MOST OF 'EM I SMOKED 'EM RIGHT DOWN TO THE FILTERS...






ba ba ba BING....

[O.S.O.K.]

Geez guys, I coulda never seen those coming.... Such cameleons.

[Chas.]

I smoke mine at 250 degrees grate temp until internal temp is 195-200. It usually takes 12-16 hours. They pull good. If you only smoke it 4 hrs. it may still be raw inside.

[jnyork]

Quit the cigs over 20 years ago. Dont miss 'em a bit.

Smoked meat, well the local commercial smokehouse does an excellent job, far better than I could, I buy what I want from them.

[O.S.O.K.]

I smoke mine at 250 degrees grate temp until internal temp is 195-200. It usually takes 12-16 hours. They pull good. If you only smoke it 4 hrs. it may still be raw inside.

The smoker is pretty hot - in excess of 300 - I keep it stoked. I'm not patient enough for 12 hours!

[Old Savage]

Got my butt smoked in golf on friday. I'll spare you the picture.

[Chas.]

The smoker is pretty hot - in excess of 300 - I keep it stoked. I'm not patient enough for 12 hours!

I've never smoked them at that high a temp but I've never smoked just one. I usually smoke at least 4 at a time. Let me know how it turns out.

[LeverBob]

The only thing that burns my butt is a flame about 3 feet high.

LB

[JReed]

I smoke mine down to the "Marlboro"...

+1 farther then that is just nasty

[Warhawk]

I put mine in the smoker for the first 3 or 4 hours, then in the oven at 300 in an aluminum turkey pan with a can of beer for the rest of 10-12 hours total cooking time. You'll know when it's done when the meat shrinks away from the bone and you can wiggle the bone loose from the meat.

I drain off the juices and let it sit for a half hour or so before shredding it for pulled pork sammiches.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Knda like the old Roger Miller song, Old stogies I have found...

[iceman]

..... short, but not too big around....

[pokey]

but of course,

ain't got no cigarettes.

[redbeardinntx]

FWIW Here in the Great State Of Texas, BBQ beef brisket is the favored meat. A 10 -13 lb brisket ( weather its 1 or 10 ) can be smoked at 170-220 deg for 10 -12 hours and come out perfect. Internal temps would be the determining factor with pork. IIRC the last whole pork loin I smoked was 6-8 lbs and done at 300 deg for around 5 hrs. Sam

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I put mine in the smoker for the first 3 or 4 hours, then in the oven at 300 in an aluminum turkey pan with a can of beer for the rest of 10-12 hours total cooking time. You'll know when it's done when the meat shrinks away from the bone and you can wiggle the bone loose from the meat.

I drain off the juices and let it sit for a half hour or so before shredding it for pulled pork sammiches.

Same here. Low and slow for 3 to 4 hours. I've tried pecan, apple and hickory but I like live oak best. Then in the oven, I like to use the oven bags though. They trap the moisture better. Depending on the size it will be in the oven for 4 to 6 hours at 225.

Before it goes in I use a homemade rub made from brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, onion powder and white pepper.

[Warhawk]

I said in the oven at 300, but my wife corrected me and said we set the oven at 250 (which is I believe as low as our oven will go).

[rjohns94]

165 -180, 12 - 16 hours depending on size.

[JerryB]

I use all wood charcoal not the briquet and some dried pecan or hickory. I keep a hot bed of coals. A 10 - 12 pound butt will take about 5 hours. This works good for me.

[Chas.]

O.S.O.K. we need an update. How did your butt turn out.

[O.S.O.K.]

OH, it was cooked - but certainly not ready to be pulled. I didn't get down into the very inside - just sliced more off of the outer parts. Nice and juicy. It definately needed a lot longer to be fall-off-the-bone.

There's just the three of us now that my older two kids are in college - one is graduating this year in fact... but it doesn't take much to feed us. My son eats as much as the wife and I combined He's 16.

I did put the large remainder in the oven with some water added this morning to slow cook it until dinner tonight - it should pull then...

I think next time I'll do it your way - put it in first thing in the morning and then into the oven to finish the rest of the day.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

OH, it was cooked - but certainly not ready to be pulled. I didn't get down into the very inside - just sliced more off of the outer parts. Nice and juicy. It definately needed a lot longer to be fall-off-the-bone.

There's just the three of us now that my older two kids are in college - one is graduating this year in fact... but it doesn't take much to feed us. My son eats as much as the wife and I combined He's 16.

I did put the large remainder in the oven with some water added this morning to slow cook it until dinner tonight - it should pull then...

I think next time I'll do it your way - put it in first thing in the morning and then into the oven to finish the rest of the day.

It may have been one of the food channels but in order to get it to pull the internal temperature need to be 180-190 for at least an hour or more. This breaks down the connecting tissues to really tenderize it.

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks Nate - I'll have to poke it in a bit and see what temp its at. I figure if its in for 5 hours at 250, it should get to 190 for at least an hour....

I'm not very patient (as you can probably tell) but I've got a couple more of these butts in the freezer (I buy multiples when they're on sale) and I'm definately going to do the all day method next time. The house is smelling really good right now - kinda like bacon

[Chas.]

Nate's right. The collagen has to break down and it takes time. Sometimes they get to 170-180 and plateau there for 3-4 hours. When the temp does decide to go on up, it goes up pretty fast. I've pulled them off at 190 but they fall apart better at 200-205. I don't use the oven. Mine are done full time on the smoker. I usually put them on about supper time and they're ready mid-morning to early afternoon the next day. Sleep comes in small chunks, during the times when the smoker is stable. When doing several, you need to allow some time to pull, pack, freeze, and clean up the greasy mess and you don't want to start that at 10-11 at night, or at least I don't.

Frozen pulled pork is just as good as fresh pulled. Just zap it in the microwave and you're ready to eat. Makes for an easy, quick meal when unexpected guests show up, or the kids decide to stop by for supper. I do use a Foodsaver vacuum packer which keeps it better, longer than zip-lock.

BBQ is yet another one of my passions.

[Bronx]

Well, speaking of butts....boston butts....

Being that I live in the wild, wild, northern borough of NYC know as the Bronx, my neighbors would probably get annoyed if I smoked anything in the yard. Then again I wouldn't mind smoking certain of them, I heard long pig can be tasty.

With that being said I'd like to offer up a wonderful bolognese recipe for a pork butt. It's truly an example of the finest italian cookery being that it's so simple.

Ingredients:

A nice 6 pound boston butt or similiar.
Vegtable oil
Butter
Whole Milk, even some cream
Salt
Pepper

You need a good dutch oven or equivalent pot that can later snugly accommodate the pork, put in the butter and oil, crank on the heat to medium high. When the butter foam subsides, put in the meat, the side with fat facing down at first. As it browns, turn it, continuing to turn the meat every few moments to brown it evenly all around. If you should find the butter becoming very dark, lower the heat.


Salt & pepper the meat, and add a cup of milk. Add the milk slowly so it doesn't boil over. Allow the milk to come to a simmer for 20 or 30 seconds, turn the heat down to minimum, and cover the pot with the lid on slightly ajar.


Cook at a very low simmer for approximately 1 hour, turning the meat from time to time, until the milk has thickened, into a nut-brown sauce. (The exact time it will take depends largely on the heat and the thickness of your pot.) When the milk reaches this stage, and not before, add 1 more cup of milk, let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then cover the pot, putting the lid on tightly. Check and turn the pork from time to time.


After 30 minutes, set the lid slightly ajar. Continue to cook at miniimum heat, and when you see there is no more liquid milk in the pot, add the another cup of milk. Continue cooking until the meat feels tender when prodded with a fork and all the milk has coagulated into small nut-brown clusters. Altogether it will take between 3 & 4 hours. If, before the meat is fully cooked, you find that the liquid in the pot has evaporated, add another cup of milk, repeating the step if it should become necessary.


When the pork has become tender and all the milk in the pot has thickened into dark clusters, pull the meat to a cutting board. Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices about 3/s inch thick or slightly less, and arrange them on a platter.


Tip the pot and spoon off most of the fat-there may be as much as a cup of it-being careful to leave behind all the coagulated milk clusters. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, and boil away the water over high heat while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose the fond (cooking residues) from the bottom and sides of the pot. Spoon all the pot juices over the pork and serve immediately.

darn it's good!

[Doc Hudson]

i don't have a smoker, but i generaly cook my boston butts for about 12 hours at 200*F.

Before heavily rub the butt, or pork loin with my own proprietary spice mix. Which is:

Larry’s Loin Rub

Inredient Proportion
Paprika 3 Parts
Cumin 1 Part
Garlic Powder 3 Parts
Mustard Powder 1 Part
Curry Powder 1 Part
Blackpepper 1 Part
Salt 5 Parts
Brown Sugar, packed 6 Parts

Combine all ingredients except brown sugar, mix well. Add the brown sugar, crumbling and scattering over the other spics. Mix well.

Rub all sides of the pork loin, marinade over night.

Roast at 350* F until internal temperature reaches 165* F.


Use the same measure for each ingredient, whether teaspoon, Tablespoon, ounces, cups, gallons of bushels.

Slow roast covered with foil or a lid. Uncover the last hour or so to promote browning.

At the end of 12 hours or however long it takes to reach 165*F internal temperature, the meat is generally fall apart tender and the bone pulls out with little resistance.

After pulling the butt apart or slicing it, I add a generous amount of some of the best barbecue sauce I've ever tasted. it is a top secret recipe given to me by my first wife's mother (a super sweet lady!). Since it is so super secret i can't even tell you that the recipe looks something like this:

Virginia’s BBQ Sauce

1 32 oz Ketchup
1 or 2 large onions chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup vinegar
½ tea. Paprika

Brown onions in few tablespoons of oil. Add other ingredients and simmer minutes.

It might not be honest to God real pit barbecue, but it will make you hurt yourself.

[awp101]

It might not be honest to God real pit barbecue, but it will make you hurt yourself.

If I ever open a BBQ place, that has GOT to be the slogan...