First, I get the Costco pork butts, because they already have the bone removed, giving more surface area for adding rub. And I remove the fat cap.
The idea that fat bastes the meat and that the bones improve the flavor are old myths passed down from generation to generation.
If you know, you know. Except when you don't! In this article, we're going to do away with 41 common, but wrong, BBQ myths. It's a fun ride!
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See # 15 and #16. Remove those, give you more surface area for adding rub. Heck, nothing wrong with cutting the butt in half. Allows more rub to be added for increased bark, more surface area to get deep smoke rings, and cooks quicker. Just gotta watch the internal temp.
My preferred method :
Trim up how you want, inject the night before. Add thin layer of mustard, and liberally apply rub.
Recipe here:
https://sharemycook.com/Recipe/Details/c7498481-9af7-4282-b95d-01562d524650
If you put the butts on cold from the fridge , it'll take on more smoke ring.
Note a few things:
1.) smoke rings =/= smoke flavor. Smoke rings will only grow up to 170f, so increasing your surface area with smaller and longer pieces, and starting with cold meat, is the best ways to increase your smoke rings. However, it'll continue taking in smoke flavor the entire time it's on, even if it's not building any more ring.
2.) smoke is not always good. In certain amounts, it's great. Too much smoke, with too heavily flavored smokes, can make the meat bitter. Different methods of cooking can get get different amounts of smoke. Heck, if you do it the first time, and find it too smokey, you can always go part of the time next time in the Smoker, and finish in the oven. After you've got the amount of smoke you want, the butt doesn't care if you finish in an electric oven or over a wooden pit, in fact, the controlled nature of the electric oven is a bonus.
3.) mind the stall. When you get to a certain time, you'll hit a plateau where the temp stays at for hours. Don't freak out, you didn't do anything wrong, the moisture is just evaporating at the same rate that the meat is getting heated, so you got a kinda swamp cooler effect. It'll pass.
