Brined Pork Butt for Pulled Pork
- Thread starter DivotMaker
- Start date
Perkolater
New member
+1 on the pics Kari
I'm going to save that post for future use because it seems to be a frequent topic of mistaken identity.
I'm going to save that post for future use because it seems to be a frequent topic of mistaken identity.
ddixon81
New member
Followed the steps of the brine and did two pork butts that were 4.5 lb's yesterday and I must say they turned out great! Will definetly do it again and all the guys were very impressed! Needless to say we ate good during the Michigan beatdown of Rutgers! This forum rocks and thanks to all who contribute!
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BedouinBob
New member
Nice job Dustin! It looks like they turned out tasty!
DivotMaker
New member
Glad you liked it, Dustin! The butt looks great!! 8)
Hey Tony,
Have you ever tried this brine on chicken. My plan is brine two 6lb spatchcocked chickens overnight in your brine recipe and the coat it in a reduced salt version of Shooter Ricks snake bite rub if you've heard of it. 250 over hickory I think.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated
Justin
Have you ever tried this brine on chicken. My plan is brine two 6lb spatchcocked chickens overnight in your brine recipe and the coat it in a reduced salt version of Shooter Ricks snake bite rub if you've heard of it. 250 over hickory I think.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated
Justin
CarlosJ
New member
I made this last weekend, and I'll have to say it was absolutely superb!!! The only thing I changed was that I added some ancho chile powder and chipotle chile powder to the brine, which gave it a little more spice and smoke. I brined the butt for 30 hours, then rubbed it down with mustard and Salt Lick rub, then let that sit for another 27 or so hours. After that, it was into the smoker with 6oz of hickory. It took 10hrs and 45 minutes to get up 190. I double wrapped it in heavy foil and let it sit for 20 minutes. I thought I was gonna die waiting for that 20 minutes to elapse, but it did...finally, and the finished product was just really, really good.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Oh...I couldn't find the pink curing at the grocery store, so I'll use that next time. I'll post some pictures later...they're on another computer.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Oh...I couldn't find the pink curing at the grocery store, so I'll use that next time. I'll post some pictures later...they're on another computer.
2 10 pounders ... brined 12hrs ... mustard and 1 with Bad Bryon's rub, 1 with Famous Dave's Rib Rub (1st time trying it).
Started at midnight at 230F shooting for a 4pm finish time for a dinner party at 6pm (2hr rest).
Maverick alarmed at 180IT at 8am so bumped the temp down to 225F.
11hrs in (11am) and 185IT, so looking like they're gonna finish way early.
I saw earlier in this thread about letting them hit ~190IT then crank the temp down to 140F until 4hrs from serving time at which you'd foil and cooler ... so 2pm in my case.
I'm also considering letting the IT get up to like 193 before bumping down to 140F to help stretch the time.
Another option might be pull and foil for 2hrs at 190IT ... then I could partly pull them apart and stick large chuncks in ziplocks and toss in the anova bath until guests arrive ... not sure what water temp to use so will go research.
Just curious thoughts if anyone happens to see this post in the next couple hours
[edit 1pm] Mav and 3D probes hit 190IT. Finally took a peek and probed with my thermopop and my 2 meat probes were in hot spots as most of the meat temp is only 175-180. Relocated probes and letting it rock on.
Started at midnight at 230F shooting for a 4pm finish time for a dinner party at 6pm (2hr rest).
Maverick alarmed at 180IT at 8am so bumped the temp down to 225F.
11hrs in (11am) and 185IT, so looking like they're gonna finish way early.
I saw earlier in this thread about letting them hit ~190IT then crank the temp down to 140F until 4hrs from serving time at which you'd foil and cooler ... so 2pm in my case.
I'm also considering letting the IT get up to like 193 before bumping down to 140F to help stretch the time.
Another option might be pull and foil for 2hrs at 190IT ... then I could partly pull them apart and stick large chuncks in ziplocks and toss in the anova bath until guests arrive ... not sure what water temp to use so will go research.
Just curious thoughts if anyone happens to see this post in the next couple hours
[edit 1pm] Mav and 3D probes hit 190IT. Finally took a peek and probed with my thermopop and my 2 meat probes were in hot spots as most of the meat temp is only 175-180. Relocated probes and letting it rock on.
Butt2 hit 190IT at 17hrs then double foiled and left in the 3D. Guests arrived between 6-6:30 and got to witness the reveal and shredding of each.
Got a sweet smoke ring which was very cool ... 1st time with the pink stuff lol.
Guest raved and 1 said it rivaled the best KC pulled pork he's ever had. So I think they liked it
Byron's rub had a more salty flavor vs Famous Dave's when sampled back to back. I decided I couldn't pick a winner as they were both great in their own ways.
Look foward to brining my next butts!
Got a sweet smoke ring which was very cool ... 1st time with the pink stuff lol.
Guest raved and 1 said it rivaled the best KC pulled pork he's ever had. So I think they liked it
Byron's rub had a more salty flavor vs Famous Dave's when sampled back to back. I decided I couldn't pick a winner as they were both great in their own ways.
Look foward to brining my next butts!
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DivotMaker
New member
Absolutely STELLAR, Jason! Gotta love some brined butts! I, too, find Byron's a little saltier than Dave's rub. I like them both, but prefer Dave's.
ZoomByU
New member
Gotta say it- Tony nailed it on this recipe! Can't get enough of it and about to pull a couple more Boston Butts out of the #2. When you prefer to eat it without any BBQ sauce, you know it's darn good. I have been using Jim Baldridge's seasoning and like it so well that I'm finding it hard to try anything else. For you guys that have tried different rubs, is there much difference in taste or is most of the flavor coming from the brining process? I have 2 more Butts in the freezer from Sam's. I just need to discipline myself to try a couple different rubs next time.
JUST in case there hasn't been enough feedback yet 
I can vouch for this brine. Did a few butts without brines, and they were awesome, but this helped take it to another level. I'll be brining whenever I feasibly can. It certainly helped keep it more moist, and the little bit of pink salt really gives it that "traditional" look. I can see where, you're smoking in a region not known for BBQ, you can probably get away without the pink salt depending on your guests. But in a traditional region like KC, people are expecting to see it, and this helped a TON.
I can vouch for this brine. Did a few butts without brines, and they were awesome, but this helped take it to another level. I'll be brining whenever I feasibly can. It certainly helped keep it more moist, and the little bit of pink salt really gives it that "traditional" look. I can see where, you're smoking in a region not known for BBQ, you can probably get away without the pink salt depending on your guests. But in a traditional region like KC, people are expecting to see it, and this helped a TON.
DivotMaker
New member
Awesome feedback, Greg and Luke! Great to hear you liked it!
volscrazy65
New member
Tony, I have a few questions please. I can't find Instacure locally and have a butt for my first smoke this weekend. If I leave it out of your recipe, do I need to add more salt to make up for it? Does the amounts in your recipe work for any size butt? Mine is on the small side, a little over 6 lbs. Do I need to leave it in the brine for a shorter time since it's small? Dumb questions I know but I'm very new to smoking.
Thanks.
Thanks.
