Pork butt, 590 Experiment

[okie]

Gonna low/slo a 8.5lb butt over night, but want to make less mess. I will place it on a grate, that is sitting on a deep pan with some water and Apple vinegar in it. It will provide moisture, as well as catch all the grease and drippings. After the cook, will remove the fat and use the drippings to make a sauce for the pulled pork . Meanwhile my 590 will be much easier to clean since the drip tray and bucket will be spared. Have not used this setup before. Does it make any difference in time, quality of the finished butt? Won't have to get up in the night to shprits the meat. Plan to put it on at 10:00PM at 225* and do the whole thing without foil or butcher paper. Would expect it to be in the stall by 10AM in the morning. Can always wrap if it is slow. Expect to be at 200* internal by 2PM tomorrow. Will pull and put in closed oven with towels for a couple of hours after removal.
Any yays or nays or other suggestions?

 

[okie]

On at 9pm at 225. Had to truss it where the bone was pulled. Butcher said it had bone in. I should not have taken his word for it. But no sweat. Heavily seasoned with local rub (salt, brown sugar, chilis, pepper, paprika, garlic powder). Not going to foil, so I can get a good bark, and so it does not cook too fast. Pan has water, so juices won't fry, and fat will protect it from above. Will see if the juices are satisfactory for adding later.

 

[Mannydog]

I and several others here do something similar, using disposable foil pans with a rack to hold the meat (pork, turkey, lamb, whatever) above the liquid in the pan and allow smoke to get all around. Works great. This also allows me to put foil tightly over the pan without taking out the meat to wrap. That often speeds up the cook at the end, and you can turn up the temp to help if pressed for time. Or just as easily not foil as you noted. Good luck and let us know how yours turns out.

 

[okie]

I and several others here do something similar, using disposable foil pans with a rack to hold the meat (pork, turkey, lamb, whatever) above the liquid in the pan and allow smoke to get all around. Works great. This also allows me to put foil tightly over the pan without taking out the meat to wrap. That often speeds up the cook at the end, and you can turn up the temp to help if pressed for time. Or just as easily not foil as you noted. Good luck and let us know how yours turns out.

Here it is at 7:35 AM. Looks good so far, so will continue naked.

 

[Bama BBQ]

Looks amazing!

 

[okie]

Ended up putting it in a foil pan and sealed it. Was taking longer than programmed. Up to 180 at 10:20AM so will start checking tenderness.

 

[okie]

Out at 195*, butter tender to probe, towel wrapped and into warm oven (turned off) for next 2 hours. Will take pics when pulled. Decided to use more rub and a little apple juice for moisture when I pull it. Drippings did not pass the taste test--too much fat, and not enough juice IMO. After removing the fat, there was not enough anyway.

 

[okie]

Pulled great, No pics, sorry. Separated into 3 portions for 3 families. Thanks for all the encouragement. Sorry for no pics after pulling but tasted great. Sammies coming tomorrow.

 

[okie]

Follow up. Again apologies for not showing the meat pulled. Report from two branches of family (both BBQ experts) was that it was great in both texture and flavor. So will quit here. Will do better follow up next time. Sure is an easy way to prepare pork shoulder.

 

[C. Keeper]

Samples can replace pics.