Question about smoking a Boston Butt

[bauer]

If you're marinading meat with an acidic liquid, 30 minutes maximum, then cook.

Agreed, I use a brine when cooking large chunks of pork, whatever cut they may be. Next time, I might just use the hard cider idea and just replace the water and brown sugar with the cider.

[rwg3]

The comments on cider being to acidic are spot on. However a short brining of the meat in a basic salt/sugar/water brine with a touch of cider probably wouldn't hurt. If you want to apple flavor use a spray bottle with a mix of cider and soy sauce and spray the meat when you put it on and again every 45 min. or so. the spray bottle has become my newest can't do without tool on the smoker.

[ddstuder]

Not sure about the cider, but I cooked a pork loin once that stuffed with Pineapple and then stuffed the loin in the pineapple shell.

Looked real nice, but the meat turned out to be the consistency of pate. Did not taste too good.

I assumed it was the acid in the pineapple that caused the muscle tissue to break down.

If you go to a La Michoachana or La Azteca & get your pre-marinaded fajita meat, it is soaked using some canned pineapple juice in a blue can & some dry powder sprinkled over it. This meat is incredibly tender once cooked, yet very much not pate like. Some of my most favorite meat to cook! All the hard work is done, add heat, bam, done. I don't eat fajitas out anymore because of it. For $25 at the meat market, I can feed 6-8 for the cost of a dinner for two . . . and it be better! ;) (yes, that's typical with any grocery situation, but . . .)

I agree! La Michoachana has the best marinated fajita meat! I think that beef is more resilient to the marinade than pork!

OK Here is my Pig-Apple experiment!


Like I said, it was beautiful, but did not taste very good! This was my biggest culinary mistake in years!

[RoyGBiv]

[ Image ]

That looks awesome.!
Less time in contact with the pineapple next time?
or maybe pick one... stuffed or cooked in the skin and serve the pineapple on the side or make a compote?

With cooking, nothing ventured, nothing gained is a good rule... "A" for effort on this one.

[ddstuder]

[ Image ]

That looks awesome.!
Less time in contact with the pineapple next time?
or maybe pick one... stuffed or cooked in the skin and serve the pineapple on the side or make a compote?

With cooking, nothing ventured, nothing gained is a good rule... "A" for effort on this one.

My thoughts exactly! I decided next time not to stuff it with the pineapple. Cook the loin most of the way through and then stuff it in the pineapple shell for the last 30 min. Mainly for presentation!
I also like the idea ofcompote on the side.

[SwimFan85]

"I smoked his butt" means "I fired him" in constructioneese. (An obscure English Dialect spoken mostly by Carpenters, Electricians, and Plumbers)

That's funny. I was thinking about Dallas 50 years ago.