Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Dry Rub Aged and Double Smoked Boston Butt

Contrary to popular belief, a Boston Butt is not a part of the animal's behind at all, it is simply the upper portion of the front shoulder.  It is popularized commonly as a Southern American staple for making pulled pork sandwiches and barbecue.  I have enjoyed this cut many times over through my kitchen, as well as many family members' kitchens and grills.  I took a different approach to this protein this time and was amazingly gratified by the effort.  I pierced the fatty side  many times and  rubbed the butt (lol ) with a VERY liberal helping of garlic salt, about 6 oz. for the 8 1/2 lb. portion, pressing what I could into the incisions as I went.   I then placed it in the lowest portion of the fridge uncovered, for around 36 hours to cure and dry brine before grilling.  After the dry brine, I rinsed the meat thouroughly under cold water and patted it dry.  I then rubbed the protein with canola oil and placed it on the grill.  I actually used a metal tray filled with prepped and ready to cook charcoal and placed it in the bottom of my smoker to achieve the smokiness for the first part.
 As the day passed, I realized the evening was upon me and I had to get my girls ready for their wind-down, i.e. dinner, baths etc.. so I removed the meat from the grill and wrapped it in heavy duty foil and placed it in the fridge, to begin again during more reasonable hours.
 My brother and his family were in for the Easter and Spring break so the whole gang was tuckered out and ready for a rejuvenating dose of shuteye, myself included.  My day normally starts around 4:50 a,m daily, so I could really get a jump on my dish, ensuring it would be ready for an early dinner around 5 p.m, when all 9 total of our kids together could partake.  I tasted a piece of the meat and noticed that it was still very highly seasoned even after the rinse, so I countered the saltiness  with a brown sugar and spice based rub for the second part of smoking.
I added some hickory chips to my smoker, as well as a veggie laden ( onion, garlic, celery, plus rendered bacon fat) water bath and readied the B.B. for tastebud transgression.  To the brown sugar rub, I added a chili powder, poultry seasoning, LOTS of paprika,garlic and onion powders, cumin, and a bit of Badia complete seasoning, which is chock full of dehydrated veggies!  I placed the protein on the smoker and let it go for 7 more hours, low and slow!  The kids were on the patio and playing in the yard.  They noticed me checking the water bath levels and curiosity struck.  They then noticed the smell.  Upon request, I tore forkfuls at a time off the bottom, hot off the grill samples for the kids, they loved it.  I later sliced the whole B.B and plated it up, some plain and some slathered in bbq sauce with white bread.  The smoke went all the way to the bone, and my nephew Donovan said with his amazingly thick New York accent, "It was delicious", Enough said!
I fiddled around with flavor and texture combinations and paired the B.B with some yellow rice, quick pickled red onion and Sriracha on a warmed corn tortilla, YUM!