POrk Butt Marinade

[Eapples]

Hello, Everyone:

Still cutting my eye teeth with grilling and barbecuing.  My question has to do with pork butt marinade.

Without getting into an animated discussion regarding to marinate or not to marinate, I'm using Myron Mixon's marinade recipe -- 3 cups apple juice; 1 cup distilled white vinegar; 3/4 cup sugar; 3/4 cup kosher salt.

I'm thinking of the following substitutes:  apple cider instead of apple juice; apple cider vinegar instead of distilled white vinegar; only 1/2 cup kosher salt, since the rub contains salt.

Except for the salt part, do you think the substitutes I'm suggesting would enhance the flavor, or should I just let it go and stick with Myron's recipe?

Also, I'm thinking that it's better to try out a "different" recipe before doing anything for a large group, and I'll be doing my first large group cook this weekend.

As always, thanks for your input.

[jimmy_dong]

A recipe is only a base to build off of. I usually try a new recipe straight up before fiddlin with it. Other times, it is a free for all.

Your subs will work and bring a little more oomph.

Are you injecting or soaking?

[1buckie]

 Without having the book in front of me to actually see what's going on....this APPEARS to be a brine mix:

"Myron Mixon's marinade recipe -- 3 cups apple juice; 1 cup distilled white vinegar; 3/4 cup sugar; 3/4 cup kosher salt."

 in which case it's designed to work chemically a certain way.........equal Kosher salt / sugar draws the flavoring all thru the piece, so it would be a good idea to not vary.....
 Also, if you do this do not sub regular salt for Kosher as the different grain size doesn't translate straight across....i.e. 1 cup of one does not equal one of the other......

Myron also pumps whole hog full of 5 gallons of apple juice or something, so he''s aiming for a sweet, with slightly tart aftertaste pork........that is what you'd most likely get from a mix like that brined say, for 8 ~ 12 hours (?)
The vinegar will do more toward tenderizing than actual taste, I believe............

The above will be generally true, if it's supposed to soak, submerged for a length of time....below is some experimenting I did with injections:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/re-print-ok-what's-in-kettle-3/msg35831/#msg35831

see at the end for mixes; the rubs were dissolved in the juices, then shot all thru the pieces......sorta changes things, but not a huge difference as injections tend to "migrate" either toward the heat of the outer edge of the piece or toward the center by the bone.......it still works decent, as it's all pulled & mixed in together at the end & the flavoring mixes up......

A brine like what that looks like will work thru the whole piece better anyway so try it out if you'd like....

Personal opinion is just rub the outside  of a decent size (8~10#) butt & let the fat render correctly & have it taste like the porky goodness it is........

 Have sauces to add if people would like......this is a great one from MacEggs buddy Roxy up north:

Mustard Vinegar Sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Yellow mustard
1/4 cup onion finely minced
2 cloves garlic pureed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Combine ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For a smoother sauce, blend on high for a few minutes.


 I bid you a great cookup !!!!!

[Eapples]

Can you IMAGINE what it would be like if all of us were neighbors?  Man, we'd be fatter than I-don't-know-what, and we'd be barbecuing up a storm almost EVERY day!  Talk about heaven on earth...

Anyway, thanks, everyone, for your input.  I think I'm going to try tweaking it just a leetle bit.

[1buckie]

 So how'd it go out there in sunny Florida ?

                          Hope you had a great gathering !!!!!

[Eapples]

Buckie:  Our gathering is scheduled for this coming weekend, 3/15.  If everyone shows, we'll have 15 people (adults) and a few kids.  Our plan is two pork butts, around 5-6 pounds each, using Myron's marinade and his pork rub, which we like.

I ran into a problem the last time I did a pork butt, and it was my own fault.  I started the cook at around 10am, that is, loading the charcoal, heating up the smoker, and so on, thinking it would be done by 5pm...WRONG!  I let it go to almost 7pm, or a total of 8 hours total time on the smoker, and the internal temp just reached 177 degrees.

This time around, I'm getting up EARLY, probably around 4am, to start the cook at 5am.  I'm thinking around 10 hours or so, which would put us at 3pm, which is perfect.  The soiree should start at around 5pm.

Guests are bringing the sides and dessert.  I've got the meat and the beer.

This is my first cook for a large crowd, at least, large for me.  I'm a little nervous about it.  I told the invitees that whoever has the last car parked in the driveway will have to do a food run if this doesn't work.

I'll be keeping notes.  I'll post pics and details on Sunday or Monday following.

[jimmy_dong]

give a little more room for the resting period. If you remember it.

Are you using 2 different kettles or?

dont get wound up about a large crowd. It will work. Butts are fairly forgiving.

You can always go the sliced route also, if time gets away from you.

[1buckie]

 Good Deal......I just thought you were jumping right in !!!


I concur with Mr. Dong......start off a little earlier & maybe get some of the setup ready the night before.......

As you've done a few if these, the stuff is getting familar & will take less time............done a lot & I can have two 10#'s up & running in about 20 minutes......lite chimney, scatter two kettles w/ snakes, crown & rub, on.......it gets easier & smoother each time you cook !!!

At 177f you were started up out of the stall & maybe 2 hours away from time to rest; if they're about the same size, temp etc., basically add 3-1/2 ~ 4 hours (  includes resting! ) to approximate from that last cook..........

It's still a good idea to be ahead of schedule on this kind of thing............and you can always get it running & go back to sleep for awhile !!!!!

Don't fret about a crowd.....you''ll  knock 'em over with the goods !!!!!!

[Johnpv]

I'm going to second Buckie here and say that getting prepared the night before is a great idea.   Specially for something with a long cook like pork butts.  I'll usually get my charcoal snake and wood set up in the kettle, get the water pain in there and get my temp probes set up and ready to go.  Get the charcoal that is going to start it off into a chimney, and basically have everything ready to go.  Come morning I get the start coals going, throw some hot water into the water pan and once it's at temp start cooking.

[1buckie]

 Yes, it does help doing that stuff, eh John?

Only thing I won't usually do is apply rub as it can start changing the moisture in the piece & also create a 'hammy' taste in P. Butts..............some people will do it the nite before, but I almost always see that they apply a second layer before it goes on......

[Eapples]

EVERYONE:

I just shared with my wife all the things you were telling me, AND SHE AGREES!  So, prep the night before it is.

I'll be using my WSM.  I'll get the coal basket set up with the coals, wood chunks, and leaving a dimple in the middle for the starter coals.  I already have fresh batteries in the ET-732, and I have another food temp unit to use for the second butt, but I'll be relying on the 732 as a proxy.

Thanks again, everyone, for the advice and encouragement.

As Brother Cephas, my sophomore high school biology teacher, used to say, "Onward, and ever upward."

[1buckie]

 Yes, good deal......saves time in the "dark hours" of early morning......one thing I forget, being here in CA, is if there's a lot of moisture in the air there is to maybe cover your pre-set coals with a plastic sheet ( garbage bag works) overnite so they don't get damp.....if that's the case.......


Mmmmmmm...Smoked Pork.....Mmmmmmm........

[Johnpv]

 Yes, it does help doing that stuff, eh John?

Only thing I won't usually do is apply rub as it can start changing the moisture in the piece & also create a 'hammy' taste in P. Butts..............some people will do it the nite before, but I almost always see that they apply a second layer before it goes on......

Saves so much time!  Specially if you're doing it in a kettle, and need to set up a snake.  Totally agree too on waiting to apply the rub.  My usual procedure is to get the starter coals to getting hot, and while they do that I'm applying rub to the pork butt.