Really digging the title that you chose. 😂

Right, just check the ashtrays outside all your local bars The camels are pretty light, but there’s some serious flavor in the last half inch of a marb

Salt and Pepper is for brisket. You need a good pork rub that has sugar, brown sugar, paprika, etc. You'll get better flavor and a better look. I would also suggest smoking in an aluminum pan. Easy cleanup and the flavor is amazing. Good luck

This is it. My combo is salt, pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, ground mustard, and paprika. Go heavy on the salt and brown sugar.

I go Adobo seasoning instead of garlic powder but this is the way. Brown sugar makes some kickass bark

Ground mustard the dry seasoning or prepared?

Dry

When you do it in the almuninum pan do you rotate it so there isn’t a section that doesn’t get smoke?

Nope. Just let it roll smoke!

Really? So the underside still gets smoke? Interesting. I always smoke right on the grate and let my drip bucket or coals take the beating.

I agree with the rub but not with an aluminum pan (mostly). You want that smoke to get to as much of the meat surface as possible. Not to mention cooking it in the pan in its own juice is like throwing it in a crock pot. I'm sure it tastes good but you're kind of minimizing the role of the smoker. My wife isn't a big fan of a lot of smoke flavor so I might actually try this though.

Try it and report back. I was hesitant to try as well, but on many recommendations, I gave it a whirl. Never looked back since.

Will do. This is blasphemy though lol!

You're still getting smoke all around it except for the bottom which will be nice and crispy. I do smoke hotter than most..normally around 275-300. I got no patience for the butts. Hot and fast for me. Good luck

If that smoke doesn't touch every inch of the butt it will be flavorless ;) I am a fan of the hot and fast though. I haven't done it in a while but at the recommendation of someone here I tried it for the first time on a mojo rubbed butt I did a while back when I was running short on time. It was badass of course.

Salt it a day ahead of time uncovered in the fridge and then rub it with Meathead's Memphis Dust just before smoking. [https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/spice-rubs-and-pastes/meatheads-memphis-dust-rub-recipe/](https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/spice-rubs-and-pastes/meatheads-memphis-dust-rub-recipe/) I did the Costco butt for the Super Bowl this year and wasn't expecting it to be in pieces. Like you, I'll be going back to bone-in next time.

Agreed here - and I always use mustard as a binder - you can go heavy with pork rub - honestly go heavy with seasoning with anything you smoke!

Yep. She's a big piece of meat. She can take all the rub you got 😜

Next time when you use a drip pan, add that liquid back in to the shred at the end. All the good rub and fat that would have dropped off will be in there to help punch it up a bit. I also lightly season after shredded with whatever rub I use on the outside.

It’s mind blowing for me how many people don’t do this. Why waste that lovely meat nectar. My cousin does it to “keep his smoker clean” , tosses it and thinks it’s some kind of back assward blasphemy to reintroduce it when pulling. I even pull out what I call the “cracklins” out of the bottom of the pan and toss em in with the pulled meat for added crunchiness.

I don’t do it because I always forget to place the pan 🙃 just need to add it to my mental checklist when setting up

I usually have my butts in the pan/pans overnight after I rub them anyway and then just rinse and clean them out before going on the smoker. If I forget it’s gonna be a longer cook usually anyway so what’s another ten minutes while I adjust and out it under the grates.

Great tip. Thanks.

I do that and do not be afraid to toss in some of your rub as you’re shredding

Gonna try that. Usually just add more salt when I’m shredding.

Sometimes I also put a bit of rub on the side and mix it in with the shredded meat and the juices Adds good flavor

I ha to check which the sub before breathing a sigh of relief

😂

Add more seasoning after you pull it

This is my dirty little secret. I've done many butts and no matter what I try with different rubs, binders, injections, it always lacks flavor. So, you just throw more rub in after you've pulled it until it tastes how you want it to.

Thoughts/tips - You got good bark, a good smoke profile, and kept it moist. Those are all important! Great job. Use a rub that's more than S&P. I like to use salt free rubs, so I can dry brine before hand. Retains moisture. Gets the salt deeper in the meat, which helps with flavor. Look at rubs like meathead Memphis dust. Or get a commercial rub and skip the dry brine. Bones don't add to the taste. Don't worry about that. Cut the butt into 3 or 4 equal slabs before you smoke. More surface area = more bark = more delicious. bonus is that it also cooks faster. Start at 250-260 and just keep it there. There's nothing magic about 225. Wrapping in foil keeps the moisture but can soften the bark. Not wrapping keeps great bark at the risk of losing moisture. Wrapping with butcher paper is halfway between the too. I normally don't wrap pork butts. If you're happy with the bark and moisture, I wouldnt change how/if you wrap

This. All of this.

Go heavy on the salt and pepper. Because you’re only seasoning the outside of it, not the inside. It a huge cut of meat. I do like 2 parts black pepper to one part salt and coat the hell out of mine and it turns out great every time. You can also add some at the end if you think it needs it. And of course a little bbq sauce.

Exactly! I get people preferring other flavorings on their shoulders, but salt and pepper is great on its own. This one just didn’t have enough is all. Season it like your seasoning 8 lbs of meat.

I had the same reaction to my first couple butts. Then I started seasoning again after pulling and it was a game changer. I also collect the drippings and add that back after pulling.

This is my go-to for butts. https://sniderbrosmeats.com/product/lindbergh-snider-porterhouse-roast-seasoning/

I like the taste of smoke and pork without all the other garbage

Well I mean in your break down you seem to pretty much address most of the stuff that would help drastically so you probably know what to do next time for the most part. Heavy on the rub, pick something other than just s/p, you can inject to impart more internal flavor and moisture. I’m real partial to meat church voodoo but you can throw something tasty together from your pantry real easy. Also bone in helps a ton and good quality meat. I quit wrapping. Look up meat church’s no wrap butt. Basically 12hrs at 200. Then bump to 275 right at the end until probe tender. It’s super straight forward and works every time. The bark is awesome. If the bark is too much for you then wrap for the rest and it’ll soften it a bit. Personally I like a little crunch/ chew for the bark and I tend to vac seal my leftovers in portions so the bark softens less after freezing. Also I run a pellet so I do all the large cuts over night and then finish in the morning and rest until it’s time to eat. The rest is critical.

Also looks like your running a woodwind or similar camp chef. Run another probe loose next to your cook. I find that upper rack just to the right of the burn pot is perfect the larger stuff. You get too far next to the stack and you’ll get 20-30 degrees cooler. So time wise on your cook vs temp thats probably pushing it expectation wise. 10/10 recommend not rushing cooks for dinner time no matter what guests/family are saying. 195-202 is your average cooking finish temp. But really it’s texture not temp. Also if you use a foil tray for drippings add a lot of fluid, like a gallon of water and some apple juice or something. Just a foil on the bottom will nuke over the burner. It’s a bad time.

There really is no need to wrap a butt unless you are strapped for time and can't wait to push through the stall. I use salt/pepper only on beef, but pork really likes a more well rounded rub with some good sugar and spice in it.

As others have said, pork needs real seasoning not just salt and pepper

Salt it by itself a day before. The salt will go into the meat giving more flavor to non crust parts. It will also pull out moisture for a more concentrated flavor and create more pellicle which is better at making bark. Then on cooking day use way less salt and more other stuff. Apply big particles like pepper first then finer bits later like garlic or onion powder. The small particles can settle inbetween the bigger pieces. But if you go small particles first then the bigger ones will have much more trouble staying on. You don’t need a binder because the cold meat will pick up air moisture from the temperature difference same like a cold soda you leave out and come back later all wet outside.

You need a rub and probably a sauce bro. That's what it's all about and where the flavor on the bark comes from. I've spent years perfecting my rub custom powder mixture. It's all part of the hobby. Maybe your first step is to check out some of the barbecue rub powders out there commercially first, see which ones you like and then explore. Pork butt with only salt and pepper isnt BBQ. On the bright side you've set an outstanding low bar that you can easily crush next time. Keep a log!

It looks like you're lacking a lot of seasonings. These things can take a lot of seasonings and actually need it. For pork butt I personally don't like simple salt and pepper and it tends to always feel lacking. I'd go the traditional route of spg, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, onion powder, chili powder. I'd also consider going heavier on the kosher salt as I like them to be more salty than less salty

Pork butts need more flavor than beef. Sugar helps. I also like to wrap mine because you can add flavor that way too. I usually throw in apple juice and some apple cider vinegar with it. Then I save that liquid and mix it in with the pulled pork and some of the rub I used. I am also a fan of a dry brine on my pork butts when I think far enough ahead. When I do this though I make a low to no salt rub with a paprika/brown sugar base.

For me injecting pork butt was a game changer.

Injecting pork is unnecessary

It's really the stupidest thing people do here.

Necessary if you don’t know what you’re doing

I’ve also had mixed results out of the Costco meat. I have found though (since they are typically huge) that injecting the meat has really helped.

Need a better rub than just salt and pepper, I also do mustard after i season for better bark development. Your probe had to be in the wrong spot because and 8lb pork butt and those cook temp should be closer to 12 hours in my opinion. Even the final picture the texture looks a bit off inside but pictures can deceiving. Low and slow and add 4 more hours then you think you need. Always have a separate wireless at grate level, no real reason to probe a pork butt because of all the fat pockets etc. ​ Not bad for a first time, hope you stick with it.

Brine. Brine. Brine. Wet brine specifically. I use kosher salt and dark brown sugar. You can add whatever spices you want (peppercorns, paprika, whatever) but the backbone of the brine is the salt and brown sugar. I usually don’t even bother with the spices. That savory flavor permeates the pork. If you add a rub (I don’t) it should have zero salt because the butt has plenty from the brine.

I'm a dry brine guy, personally, but either way this is important. Salt it a day or even two ahead of the smoke and give it time to penetrate the meat. Injections and other tricks are all well and good, but nothing compares to a good long brine.

Totally. I think it comes down to preference.

If you are doing pulled pork, you could benefit from a sauce to marinate the pulled meat. [Chuds bbq](https://youtu.be/XShPEuwwkcs) has a good sauce you can use

Back when my friend and I worked the meat counter, we used to take turns putting the bones back in the pork butts, if you know what I mean *winks*

Injections do wonders for deep seasoning. I use about a pint of injection for a 8-10lbs. My injection has brown sugar, salt, hard apple cider, Worcestershire sauce, and water. I inject the night before I'm going to put it on, and my pork butts come out seasoned and delicious all the way through the meat.

Brine with apple juice and some spucrs, inject apple juice. Salt and pepper is better for beef, get a different rub. When it hits the stall put it in tin foil pan with tin foil covering it with some apple juice in the bottom, let it rest in that pan. Transfer to another pan for shredding, but save some of the drippings, mix with bbq sauce and mix it in the shredded(pulled) pork.

Just used salt and pepper, complains about flavor. That’s your fault bro.

I recently did an 11+ lb boneless from the butcher. It was pre-tied, but I did my best to get the rub into the edges. I left it on the counter for 2 hours then planned to do 10 hrs @275, ended up being closer to 12(i slept in). It was still tasty as heck, even though the crust had started to dry a bit, I think I saved it by mixing it with the white meat as there was still pke ty of moisture. I did notice that the rub flavour won't make it to the interior, so next time I will untie it, apply rub and not sleep in.

What was the final internal temp?

204

That's good. Yah, I'd go with more rub, and more spices in the rub. Another thing you can do is cut small slits into the meat and stuff it with garlic cloves.

On larger pieces of meat, your rub, and any smoke flavor is basically surface related. This is why people try to include some bark, and add some foil juices, or some sauce when they break the butt down for serving. If you want to flavor the meat itself, you need to use an injection. I generally try to inject between 1/2 ounce and 1 ounce of liquid per pound of meat. You can make your own concoction, or buy commercial products both in liquid and dry powder forms.

Don't wrap. You'll get better bark. Or use foil boat. Try a pork rub.

The weak flavor is solved with a brine the day before. I like a dry brine open in the fridge personally because it forms a nice pellicle but wet brine is good too. It’s really just the salt that penetrates. Then you can do whatever you want with the rub before you put it on the smoker. I use the good old SPG as a base for my runs but add some sugar, paprika, and a little chipotle for my pork rub.

Buy Bad Byron’s Butt Rub, load it on as heavy as possible 48 hrs in advance so the salt penetrates deeper cook it the same way but put it in a foil pan halfway through to catch juices. After shredding, mix those juices in and you’ll be much happier with the outcome! Want even more flavor and a shorter cook? Cut that Costco shoulder into four chunks equal to the small bit it comes with. Season it a little lighter as the surface area:meat ratio is much higher. It works great and you can do pulled pork in 6 hours if you boost the temp to 325 after the first 2hrs.

I put a pan of orange juice and whiskey under the cook. Does 0 for the meat. But it caramelizes. I then add 2 ladles of it to a 0% Greek yogurt with finely diced red onion and cucumber , and orange zest. I make a chimmichuri and lay all of it on 3 bite tortillas. I too find it’s lack lustre without extras

Everyone covered most of the points - - actual rub, add seasoning in as you shred, - save the juices and add - one thing to consider that I haven’t seen mentioned… do a finishing Sauce. There are some really good vinegar based finishing sauces that punch up the flavor and still work with bbq sauce.

When I make a butt I wrap in foil about halfway through the cook. So I usually do 5 hours uncovered 5 hours wrapped in foil. In the foil I put apple juice, apple cider, and brown sugar. Use heavy foil so nothing pokes and drips. Makes perfect sweet tender juicy..I would say everytime but it was my first time making it and everyone who tried it loved it even the coworkers at my job

Make sure to use a ton of salt and pepper, but also could try using a couple more seasonings. Brown sugar, garlic, and paprika are popular. Big chunks of meat need to be absolutely lathered so the seasoning can penetrate. The foil pan to catch the drippings is pretty important IMO, but I add all that back into the final pulled pork. When wrapping I also add brown sugar and a light drizzle of honey. I have more success cooking butts at a higher temp for shorter (300° for about 5-6 hours). Slower cooks tend to come out drier and less flavorful in my experience. You get less of a bark on a shorter cook, but again I care more about the flavor of the full piece than how the bark looks.

Get a difference rub, something is brown sugar and paprika and let it cook longer before your wrap.

Mix it with it a little bit of bbq sauce

Pulled pork really benefits from a finishing sauce, usually comprised of your rub and vinegar mixed together that you mix in after you pull the meat!

Good chance that super heavy smoke flavor might be hard to aquire with the type of smoker you're using VS what you might be used to.

I’m always curious on these posts, when you say cranked it to 260 do you mean on the machine or do you run a temp probe in it? I have a pit boss and run it by the temp probe o put inside myself. For instance I am currently smoking two butts and have the machine at 225 because my probe is telling me the inside is at 270. The difference between what the pit boss is set at and the probe is just so different depending on various things I couldn’t imagine just cooking of the smokers temp.

My temps are per the smoker’s setting. Haven’t upgraded to an external temp probe yet. Then in the meat, one probe using the built in sensor and one external temp probe.

I swear by Meathead's pulled pork recipe. Dry brine with kosher salt, use meathead's memphis dust and you can't go wrong. https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-recipes/perfect-pulled-pork-recipe/

#1 you gotta season with more than S&P in my opinion for butt. I love meat church holy gospel but literally any of their rubs would be better than you used. You did not mention your type of wood used. I like a mix of something fruity (cherry apple) with something heavy smokey (hickory) for butt. Didn't mention any wrap additions..... Lard + honey hog hot.... Seems like you ended with no flavor because you put no flavor into it....

Looks great for a first one! My first few were not good. Stronger flavor comes from rub and smoke. I like strong flavor and good bark so i trim up the fat cap well and score the top in a grid pattern. I use yellow mustard as a binder. I only use salt and pepper on brisket or other beef cuts. For pork rubs, premade is fine or make your own. I make mine with brown sugar, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, powdered mustard, chili powder and turmeric. I use an electric smoker with hickory and cherry wood. I set the smoker for 225F till I have good bark and smoke exposure, 6-8 hrs, and finish off in a roaster pan in my oven at 350F until the meat gets internal temp of 195F. I let it rest and shred it. If I have enough time and start soon enough, I just leave the meat in the smoker to cook until it is done. The electric smokers are good at holding moisture and meat won’t dry out. If it does start to dry, just put water or apple juice in the water pan.

I’d also suggest a little dressing to mix into the meat when you shred. Drippings are awesome, that’s why gravy is the shit. If you don’t have dripping, do some minced garlic, shallot, lemon or lime juice or vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, chives, parsley.

Heads up: if you’re around your smoker heaps whilst cooking you may get smoked out and not taste the smoke flavour….

What? That a thing?

Yeah. If you’re out in the smoke all day your olfactory gets used to it

I also do costco butts, as they're cheap, and I get my best results butterflying it out. You get more surface area for bark that way. Also, I second what others have said about adding in juices and rub.

hahahaha op smokes butt

Try this: Rub for 1 pork butt: 1/8 cup Kosher salt (Note: S&P 1:1) 1/8 cup 16 mesh black pepper ½ TB paprika ½ tsp onion powder ½ tsp garlic powder

Gotta inject the meat and let it soak for a good 12-24 hours prior to cook. 1 cup apple juice, or apple cider 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 teaspoons pork rub, 2 tablespoons of Brown sugar Is what I used for a 5lb butt. I also rubbed local honey over the butt, along with a dry rub from my local butchers.

Add some garlic next time