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Preparation

Butts need very little preparation. Trim off any skin and excess fat and reduce any layer of fat to no more than 1/4" thick. Record the weight of each and identify them accordingly. The smaller butts will cook quicker and if over cooked will be worthless for competition. You should, of course, use rubber gloves when handling the meat and make certain that knives, cutting boards and other utensils are thoroughly washed with soap in hot water.

Seasoning

This area has plenty of room for controversy. To rub or not to rub. To inject or not. It might come as surprise, but, unless you really botch it up to the point that you offend some judges palate, it won't make much difference. Seasonings on the surface simply will not penetrate far into the butt and injecting is really a waste of effort. To be effective, seasoning has to be injected in many, many sites in small amounts rather than substantial quantities in a few locations. Then at least 90% of any liquids will, hopefully, run out. I say, hopefully, because if a judge gets a bite of that concentrated flavor it may be too much for his taste and you immediately lose. Personally, I like to rub the surface well with a basting sauce containing some oil, let it dry and do it again before putting the meat on the grill. The main concern is to keep the surface from drying before the center reaches the proper temperature.

Cooking the Meat

Needless to say, you are going to need sufficient hot coals to maintain the temperature in your grill at between 200 and 225° for 12- 15 hours. So the grill/pit should have been full stoked and allowed to reach the proper temperature before putting the meat on. Throttle down the air intake — LEAVE THE EXHAUST FULLY OPEN — to maintain the desired temperature at the meat level. Temperature readings above the meat are meaningless. If cooking with wood, start a fire in your pre- burn pit now. If using charcoal briquettes, you can wait until about 20 minutes before you need them to light the up. If using lump charcoal, no pre-burn is needed for flavor purposes, but unless you do, the temperature inside the firebox will drop when you add the lumps because it has to absorb BTU's in order to ignite.

For wood selection, read "Burning Wood & Blowing Smoke" in "According to Smoky" on the website or turn to page 306 in "The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual" for a fuller exposition. Personally, oak is the favorite with a little hickory, but most hardwoods will work well. The main concern is not to over smoke.

I am of the basting persuasion. I believe that it keeps the exterior moist which aids in the transfer of heat to the center. (Read "Heat" in "According to Smoky" or the chapter on heat in the book.) Moist matter is much more effective in transferring heat than dry matter, so the longer that you can keep the exterior moist, the better it will transfer heat to center.

After about 4 hours, usually after 2-3, the meat will not absorb any more desirable smoke flavor, but offensive creosote may be deposited on the surface if too much smoke is present. So, you get no benefit and some danger in producing smoke after 2-3 hours.

Monitor the ambient temperature at the meat and the internal temperature of the meat. I find the thermometers with digital read- out and remote probes essential. You should record these temperatures at least every 30 minutes. As you build a history, you can predict more accurately when your meat will be at its optimum for presentation. It is important to record the ambient temperature, moisture and wind conditions, because these can have a dramatic effect on cooking times.

Depending upon all the related temperatures, the butts should be done in around 12 hours. After 10 hours, begin to pay close attention. When the meat begins to draw away from the bone it is approaching ready. When the bone can be easily pulled, it is done.

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