Of course I’m talking about Boston Butt, you know, the pork shoulder – boneless.

We had some foodie friends over last weekend – all four of them are seriously good cooks, so I had to bring my “A” game. My smoked butts (2 of them) turned out well enough I’m going to share the techniques. Yes, 2 butts, 2 techniques – I always experiment!

You’ll often hear “low and slow” is the way to cook BBQ – there are many pros who say this just isn’t necessary. My (limited) experience confirms this. If you’re impatient like me, you don’t have all day to wait for meat cooking at 225F. In addition, the longer it’s in, the more chance it will dry up.

Butt Purchase

Go down to “Cash and Carry” if you have one nearby and buy a package of boneless Boston Butt. It might come in a 15-20lb bag, but don’t worry, it’s super cheap. If you can’t find that, just buy a 5-7 pounder at your local grocery store. Failing that, go to an Asian Market (e.g. Umajimaya). If they don’t have any out, ask the butcher, make it happen!

As for portions, you’ll want at least 8oz/person, but consider the butt will shrink by approx 20% during cooking. Always make way too much – LEFT OVERS!

Butt Preparation

If you have a really big piece, e.g. 8-10 pounds, you probably want to butterfly it or just cut in in half. Why? more surface area to rub and smoke, easier to fit in the smoker, faster to cook. Also, 2 pieces = 2 potential preparations.

Wash the butt(s) down with cold water and dry with paper towels

Find a big sheet pan and ready it to the side.

Liberally sprinkle Butt Rub all over the meat – all sides and press it in into the meat. This whole thing should take 60 seconds or so. No massages needed!

Place the rubbed butt(s) on the sheet pan , cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 2 hours (garage fridge is best). I live with a vegetarian – strong preference for meat aromas elsewhere!

Prep the Smoker

Following assumes a gas or electric powered smoker (I have gas-powered)

Remove meat from fridge

Grab a few handfuls of Hickory Chunks and place in a water bath for 20mins or so.

Get your smoker ready, water bath filled etc.

Wrap the hickory chunks in double layer of aluminum foil – no need to poke holes in the foil, the smoke will find its way out. Place chunks in smoke basket in smoker

Crank the smoker up to 400F or so to get some smoke going. This could take 15-20mins

Butt Load

When you’re getting a hint of smoke, put your butt(s) in the smoker and adjust the temperature to hold steady at around 300F. You want to keep it at this temperature the whole time. Don’t worry in the beginning if the temp. bounces around a little – just get it to 300F soon enough and all will be OK. No Stressing Allowed – now is a good time to pop a Brewsky.

In the meantime, prep 2-3 more foil wrapped chunks of hickory for later use. Each chunk will smoke for about 20mins (in mine anyway). As such, I typically do about 3-4 wood chunk replacements during cooking.

NOTE: The meat only needs smoke for around 2 hours – after that, there’s limited, if any value-add with more smoke.

TIP: if you’re using a smoker with a water bath, ensure you keep an eye on the water level. If your smoker temperature starts to rise, it probably means you need more water to moderate the temp. Also, make sure your wood is not on fire – it it is, change it out.

So … 2-2.5 hours have passed, you’ve maintained approx 300F, and you’ve replaced the wood chunks a few times to maintain a decent amount of smoke over that time. Now what ?

A Tale of 2 Butts

So what I did was … leave 1 butt in the smoker and placed a thermometer in the thickest part of meat. It read around 160F – it is staying in until the temp reaches 195F.

As for butt #2, I had already heated my grill to 300F and placed a large pan and turkey rack inside it. Inside the pan, I put some water, again to moderate the temp.

I then double wrapped butt #2 in aluminum foil, but poured around 1/4 cup of sprite inside and placed a  thermometer into the meat prior to closing up the foil. Wrap the foil tightly around the thermometer probe, to maintain a good seal around the meat.

The foiled up butt was then placed on the turkey rack inside the grill and lid closed. Good time to crack open another beer. Watch the hummingbirds and boats come and go, and keep an eye on your meat temps.

Both of the butts will take another 1-2 hours in their current state to reach the desired internal temps.

At this point, just maintain a good 300F in your smoker and grill. When the meat thermometers reach the appointed temps, take them out.

Butt Removal

So why is one at 200F and foil wrapped and the other at 195F and not wrapped? Good question

The 200F in foil will be shredded and served as pork carnitas. The added moisture (sprite) and added temp (200F) leave the meat in a state where you can easily pull it apart and shred it.

The 195F in the smoker will be sliced and served as-is. Different texture, more smoke.

Butt Sitting

Your butts have worked hard – time to let them rest.

Butt #1 from the smoker needs to be double wrapped in foil – add some sprite before closing it up. Now you have 2 foil wrapped butts. Put each of them into their own brown paper grocery bag – fold up the top and clip with clothes pegs. What the hell? Yes, you are now creating a steam room for your butts to rest, stay warm and moist. You can leave them like this for up to 2 hours (min 30 mins), and then serve.