Quote:
Originally Posted by mosesbotbol
You can also simmer or pressure cook the butt and then put it on the smoker to finish. Simmer for a 2 hours or so. I am not an expert on pressure cooking, but I think 1.5 hours will suffice then a few hours on the smoker. Both methods will allow the seasoned cooking fluid to get into the meat better than just seasoning the butt (which gets little penetration).
Both methods can be done ahead of time and then put the cooled half-cooked butt on the smoker the next day.
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First off, you never rush BBQ.
Second, you don't need to worry about seasoning all the way through the meat for a pull since you're going to shred it and mix it all up anyway.
If you pressure cook the butt, you might as well just skip the smoker, add some liquid smoke to the pressure cooker "broth" and just go from the pressure cooker to the oven, since the pressure cooker will take the meat temperate up past the point at which the proteins bind so it won't really absorb any smoke flavor. You'll get some residue sitting on the surface but that's about it.
If you want liquid seasoning in the meat, marinade for 24-48 hours. Or get an injector. Or stab it and stuff garlic cloves and dry seasoning into the stab wounds. Just rubbing the meat with seasoning, wrapping tightly in saran wrap and leaving it in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours will also impart flavor into the meat.
If you want to speed up a butt cook, smoke it until it hits anywhere from 140 to 160, double wrap tightly in foil (shiny side IN - be amazed how many people f-that up), then up your smoker temperature to about 245F and let the meat cook until it hits about 200-205F internal. The foil will trap the heat and cause a faster temperature rise, while the trapped juices will braise the meat and break down the connective tissues rather quickly. If you are doing smaller cuts, or lower fat cuts, it will also help reduce the chances of drying out. Overall, I've found it reduces the cooking times by about 15-20% give or take.