To inject or not to inject

[Duke]

I am doing my first butt this weekend, some smokers say they inject there butt and some have told me they have stopped injecting and go natural with just the rub.

What is the consensus here about this subject?

Using MAK2

Thanks

Duke

 

[squirtthecat]

Give it a try if you like. I usually just rub them and let the smoke roll..

 

[Big Poppa]

I cook them differently that Squirt and he is famous for his butt (s) hahahaha

I have evolved my cooking to foiling at 145-150 with a little liquid....I love Andys (HoDeDo here) Smoke on wheels marinade...you can inject that also.....I inject sometimes using Chris Lillys basic injection but have found that you can inject it with about anything...beer with spices ....anything..

I find that foiling it early gives me an acceptable cooking time short stall and way more tender meat.

 

[TentHunter]

...I find that foiling it early gives me an acceptable cooking time short stall and way more tender meat.

Same here. I like the shortened cook times and the fuel cost savings that go along with it. Plus the juices created by foiling explode with flavor and can be added back into the pulled pork.

Just thinking about it makes me want to do some pulled pork this weekend.

 

[Duke]

Please explain this cooking process or where I can look up and follow the instructions for cooking, (foiling at 145-150 with a little liquid method).

Thanks in advanced.

Duke

 

[smokerjoe]

I used Kosmo's Q injection last time and it turned out pretty good, maybe a bit more moist than without.

 

[Big Poppa]

I dont use the dry injections that you add water to I use pretty natural ingredients....Duke foiling is just that when it hits about 145 double foil it with about a third cup of your favorite liquid

 

[Duke]

BP, do you pull the meat out of the smoker or is it left in the smoker after the IT hits 145?

And thanks for everybody's input.

Duke

 

[Chili Head]

You want to leave it in the smoker until an IT of 195 - 200ish.


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[Big Poppa]

thanks chili then you want to take the wrapped butt and wrap it in a beach towel and put it in a cooler for a few hours to rest...when you see 'ftc' that means Foil Towel and cooler

 

[Duke]

My try at cooking my first butt, turned out OK, not bad and not fantastic, just OK.

I did not take any pictures.

Here is a list of what I think I did wrong.

I set my MAK2 to 180 degrees.

Foiled at 140 IT, this took 7 hours.

I increased the MAK2 to 220 degrees and when the IT just hit at 190 then pulled off MAK2.

Cooked for 10 hours.

Pulled off MAK2 and let set for 1 hour in towel.

The meat was purchased at Publix market, not the best meat, I will go to a meat market for my next purchase for a better quality of meat.

The butt did not shred as easily as I thought it should.

So in summary it was OK for my first try, I guess I need to work on my technic.

Any input I would appreciate.

Thanks

Duke

 

[Rip]

A couple of observations, once you foil, no real reason I can to think of not to cook hotter than 220. I would start probing at 190 and pull when there's little resistance to probing, should feel like butter. This often happens at a higher IT than 190. When you wrap in a towel, to help hold heat, place in a cooler too.

 

[FLBentRider]

I concur with what Rip said, in addition:

Did you probe in more that one place? If you hit a fat pocket, the temp will read higher that the lean.

Definitely at least 195F, the probe feel is the key though.

 

[sparky]

i don't inject anymore. glue then rub.

 

[Big Poppa]

You just pulled it from the cooker too soon. Let it go to at least 195-200 depending o. The probe pressure