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Hodge Podge Pork Butt

I pulled the second Boston butt I had from the freezer the other day to let it thaw. The idea was that I was going to start this late Saturday evening and we would have it Sunday for dinner. But Saturday was a long day and I just didn’t feel up to smoking late night. I waited for Sunday evening.

Without thinking things through, I began smoking at 7:45 p.m. D’oh! That would mean I would need to be up at 4:00 a.m. to flip the butt. Stupid. I ended up spending the night awake with my smoking. Ah, true love.

Noting that the WSM runs hot, I decided to shut down the vents earlier thinking it would still rise in temperature but cap the spikes. It was good thinking but it didn’t work. My temps kept climbing to a whopping 321°F. Wow! The only thing I can think of is that I am adding too much wood. I really don’t think that is it as I had only about eight pieces in and not all were even fist-size.

I am hopeful that these spikes will settle down in future smokes. I ended up smoking this 6.5-lb. butt for about 11 hours. I guess timewise that is about right, although I was thinking it was to go a bit longer.

The weather was still and not hot. No wind to cause those temperature spikes.

I call this a hodge podge butt because I used leftover ingredients for this without following a specific recipe. I had some rub left from the ribs earlier in the week and some rub I had from a while ago. I mixed them together, rubbed the butt, and let it sit for several hours.

Other than the temperature spikes, all went well with this smoke. No issues. I am becoming comfortable with what I am doing. I did not open the lid until the turn. I re-positioned the probe late in the smoke too.

I used a finishing sauce this time. I am convinced the first butt was overcooked, but looking for ways to keep things moist, I read about finishing sauces. I used Jeff’s sauce. He states only to use about half for the butt I used. I think I could have used the whole cup.

The butt was much more moist coming off the smoker than the first one. The finishing sauce added a little more moisture too. I liked the moisture of this butt. It was not wet, but it was not dry. I think this is just about right. Gert was impressed and announced this was the perfect moisture for her.

While the moisture was good, the taste was not as good as the first one. The first butt was highly flavorable. The smoky taste was heavenly. That was missing this time around. The smoke ring was not nearly as pronounced. The rub obviously was not up to par. The bark was not as thick either. I really liked the first rub I used and shall return to it.

The goal for the next butt is to combine the flavor of the first butt with the moisture of the second.

There is plenty left over. We had these on seeded rolls. Yummy! We’ll be eating these for the next couple days. We have a container all ready for another neighbor too.

It’s fun learning this craft.
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Uncle Dewey’s

470 Wheat Road
Vineland, NJ 08360
609/691-4454

39.513417 -74.981767

Uncle Dewey’s is a well-respected BBQ joint in the area. Most folks I know who like barbecue have spoken well of Uncle Dewey’s over the years. I have fond memories of stopping along Rt. 40 in Mizpah when I first moved to the area for some ribs.

It is interesting to see how perspective changes.

I recently purchased a smoker. By no means have I mastered the art of barbecue yet, but I have made some fine ribs and a wonderful pork butt on it. After ordering from Uncle Dewey’s today I know I’ll never return. There is just no comparison between what they serve and what I cook.

Even Gert who tends to like anything that money is spent on commented how bland the food was. We ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a rack of spare ribs. The pulled pork had no smoky flavor, was dry, and was served on a non-interesting sub roll. The ribs were overcooked, fatty, and blah. The sauce used did nothing to help. All that and it cost us just as much as 15 pounds of Boston butt does for me to cook at home. I can’t foresee ever returning to Uncle Dewey’s.
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All in the family

LCLN

39.513417 -74.981767

Gert’s been hounding me for pulled pork all weekend. Last night she called me in to watch Throwdown. Bobby Flay challenged some competition-winning lady from Virginia to a pulled pork sandwich. Flay only smoked his butt for 10 hours. That’ll never do.

My Boston butt is rubbed and coming to room temperature b4 I put her in the smoker. I figure she’ll be ready for dinner tomorrow night. Low and slow.

Anyhow, all day Gert’s been asking for pulled pork. Finally I said I would go to Uncle Dewey’s for some. She has been wanting some BBQ from there for a while now.

Well, we can now safely say Uncle Dewey doesn’t have anything on me. Gert said so herself. No smoke ring. No deep flavor. And dry. I used Uncle Dewey’s for the best BBQ in the area hunt a few years ago. No longer. My deck is!

I cannot wait for Monday’s dinner. Got to go get the smoker going. Yummy!
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Gert’s Mistake

I love my wife, but I scold myself sometimes. Until she met me she had never had lobster, lamb, or filet mignon. There are a few other high-end foods too. She loves these now. Of course, these are good foods.

Gert went grocery shopping this morning. We don’t eat a lot of steak at home these days. She wanted a steak. She apparently had something in her hand but asked the butcher for filet mignon. Without checking the price of what he gave her, she came home with two beautiful steaks. And she wanted it for lunch. Sigh . . .

But one must turn lemons into lemonade. I grilled those steaks to perfection. Just a little salt and pepper on the resting steaks. I seared them on both sides and then turned down the heat on the open pit. One was larger than the other; it took longer.

Medium-rare to perfection. When the knife cuts a fillet it should cut like butter. These were so tasty!

As I commented to Gert, we had the best lunch on the block today.

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Kansas City, Here We Come

Well, not quite. We have fond memories of barbecue in Kansas City, but we aren’t heading back anytime soon. So, we need to create Kansas City here. And that was what today was about.

Friends and family know that I am a stickler for recipes. The first time I make something, I make it exactly (or the best that I can) like the recipe calls for. I think this is important so I know what the author intended the meal to taste like. I did that last week when I made The Best Ribs in the Universe. They were fine, but it was evident I had not gotten the feel of the ribs on the smoker yet.

Since then I have been reading. Lots of reading. So much reading I became confused. There are so many approaches to cooking ribs and everyone has his secret. Bah! Most rubs are similar. An ingredient here may be different, the quantity there may be different, but they all work in the same field of play. I decided not to get too hung up on the rub.

The sauce, how to sauce, when to sauce, and whether I should sauce at all is still up in the air. It wasn’t this hard 20 years ago when I actually was the GM of a rib joint. Sigh . . .

I decided not to get too worked up over this and just try to produce a juicier rib than I had last time. To that end, today’s smoke was a success.

After my rant about Food Network yesterday, it’s interesting to note I used a rub recipe from Emeril Lagasse. It made plenty; I rubbed the ribs and used it in my ABTs. There’s still some leftover.

I was quite relaxed getting things going, which would cost me. By the time I got the ribs on it was 3:30. Ouch! That would make for a late dinner. That’s fine with me, but the children would be rammy. And they were.

I also made my first batch of Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABTs). I had planned on them last week, but the salmonella scare made it so one cannot purchase jalapenos. I still can’t find them in the stores. Yes, I could use a different pepper, but I like to follow recipes. Remember?

Anyhow, I scooted out to the Flea Market thinking one of the local farmers there would have them. Sure enough they did. Whoopee! I picked up the rest of the fixings. Then I couldn’t find the recipe. But much like rubs, ABTs all play on the same central theme. I followed one recipe I found and then realized it did not include the little hot dogs. You have got to have the little hot dog (at least that is what Gert said). So I broke with tradition and winged it. I also used more bacon than most do. I think the pepper should be entirely encased in bacon. Hey, this isn’t diet food folks.

So things went along pretty well. There was a spike in temperature at one point. I have no idea why. I suspect some more fuel was lighted that caused it. I think I need to use the Minion Method with ribs too. That is something I am still a bit confused by. I don’t think it would hurt.

I foiled the ribs nearly three hours in. Some take offense to the method, but I am trying to get these ribs the way Gert likes them. I spritzed with apple juice and added some to the foil. Fearful of overcooking, I probably did not leave them in long enough. Time was getting late and we weren’t going to eat after 8:00. And as it was, I began feeling lousy. I caught a bug, it appears, and I was washed out by the time dinner was ready.

The ribs were better than the first ones. These probably could have gone another half hour, but again, I was trying not to overcooked as I had the previous ones. It’s important to have some successes along the way so the wife does not become discouraged with all this. I pulled two of the three racks and left the third to cook a little longer with the ABTs. Only one was ready with the ribs. That ABT was heavenly. The food off the smoker is awesome!

We served dinner. I used the same formula for sauce as the BRITU recipe called for: 5 parts sauce, one part honey. I had picked up some Sweet Baby Ray’s. Lots of folks recommend it and it is easy enough to find. I will eventually develop my own sauce, but until then . . .

There was too much food. Plain and simple. Not feeling great and having three racks and 10 ABTs to consume, it was evident that there would be plenty of leftovers. Even so, I enjoyed the ribs. Gert even complimented them. Today’s smoke was a step in the right direction.

I pulled off the last rack and the ABTs. Stuffed, I decided to plate some ABTs for my neighbor. I dropped them off. I’m sure I’ll hear back tomorrow. Jim’s good people and I think he’ll like the peppers.
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