Like dark butts, or how dark should bark be?

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brownkw

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
31
Location
Charlotte, NC
I've perused around the boards here as well as some other forums, and I've noticed that the bark on butts is not as dark as mine. What I did with the last butt I did in the Bandera was inject it, slather it with a honey/mustard mix, and generously rub it with a rub consisting of brown and white sugar, pepper, pepper, and various other spices about an hour before going in the smoker.

I went hotter and faster that I normally do because of time constraints (between 275 and 300) for about 8 1/2 hours, at which time the bone pulled right out. This was at about the 6 hour mark:

x2_1fb8140


Brought it off the smoker, foiled it and wrapped it in a towel, and put it in a cooler for about 30-45 minutes. When plated, this was the result:

138597139.jpg


That was dinner that evening for my wife, my in-laws, and myself. Naturally, they just absolutely raved about it, with my wife calling it the best pork butt she's ever had. It got rave reviews from co-workers as well. However, in my pursuit of perfection (or validation, whichever you'd like to call it), I want to make sure that I come out with a top-notch product. So I submit it to you, fellow BBQers. Is the bark too dark? Does the butt look like smut? Or does it look alright?

Questions? Comments? Snide remarks? Oh yeah... and there was time to snap a photo of said butt in sandwich form later...

x2_209f23c
 
Looks good enough to eat and I'd say if it tastes good and all your guests and your wife are raving about it you have a complete success. I don't think the bark is to dark, most of mine come out black.
 
Thanks for the feedback! I'm my own worst critic and am all the time looking to see if it's actually decent or if people are just BS-ing me.
 
Where's the slaw? Looks good! Looks are not as important when serving wife and family, taste is. The sugar is what makes it dark, and good. So dont worry about anything. Only way to lighten it up some would be to wrap in foil before it gets real dark. If your a non wrapper, keep on keeping on.
 
Looks good to me. Your not using any cheery wood on it are ya? That will turn stuff so black you can make a white mark on it with a piece of charcoal.

bigwheel
 
Mine usually come out looking like a meteorite. I say they're like geodes: they look really ugly until you break them open and look inside. :mrgreen:
 
Looks fine to me. I usually use Suckle Busters Hog Waller or HooChie Mama rubs on the butts and inject them with Kosmo's Q mixed with a fruit juice. They don't come out as dark as yours because I'm not adding a lot of sugar. But it's like what the others have said, it's how it tastes that counts.
 
Looked good in the pic. If it was darker than your usual, maybe the higher temps with the white sugar did you in. That stuff burns at a lower temp than brown or turbinado sugar.
 
I hear all these horror stories of burnt sugar but aint never seen any that I can recall. Think I will intentionally try to burn some one of these days just to see whut it tastes like. I'm getting to the point of thinking it might be some kinda urban legend or something. Now some commercial sauces with a lot of tomato products and high fructose corn syrup can burn real easy.

bigwheel
 

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