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Boston Butt

I will be liveblogging the smoking of my first Boston butt. Woohoo!

Last evening we went to BJ’s to pick up the Boston butts. I was disappointed there were none. The kid at the deli said there was a case in the back someone had requested. He was unwilling to break it up. He suggested I call back this morning. I did and sure enough they had some. I suspect the case was broken up.

I purchased 15.21 pounds @ $1.59/pound.

At home I made the rub. I am following The Renowned Mr. Brown recipe from Smoke & Spice. I trimmed the fat from the larger butt and froze the smaller. The rubbed pork went into the refrigerator at 2:00. All is on schedule for a midnight smoke.

11:20 p.m.
Pulled the butt from the fridge and re-rubbed it, saving some of the rub for later. I filled the charcoal ring and buried five pieces of hickory and five pieces of mesquite. I topped the ring with about four pieces of each. Most of these pieces were less than a fist.

I then started 10 bricks of Kingsford in the chimney. While that was burning, I assembled the meat on the rack, threaded the probes, and ensured all was ready.

Midnight
Spread the ashed coals from the chimney on the ring and placed the middle section and lid on the WSM. I struggled a little bit lining up with the base. I don’t know if it is because I couldn’t see as well in the corner or if I moved the ring, but it took a moment to get all lined up. By that time some of the wood began burning. What a fabulous smell!

12:38 a.m.
The smoker temperature just hit 200°F. I closed all three bottom vents. The temperature is still rising. I am hoping it levels out around 225°.

There is smoke coming out from beneath the lid in one section and through the vent in the lid. It’s a fair amount, but I believe this is normal, particularly on a new WSM. It certainly doesn’t seem too much.

1:45
I am beginning to feel comfortable. I shut the bottom vents at 200° and watched the smoker temp rise to 261°. It has now backed off four degrees in the last five minutes. I think the smoker is stabilizing. I never rang my alarm at 262°.

There does seem to be more smoke than I think there should be. I know being new the smoker has not built up its seal yet. I suppose that is it.

The lid temperature is reading 195°. That can’t be right. I need to calibrate all these before the next cook.

BTW, it smells great! The scent has wafted into the house. I love this!

06:30 a.m.
Fritz is awake. The boy is so cute. He’s playing hide-and-seek with me. This helps me forget about the elevated smoker temperature. Why did the smoker spike 30°? Why did the remote thermometer alarm not go off when the smoker’s temp rose, but did just now withe meat’s temp? Grrrrr . . .

The visible smoke has dissipated.

9:45 a.m.
The temperature of the smoker is dropping. That presents mixed feelings. The temp was too high so I am getting back to where I want to be. OTOH, dropping 30° I do not believe shows a healthy smoker.

So, what to do? I could stir the coals. I could open the vents. I do not think I need fuel. The ring was full and crested a bit in the beginning. Using the Minion Method, that should be enough for this cook. Even if it weren’t, I expect to get to afternoon before it dies.

My current thinking is to let the temps drop down to 225°, which is where I wanted to cook at anyhow. At that point I’ll open some vents to sustain the fire.

It, at least, sounds reasonable. So goes a newbie . . .

14:15
Well, I basted again just now. This is the 14-hour mark. Internal temps have been running 187-188. I re-positioned the probe. 185 seems about average. Nothing was 190 or above.

I rotated the butt 90°. When I did, some of the meat dislodged. I “patched” it up the best I could.

The bone did not dislodge easily. I think it is more that the meat is fused to it, however.

I think patience is the course of action, but we’re getting closer.

Time	Rack Temp	Meat Temp	Vent 1	Vent 2	Vent 3
12:15	113	54	100	100	100
12:30	167	57	100	100	100
12:38*	200	60	100	100	100
01:00	236	73	0	0	0
01:15	246	84	0	0	0
01:30	257	93	0	0	0
01:45	257	103	0	0	0
02:00	252	112	0	0	0
02:15	255	120	0	0	0
04:00	250	151	0	0	0
06:20	280	173	0	0	0
06:45	282	176	0	0	0
07:00	281	178	0	0	0
07:15	278	180	0	0	0
07:30	276	181	0	0	0
07:45	276	183	0	0	0
08:00^	278	184	0	0	0
08:15	277	178	0	0	0
08:30	277	178	0	0	0
08:45	276	174	0	0	0
09:00	273	173	0	0	0
09:15	270	173	0	0	0
09:30	266	173	0	0	0
09:45	253	174	0	0	0
10:00	258	176	0	0	0
10:15	256	177	0	0	0
10:30	257	179	0	0	0
10:45	257	181	0	0	0
11:00	256	184	0	0	0
11:15#	253	186	0	0	0
11:30	248	186	0	0	0
11:45	246	186	0	0	0
12:00	247	185	0	0	0
12:15	247	185	0	0	0
12:30	241	184	0	0	0
12:45	235	185	0	0	0
13:00	235	186	0	0	0
13:15	234	186	0	0	0
13:30	230	187	0	0	0
13:45	234	188	0	0	0
14:00#$	229	188	0	0	0
14:15	220	184	0	0	0
14:30	238	184	0	0	0
14:45@	220	174	0	0	0
15:00	234	174	50	50	50
15:15	240	176	50	50	50
15:30	246	177	50	50	50
15:45	253	181	50	50	50
16:00	253	183	50	50	50
16:15	248	184%	50	50	50

* closed bottom vents
^ turned and basted
# basted
$ rotated
@ moved probe, opened vents 50%
% butt appeared drier than it had and felt like it was done

16:15
All right, the butt has been packaged!

Reading some more it seemed like I was in good range. When I looked at the butt, it seemed drier than it had. I think it is done, despite the temperature. It should keep cooking.

We are at 16 hours-plus. Hmmm . . .

I wrapped the butt in foil. Of course, there was a little taste left on the grill. Peppery. Yum! It is now wrapped in two towels and inside the Igloo.

19:00
Awesome! I unwrapped the butt from the foil and towel enclosure. Oh man, this was good. Real peppery. Real good.

I pulled about half of this so we could get to eating. I made the vinegar sauce that was recommended. It was strong. Next time I will try about half the amount of vinegar. Even so, it was very good. I enjoyed my pork very much. I served mine on white bread in the traditional style. The rest of the gang had rolls.

The reviews were good. It’s possible this was just a touch dry. Some parts were extremely moist, others not as much. I think Gert would have enjoyed this even more if it was bathed in barbecue sauce as we get at fairs, etc. I will investigate that for next time.

There is plenty of leftovers. I have a couple care packages for the neighbors. And of course, there is lots for sandwiches tomorrow. This is fine eatin’ folks.

I am happy to have made this. Thank you, Mr. Brown!

Also blogged on this date . . .

• National League Baseball #2 - 2007
• The Saga of Finding a Geocache - 2006
• Spent - 2005
• Totem Pole - 2002

Tags: Boston Butt, food, liveblogging, WSM