I Have Much Pork

[fifi]

Yeah... I would cut it in half. I don't think I have ever seen one that big. I would also cut it in half before brining. Remember that brining time depends on surface to volume ratio.

I haven't gotten my pig stuff yet. I have just about decided that I have to make an excursion to a Fiesta. The closest one is about 20 miles away. I am in need of Mexican chocolate, ancho powder, hibiscus flower and a few other things that I can only get there so off I will trek.

Also, I saw a sign at the big Fiesta at Hwy 6 and Bellaire (Houston) last week advertising "pork brisket". I am curious as hell about that.

I also need some pork fat to make some lard and my local HEB keeps letting me down.

*heavy sigh*

[snowangel]

What an effing battle to get this thing going. Intermittent thunderstorms and heavy rain. No chance to do this under shelter. So, I had a window of opportunity, and think things are just about ready to go on. Radar shows that in the next few minutes, things should lighten up enough for me to get them on and going. There will not, however, be enough opportunity to photo the butts going on.

[mnebergall]

4:00. Temp. up to 178. I have added hickory chips a number of times and refilled the water a couple of times. I think it is looking good.

[snowangel]

2-1/2 hours into it. Temp on grill is holding steady at 225. I really do need to get one of those digital probe things and leave the Taylor oven thermometer in the oven. However, the Taylor does clean up well.

[Chris Cognac]

Looks like its coming out pretty good so far!..Where are you...what state?

[snowangel]

Looks like its coming out pretty good so far!..Where are you...what state?

4 hours and 45 minutes into it, stalled at 170. Just as it should be. Tending these babies has been fun. Especially now that it's Happy Hour. I've held heat in the Kettle at 225 with an occasional spike to 250. I think I've finally learned how to tame the beast.

Ran to the grocery and got a great deal on ribs this afternoon. So, I now have a job for Monday.

[mnebergall]

Mine stalled at 178-180 for several hours. I put it on at 8:00 am and took it off at 9:00pm. Unbelievable. After letting it set for about a half hour, I pulled the bone out of the butt and proceeded to shred it with a fork and some tongs. I got about a gallon of shredded pulled pork. It should go nicely with the ribs I plan on smoking tomorrow.

After about 3 hours, when I checked it, it was sort of a tan color. I have a Brinkmann electric smoker which I constantly fed with soaked hickory chips and hot water. My experience is much different than those using the Weber kettle grills. The butt did not get that dark skin until much later in the process. I think I have room to do about 4 of these bastards and could wind up with a whole pan mounded with shredded, pulle pork.

I have made Chad's sauce but did not have time to steep it in the fridge for a week. Instead, I did it sort of "sun tea" style and put it in a jar in the sun for the afternoon. I will let you know how everything turns out tomorrow.

[snowangel]

'Tis done.

I put the butts (3.75 lbs and 6 lbs.) on at 12:30 pm and pulled them off at about 9:30 pm. Serious stall at 175 degrees, but it was an odd day with off and on thunder and rain. But once they got to 180, the temp rose rapidly.

But, here they are in all of their glory, just after being pulled off the old Weber Kettle (I did pull the smaller one first by about 45 minutes; wrapped it in foil).

Although I pulled out a couple of forks (the drywall sander is out for another reason), I really do prefer pulling by hand. It is much more satisfying to take periodic breaks and lick ones fingers (washing hands before resume pulling). Word of warning. Drink glass gets greasy and slippery. What's the point of all of that smoked pork fat if one isn't going to lick it? Plus, there's that unbelievably satisifying savage feeling about pulling by hand. It's positively sensuous. Peter, a typical 8 year old boy, is taking a picture of mom smoking her butt to school for Show and Tell. There should have been more of the crispy bits in the finished product, but somehow, they didn't make it to the pan. Come to think of it, there's a lot of these butts that never made it to the pan. There's a reason I didn't eat much dinner. SMOKED PORK RULES.

My sweatshirt, shorts, body, hair smell like smoke. My kids think I smell like bacon. My husband thinks I smell alluring.

Tomorrow we feast.

Edited May 30, 2004 by snowangel (log)

[sashimi]

That looks positively scrumptious, snowangel!

Your husband is right -- the smell of pork on a woman simply can't be beat. Pulled pork lingerie? I think I just had a eureka moment! Nope, nope I didn't.

[hillvalley]

'Tis done.

I put the butts (3.75 lbs and 6 lbs.) on at 12:30 pm and pulled them off at about 9:30 pm. Serious stall at 175 degrees, but it was an odd day with off and on thunder and rain. But once they got to 180, the temp rose rapidly.

But, here they are in all of their glory, just after being pulled off the old Weber Kettle (I did pull the smaller one first by about 45 minutes; wrapped it in foil).

Although I pulled out a couple of forks (the drywall sander is out for another reason), I really do prefer pulling by hand. It is much more satisfying to take periodic breaks and lick ones fingers (washing hands before resume pulling). Word of warning. Drink glass gets greasy and slippery. What's the point of all of that smoked pork fat if one isn't going to lick it? Plus, there's that unbelievably satisifying savage feeling about pulling by hand. It's positively sensuous. Peter, a typical 8 year old boy, is taking a picture of mom smoking her butt to school for Show and Tell. There should have been more of the crispy bits in the finished product, but somehow, they didn't make it to the pan. Come to think of it, there's a lot of these butts that never made it to the pan. There's a reason I didn't eat much dinner. SMOKED PORK RULES.

My sweatshirt, shorts, body, hair smell like smoke. My kids think I smell like bacon. My husband thinks I smell alluring.

Tomorrow we feast.

I have butt envy

[dls]

This is sounding like a ready, set, smoke your butt weekend.  How many more will smoke butts?

Pics, everyone, please!

Seems like a really big weekend for butts. I'm smoking a 7.5 lb boneless one today. I don't brine due to the fact that I use a well insulated electric smoker and brining adds little, if nothing, to the process. I do, however, let it rest overnight with a rub. One twist that I use is to coat the butt with a very thin layer of mayo for the oil content and the fact that it also helps the rub adhere. By the time the butt is done, there's absolutely no presence of mayo, either in taste or appearance.

Put it in the smoker at 6:00 A.M. this morning (Sunday) at 225F with a 3 oz. chunk of apple. About halfway through the smoke I'll start mopping every hour with my traditional sauce. I intend to take it to 195, remove it from the smoker and let it rest under foil for 15 minutes then pull, sauce, and serve.

As an aside, after I put the butt in the smoker, I went to my office to pick up my digital camera for smoking pics and to prepare for an out of town meeting on Tuesday. My wife called a little earlier to tell me that some fellows from our local fire department were at the house. It seems that one of my neighbors woke up, smelled smoke and, thought that my house was on fire. Once everything was sorted out, the firemen then asked my wife if I would mind smoking a couple of butts for their upcoming picnic. I agreed, of course.

[jmcgrath]

You know this thing is going to take forever, right? Even a conservative 1.5 hours per pound puts you at 24 hours of smoking. Or 6-7 hours of smoking (until the meat reaches 140) and many more hours in a 225 degree oven.

I would suspect that you'd have better luck cutting it in half. Two 8lb shoulder chunks will come up to temp a little sooner than one 16lb slab o' meat.

Chad

I haven't found that whole shoulder take significantly more time than a butt. A shoulder has a lot more surface area than a butt. Cutting a shoulder into a butt and a picnic doesn't add that much surface area. If you have a small pit, it may be convenient to cut the meat into two pieces, but I don't think much else is gained.

Jim

[chicagowench]

You people are dangerous. I am now considering buying a water smoker at Home Despot.

Any suggestions on correcting for wind, Chad, since you and I are in the same windy state?