Danny has been making bbq for a couple of decades in his own
restaurant. He shared a lot of his knowledge with others.


Danny Gaulden-- On smoking a pork butt:
Pork butts are wonderful cuts of meat to barbecue, and one of my
favorites. As so many on the list have said, "they are very
forgiving", and a great choice of meat for a novice at barbecue to
start with. Why? Mainly because of the fat marbling they have, plus
just plain great flavor. If you under cook one just a bit, it may be
a little tough, but still eatable; if you over Q it, it will still be
pretty darn good, and most likely still be moist. Not so with a
brisket. Under cooked, it is tough as alligator hide, over cooked it
is dry, crumbly, and tasteless. So a butt is a great piece of meat to
barbecue in a larger cut. Plus it's not very expensive.

Choosing a butt is not that difficult. Most come in the 6 to 9 lb.
range. I like 'em about 7 lbs. or so. A nice fat cap of about 1/4 to
1/3 inch is good, and try to pick one with some marbling in the meat
itself. Sometimes butts can be too fat, so be careful. You want a fat
cap and marbling, but not too much.

I like to start it out the same as a brisket. Generously apply a rub
on it, wrap in clear wrap, place in refrigerator overnight, and
barbecue it the next day. Set the butt out of refrigerator about 30
minutes before putting it in the smoker, while your building the fire
in your pit. Re-work the rub into butt while waiting for fire to get
up to temperature. If you don't want to use any additional seasonings
at this point, fine. Most do, some don't.

When the smoker temperature reaches about 210 to 225F, place the butt
in pit fat side up and smoke until extremely fork tender. Putting it
fat side up lets the natural fat juices work over and through the meat
and acts as a natural mop. I like to smoke at 210 to 22F constantly.
This generally takes about 70 minutes a pound, or 8 1/2 to 9 hours for
a 7 1/2 pound butt. When "extremely fork tender", pull out of the pit
and let it cool for 30 minutes or so. The temperature of the butt
when you take it out of the pit after it is done will be between 175
and 180F. Then pull, or slice, and serve. DO NOT fork butt in the
fat area to check for doneness. This will be misleading, for the fat
will become tender way before the meat (muscle) around the bone area.
Always check for doneness in the meat area under or around the bone.
If you are not going to eat it within the first hour after barbecuing,
double wrap it in foil, set in non-drafty area, or small ice chest (no
ice in chest), and let sit until it's time for dinner. As long as the
butt stays between 140 to 160F internally, it will not spoil. Check
with a meat thermometer every once in awhile, or stick thermometer
into meat after wrapping in foil so that you can periodically monitor
the internal temperature.

Sometimes I like to apply a finishing glaze on the butt as soon as it
comes off the pit. It is the same one I use on my ribs, and has
become very popular with many folks on the list. It consist of
approximately 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup yellow mustard, and 1/4 to
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar: Mix all ingredients together, then heat
in a sauce pan until simmering, and let it set till pork is ready to
baste. As soon as the butt is off pit, baste it once. then let it
stand a couple of minutes, and baste again. Then either let the pork
set a few minutes before preparing it for the table (you don't want to
cut it while it is too hot, for it will be difficult to handle, and
turn brown), or store as stated above.

Smoking times will vary depending on how accurate a fire tender you
are, how often you open your pit to take a peek, and the natural
tenderness of the meat in the raw state. These times are just general
guidelines and will most likely vary every time you barbecue.



Danny Gaulden on Smoking a Brisket

The first thing one needs to know is how to pick out a good brisket.
For home smoking, one in the 8 to 10 pound range works well, and
doesn't take as long to barbecue as an 11 to 12 pounder. Look for a
brisket that has about 1/4 to 1/3 inch of fat across the top. This is
generally called the "fat cap" by most BBQ folks. Don't buy a
pre-trimmed piece, for it will not cook as tender, and will be dry.
With the brisket lying down and the fat side up, try to pick one that
is thick all the way across the flat. This can be hard to do
sometimes, for most are thick on side, and taper down to become fairly
thin on the other side. Try to find one that has a more rounded
point, rather than a pointed point. Briskets with rounded points tend
to be more meaty in this area. Briskets come in two grades, "choice or
select". Choice grading cost just a few cents per pound more than
select, and generally have more marbling. Either will do well, but
choice is usually a little better.

After you have chosen your brisket, generously apply a good rub on it,
wrap it in clear wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
This will allow the seasoning to work its way into the meat a bit.

The next day, as you are building your fire, bring meat out of
refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. You
do not HAVE to apply a second fancy rub at this point. If you don't
have one, just use a little salt, pepper, and powdered garlic. You
don't have to use any kind of a rub if that is your desire, but I
prefer to use one.

After your fire has settled down to around 220-225F, put brisket in
pit, fat side up. Smoke it the entire time this way--fat side up.
This allows the fat to penetrate in, over, and around the cooking
meat. If you smoke it fat side down, the juice from the fat simply
falls into the pit, serving no purpose. What a loss! When brisket
becomes fork tender in the flat, take it off the pit, let cool for
about 30 minutes, then slice and serve. Always check brisket for
doneness in the FLAT, not the point. The point will generally become
tender before the flat, and can deceive you. Continue to cook until
the flat is tender. If you're not ready to eat it soon, double wrap
in foil, and set in a non-drafty place or small ice chest (no ice)
until you are ready to serve it. Don't leave it for too many hours,
or you can risk food poisoning. As long as the internal temperature of
the meat stays between 140 to 160 degrees, it is safe.

How many hours does one smoke a brisket? This argument will go on
till the end of time, and is hard to answer, for there are so many
variables. Two people that think they smoked their briskets exactly
the same will most likely come out with two totally different
finishing times. I like to smoke mine for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours per
pound. That would put me at about 10 to 12 1/2 hours for a 10 lb.
brisket. No longer. I peg 225F as constantly as possible. Sure one
will have some temperature ups and downs, but I keep it at that
temperature fairly well. I don't go off and forget about the fire and
I don't open my pit every 10 minutes to "take a peek". I choose a
good piece of meat. All these things make a difference in how long
the process will actually take. Another thing to take into
consideration is the quality of the meat. All briskets are tough, but
some are tougher than others. This will have an effect on the overall
smoking time also. I have made a few boo-boos in my many years of
smoking briskets, but not many. Ninety nine times out of a hundred,
they are tender, juicy, smoky, and a piece of meat I am proud to serve
to friends and customers.