Brine for Boston Butt

[DivotMaker]

I realized that I had this in my brined butt post, but neglected to put the recipe in the brine section.

1 gallon water
1 1/8 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Instacure #1 pink curing salt (optional)

Put 1/3 of the water in a pan large enough to hold 1 gallon.  Add the other ingredients, and heat on medium to simmer the brine.  The idea is to melt all the salt and sugar, and help blend some of those spices into the liquid.  I usually heat for 15-20 minutes, never bringing to a boil.  Stir regularly.

Once the brine is blended, remove from heat and add the rest of the water in the form of ice cubes.  I have a large sauce pan that has 1 gallon marked on the side, so I know the level - makes this much easier.  This will immediately cool the brine.  Once all the ice melts, I place the brine in the fridge to get cold.  I don't take any chances by putting the meat in a brine that isn't below 40-degrees.  Once the brine has chilled, place the pork butt in the brine.  Let it brine for 12-13 hours.

After brining, rinse well, coat in yellow mustard and rub, and you're ready for the smoker!  I know there are some that say you should never brine a pork butt, but you'll find it to be the most moist and flavorful pulled pork you'll ever have!  Let me know if you have any improvements or variations!

 

[prudentsmoker]

Thinking I want this for my first #3 smoke Thursday. Tell me please, do you remove any fat after the smoke?

Thanks in advance.

 

[swthorpe]

The  nice thing about the fat is that it disappears through the smoking process!  You will see a nice bark on the BB, and lots of good juices, but the fat should be long gone.    The brine is the bomb!

 

[NDKoze]

If there is any remaining fat, it is pretty minor and just melts into flavorful juice that gets mixed in when I pull the butt. No removing of fat before or after for me. Unless there are huge thick chunks of fat prior to smoking.

 

[Pork Belly]

I never remove the fat. A but is perfect fat to meat ratio, you could grind it for sausage without adding anything. I has the perfect blend I don't mess with it.

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the kind words on the brine, Steve!  I usually trim a little of the really thick fat from a butt, and always remove as much of the hard connective tissue in the flap between the two muscles.  After smoking, the only thing I remove is the bone!   All the fat should be rendered down to pork candy that kisses the pulled meat with juicy goodness!! ;D

 

[prudentsmoker]

Thanks again. I did buy a pork puller this PM, hope it gets here in time.

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks again. I did buy a pork puller this PM, hope it gets here in time.

I use bear claws - cheap and effective.  And, the manual method helps me de-stress! lol!  Can't wait to see what you got!

 

[prudentsmoker]

I use the bear claws to, but thinking with the #3 of making a bunch for church.

 

[bigbassnutt]

Check out the meat rake, I got mine on Amazon and they seem to work better for me than the bear claws. I do like the bear claws for getting the meat out of the smoker, works great for that.

 

[DivotMaker]

I've seen the rakes, Mike, and almost ordered them.  You've confirmed what I suspected!  The bear claws work OK, but forks work even better.  The rakes look like the best of both worlds!

 

[BedouinBob]

Hey Tony, why the pink salt in the brine? Does it change the flavor?

 

[DivotMaker]

Hey Tony, why the pink salt in the brine? Does it change the flavor?

Totally optional, Bob.  I think it adds a little bit of a ham taste to the outer meat, but like that it adds a little "faux" smoke ring (makes the meat look great for presentation - a little splash of color!).  That's pretty much the only reason I use it in brines for butts, loins or briskets.  Of course, it's critical to a true curing brine, like for Canadian bacon.

Here's a couple of examples!

 

[BedouinBob]

Looks really tasty! Thanks Tony. I will give it a shot.

 

[DivotMaker]

Just remember, Bob - it's "our little secret!"  lol.  If you're feeding your BBQ to "traditional" smoker snobs (you know, the "real BBQ only comes from charcoal or wood" crowd), you'll impress them with your smoke ring!  Little do they know you can duplicate the same tasteless pink ring they think is the mark of "real" BBQ!  I laugh every time I fool one!

 

[BedouinBob]

  ;D

 

[SuperDave]

DM, very close to my brine.  I've started adding some of my rub to the brine with good results. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Looking forward to seeing your rub recipe, Dave!

 

[RG]

How would you adapt this brine to fit an equilibrium brining method? Follow the DDF calculator as far as the sugar and salt and pink salt go and then just add the listed amount of vinegar, cayenne, black pepper, garlic and onion powder?

 

[DivotMaker]

How would you adapt this brine to fit an equilibrium brining method? Follow the DDF calculator as far as the sugar and salt and pink salt go and then just add the listed amount of vinegar, cayenne, black pepper, garlic and onion powder?

Very good question, Jason!  I'll have to give this one a little thought.  This is one that I've always just stuck to the gradient brine method, because I found the time that works for me.  I think you're right, as far as following the calculator for sugar, salt and cure; the only question would be the ratio and percentage of salt.  This would take a little experimentation to find the right mix.

The good thing about converting this to an EQ brine would be that you could predictably use it on smaller cuts, without having to find the ideal time factor.