bone in or out

[moses]

what do you guys prefer for a pork butt. bone in or out? doing my first pork butt this weekend and trying to figure out the best way to do it! after i smoke it for 4hours im gonna put it in the oven at 205. should i put apple juice or beer in the bottom of the pan or not? cover in tin foil or not? upper portion BUTT or lower portion PICNIC? to my surprise i found out that pork butt is not a pigs butt!!! lol

to make it easy

1. bone or not?
2. juice beer or nothing?
3.covered or not?
4.Butt, or Picnic

[IKnowWood]

I can't help with the Oven piece, I keep it in the Smoker for the entire cook with my Temp Controller.

But as for BUTT or Picnic, go BUTT.  The Picnic does not taste as good.  I made that mistake on one of my early smokes, it if not as good.  Noticeably so.  Not to mention there is more bone in it and therefore less product in the end.

As for Bone-in or out.  After a few Bone in, I decided Bone out is more consistent and allows me to manipulate the butt more to fit better.  And cooks faster.  from a 2 hr per pound to 1.5 hr per pound.  With the bone there is also some discoloration with the meat near the bone in the final product many times.  At a good butcher they will Bone it for me, at Food-lion I will Bone it myself (just need to watch for my blood, I do cut myself from time to time).

[FLBentRider]

Bone in = less processing

I figure the less it gets handled the better. It's going to fall apart when I'm done cooking it anyway. The bone does not get in my way, and in some regards you could call it a "heat antenna" for conducting heat into the interior of the roast.

Got to be the butt of the shoulder, not the shank (picinic or ham) - boston butt unless you are in Boston  ???

[Up In Smoke]

moses,
i like boneless, personal preference.
can't help on the oven either because it stays in the smoker for the whole cook.
(pid here also) as far as liquid goes you could always inject.
and i don't wrap untill FTC time.

[Smokin Soon]

The one time I decided to remove the bone on a pork shoulder, I had to tie it back together with butcher twine. The results were no differant than the ones with the bone. I just leave it in now.

[Gizmo]

1. bone or not?
2. juice beer or nothing?
3.covered or not?
4.Butt, or Picnic

1. bone or not?  Either, I think the bone in may be a bit tastier and juicier
2. juice beer or nothing?  Juice or Beer or Jack Daniels, you only need a small amout to provide some moisture until the fat starts to render out.
3.covered or not? Yes covered at least that is what I do.
4.Butt, or Picnic   Butt is my choice.

[Habanero Smoker]

I agree with Giz that leaving the bone in improve the flavor of the meat, though it will take longer to finish.

Picnics are good if they are done right, and have a different flavor than the butt. I only take picnics up to 165°F for slicing, going higher then that makes them too dry for me, as they don't have as much connective tissue.

[Caneyscud]

1. bone or not?  To each his own - no "right" answer, you are weighing convenience and time against possibly a little more flavor. 

2. juice beer or nothing?  A little of some fluid is needed, just not a fan of apple.  Usually some Dale's or Moore's or some L&P.  For something a little different butter or margarine. 

3.covered or not?  covered definitely.  The theory is for the steam to surround the meat and cook it through and not dry it out.   Kinda tough on the bark, but you can rejuvenate it with a little time on the grill or uncovered in the oven.

4.Butt, or Picnic  Even though I do many more butts for convenience, I personally like picnics - lots of the now gone Q places around here used them.  There are some real nugget treasures to be found and I like the texture and flavor of the shank-type meat.  Had some shanks at a Persian Restaurant yesterday at lunch!  Yummm

[KyNola]

Moses,
Bone in or out, no preference for me.  Whatever is available.  I finish mine in the oven all the time and I differ with the other guys answer.  After smoking, I place mine on a roasting rack and place it in a roasting pan uncovered and with no liquid of any kind and inot the oven it goes.  I simply don't find it necessary to juice and cover.  Mine still comes out plenty moist and juicy and has a really nice bark on it.

So the moral of the story is, there's just not a bad way to finish a butt.  Enjoy my friend.  BTW, loved that Red Sea thing Moses! ;)

KyNola 

[Caneyscud]

Moses,
...... BTW, loved that Red Sea thing Moses! ;)

KyNola 

Yeh, but he should've thought twice before hitting that rock with the staff!!!

Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Pontificator Extraordinaire'

[Tenpoint5]

Myself I prefer bone in.

Caneyscud I'm not a fan of apple either but I do use apple/Raspberry. Really good flavor.

I finish in the Bradley so no further help here

[Caneyscud]

Funny you mentioned that 10.5,  I saw some Apple/cherry in the refrigerator at work today, and was wondering if cherry would be good.  Bought the cherry pucks.  hmmm Ribs or some of those small buttettes, smoked with the cherry pucks, and then finished off with some cherry juice!  Oh and just remembered the only bottle of anything in the house is a bottle of Calvados, that I haven't been able to give away or find a use for.  I wonder!!!


Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Pontificator Extraordinaire'

[Tenpoint5]

Funny you mentioned that 10.5,  I saw some Apple/cherry in the refrigerator at work today, and was wondering if cherry would be good.  Bought the cherry pucks.  hmmm Ribs or some of those small buttettes, smoked with the cherry pucks, and then finished off with some cherry juice!  Oh and just remembered the only bottle of anything in the house is a bottle of Calvados, that I haven't been able to give away or find a use for.  I wonder!!!


Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Pontificator Extraordinaire'

Your gonna have to give it a whirl and let us know how it turns out. Apple/Cherry does sound interesting though. I could try some of the kids "Bubblegum Juice" (Apple/Strawberry/Banana) but to many flavors and I don't want my meat to taste like bubblegum.