First Butt

[LarryD]

I have my first butt brining right now.  (salt, garlic, onion, coriander, thyme, rosemary, and apple butter)  Having never even purchased a butt before, I was surprised to find that the 14 lbs was actually two pretty even halves.  This was purchased from Sam's Club.

• What kind of trimming should be done on these?  There seemed to be a fat cap on one side and maybe some veins or something on at least a corner of one of them.
• This appears to be 'bone-in'...  I presume I should smoke it with the bone in place.
• Should I use one rack or two?  If I do two, I'm guessing that like the two halves of a brisket that the top rack would be cap up and the bottom would be cap down.
• Will two seven pound chunks finish in far less time than one fourteen pound chunk?  I've seen the advice to allow for up to two hours per pound.  I've also seen the suggestion that brining can really reduce the cook time.  Does 10-16 hours seem like a reasonable window to go to 190 probe temp with a smoker temp of 225?
• What are the novice mistakes to look out for?  {I've given myself a promotion from noob to novice.    I have the basics of the smoker handling down solid.  I've just never worked with most of these meats before so I'm still very much learning all of that.} 

As always, thank you so very much.  I love this community! 
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[ibbones]

Larry, I will give you the answers to MY process.  I am sure others will differ.

1.  I do not trim pork butts.  Most of the fat will render out and I even leave the fat cap on.

2.  Do NOT pull out the bone.  I run my temp probe on the other side of the butt to make sure it does not touch the bone.

3.  I would not smoke two butts unless I needed it at the same time.  I would throw one in the freezer and brine the other so I cannot really answer about a lower rack.  However, If I were to cook both at the same time I would rather have them on one rack if they would fit.

4.  I love brining and do almost all the butts that way.  I put them in the brine and try to give them a good day but sometimes more and sometimes less.
Cook time?  It's ready when it's ready.  Sorry for being so vague but I have had some ready in about 7 hours to 20 hours.   And I usually have the twin packs from Sams, about 8 pounds each.

5.  You will do fine so do not worry.

I like to put my butts in around midnight and let them go until the next day.  I have to work that into my daily schedule but it is easier to put them in late at night than to not have them ready until late at night and after supper time. 

[LarryD]

• What kind of trimming should be done on these?  There seemed to be a fat cap on one side and maybe some veins or something on at least a corner of one of them.

I trimmed off the veins and otherwise left them as-is.

• This appears to be 'bone-in'...  I presume I should smoke it with the bone in place.

Definitely left it in place... it just made sense and would have been a pain to take out anyway.

• Should I use one rack or two?  If I do two, I'm guessing that like the two halves of a brisket that the top rack would be cap up and the bottom would be cap down.

I did both as I wanted that much meat.  I used two racks set as high in the smoker as I could get them without touching each other or the roof of the smoker.  I put the slightly large one with slightly more cap on the bottom.

• Will two seven pound chunks finish in far less time than one fourteen pound chunk?  I've seen the advice to allow for up to two hours per pound.  I've also seen the suggestion that brining can really reduce the cook time.  Does 10-16 hours seem like a reasonable window to go to 190 probe temp with a smoker temp of 225?

And the winner is:  11 hours    -- That took the top to 190 and the bottom to 195.

• What are the novice mistakes to look out for?  {I've given myself a promotion from noob to novice.    I have the basics of the smoker handling down solid.  I've just never worked with most of these meats before so I'm still very much learning all of that.} 

I think the biggest mistake I made is that I forgot to empty the drip tray from a recent previous smoke so it was quite full this morning. 

I didn't have to use a fork to shred this at all.  After I took it out of the smoker I wrapped it and stored it in a cooler for ~30 minutes.  To shred it I could just pull off chunks and lightly rub them between my fingers and it just fell apart.  There was very little waste...  most of the fat cap had cooked away.

On a side note, Home Depot sells nitrile dipped gloves that worked perfectly for protecting my hands while pulling the pork.  I've also used them to pull food out of the smoker and to handle hot grates.  They are really tactile all things considered.  The gloves clean up easily and do a great job.  I got them on sale for $5.

[LarryD]

I love brining and do almost all the butts that way.  I put them in the brine and try to give them a good day but sometimes more and sometimes less.

I have no idea how much of the flavor of this pork was came from the brining and how much of it came from the rub.  In any case, it came out delicious.  I know that I can see a difference in the meat after brining.  I don't know how to describe it other than to say it looks 'neater' and more appealing.  I suspect I'll keep brining as it's really not hard to do, it has yet to do me wrong, and it seems to really reduce the cook times from those reported by non-briners.

[NVW-SSV]

Excellent!!! Sounds like a success story such that your guests will tell a friend, who will tell a friend....And then they'll tell a friend - until you'll be the preferred chef for mass get togethers.  Wait and see.

[TexasSMK]

Great smoke