Brining a pork butt

[Kilted_Griller]

Hello All! Has anyone here ever brined a pork shoulder?

The XC and I are planning on low and slowing a 7lb pork shoulder tomorrow. After we spent last night reading many threads and learning some excellent tips and tricks (Buckie, OTP, Marty...you guys are pure genius  ), we decided we are going with the 2-1 snake method for the first time. Our issue in the past is we have been impatient. We here in the KG Clan are instant gratification kind of folks!  The one question we do have is about brining or injecting. We always brine our chickens and turkeys and the pork shoulders we have done in the past we have given them a dry rub and let them sit overnight. We are looking to step our game a touch and need some help from our WKC brethren.

Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated!!!

Slainte!

The XC and KG

[1buckie]

If you're impatient, start it tonite & eat it for breakfast.....that's what I do......

[ccoiv]

I cook mine like you described with hickory. Before I cook tho I like to inject mine with equal parts apple cider vinegar and my favorite bbq sauce (sweet baby rats chipotle). Dry rub it. Cook to 175 internal then wrap. This is the method I have done for the last 2 I have done and 2 days later all left overs are gone.

[1buckie]

I know what you're thinking.....that Silly Sumbitch is no help at all.......

You can brine if you want, personally I think PB has enough going for it already to not have to do that, but you could add a flavoring that way......
Some folks tastes run such that the interior seems a little bland....three ways to go about a remedy....inject, it's OK, but a lot of that kinda cooks out, brine & flavor will be spread thru better.....or just cook it & splash the finished pull with warmed sauce of your choice, thinned out a bit............... 
As far as the impatientence thing, please cook it all the way thru to probe tender............you will be so happy you did......

[Kilted_Griller]

I know what you're thinking.....that Silly Sumbitch is no help at all.......

Actually the XC and I were sitting here laughing so hard we are crying at your post about Bruno whizzing on the charcoal! That is good stuff right there!!

Thanks for the advice, Weber Ninja!

[1buckie]

He's getting a little better about it, but I still catch him nosing around & checking out newly accquired grills, the box pallet where I keep the lump & the odd bag of Kingsford from time to time

PS: Are youi doing drip beans?
Prime opportunity !!!!

[Kilted_Griller]

He's getting a little better about it, but I still catch him nosing around & checking out newly accquired grills, the box pallet where I keep the lump & the odd bag of Kingsford from time to time

PS: Are youi doing drip beans?
Prime opportunity !!!!

Indeed! Drip beans are on the menu.

[Chasing_smoke]

KG I'm the same way and hate waiting. But the cook is the most fun for me and keeps the instant gratification at bay for awhile anyway.

I would plan a lunch to cook during the day to help keep busy. Besides with two grills going your only six away from being in buckie status!

I usually just rub them down and let the smoke so the rest. A brine seems like a great idea and you have the time to do it. I don't think it would hurt, your just adding more flavor into the mix.


"my kettle is more powerful it will do almost anything."

[Fo Sizzle My Nizzle]

As far as the impatientence thing, please cook it all the way thru to probe tender............you will be so happy you did......

+1

[MacEggs]

This may come as a surprise to some ... but, I'm with Ken (1buckie) on the "no need to brine" camp. (not his exact words)

You spend enough time waiting for the butt to cook and reach it's desired IT.
But, before all that, you want to spend the time preparing a brine ...
and, then wait for the brine to do what you hope it will do before the butt is even placed into the cooker. 

If you are into "instant gratification", then, I recommend just rubbing it a few hours, or the night before.
Onto the cooker ....... The waiting is the hardest part (Tom Petty line).

Some quality BBQ sauce or mustard sauce to complement the PP, and you're a happy clan. 

I understand that everyone has tastes, wants, desires, etc. YMMV (Your Method May Vary). 

[1911Ron]

The way we do it is to inject with AJ,vinegar,siracha,sugar and some liquid smoke.  We will rub it and inject it the night before and take it out before firing the smoker up.  Once the bark is set i wrap it with foil and wait till it probes tender, i let it rest with the foil open some to let it cool and then shred, some do not wrap i have not tried that but plan to.

Me personaly would not brine a pork butt but i am not by any means an expert.

[landgraftj]

Buckie and Kilt - how do you go about the drip beans? Recipe perhaps? Length of time to cook em? Thanks in advance.

Kilt - I've always done butts without brine. Inject sometimes, others not so much. Taste was slightly better with the injection, but as buckie said it mostly runs out during cooks it seems. I've never wrapped any either and they come out great.

[1buckie]

 
Terry  .......here's a response to Ligrill when they wanted to try the drip beans.....tells most all of what I'll do for that setup ~~~>

it just kinda depends on what's on hand at the time.............

lately, it's been canned pintos, a lesser amount of canned baby blacks, a good size shake of granulated garlic ( this is always added, just provides a good pivot point to any other flavorings....granulated, 'cause is "blooms" or puffs up a bit & makes the flavor more prominent) I like a goodly amount of the colored, or sweeter bell peppers....you can use green, I don't, they give me heartburn.........sweet white onion, chopped about the size of the beans (peppers same ) & a BIG dollop of HONEY..........you can variously add bits of leftover meat.....pork, ham, pre-cooked bacon bits (I try to keep pork with pork & not mix beef with pork)
The canned beans I'll rinse the juice / sauce from the can back out, unless it's Bush's original or one of their flavored ones......those make a good fix leaving the canned sauce in.....if you do use those, just be prepared to mix then ladle out some of the finished sauce or they'll be too soupy.....

Here's one that shows kinda the proportions ~~~>

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/nothing-new-just-some-pork-beans/msg26001/#msg26001

No salt / pepper added, as there's enough extra flavor coming from the rub in the drip to not really be concerned about a lot of extra seasoning.....although you can add spices if you want them more "kicked up"cayenne, etc.........

Have fun adjusting to your own personal tastes, also....some people add celery, mushrooms, other different kinds of vegetable stuff....and if  you have any pulled pork left over, it freezes REALLY well & you can add that into the next batch of beans !!!


PS: There's addt'l. info IN the link to the cook........

[Kilted_Griller]

Terry, Buckie is the man for the beans. That is the recipe he gave me and they are stellar!!!

[landgraftj]

Thanks guys, I'll have to try them out next pork butt cook.