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[Michael_NW]

I had posted my results of wrapping pork butt in foil vs. butcher paper back in December in order to refine my method. I just wasn't happy with the results prior to that, and while that cook was by far the best pulled pork I had done, there was still room for improvement especially in the bark dept.. So I changed up my pit temp variables, today, and tried it again. The results were awesome, my wife loves the pork, and I'm glad to finally have found a method that appears to be fool-proof (cuz I can be a fool, at times).   

Here's what I did:

• Dry brined two 9 lb pork butts 48 hours prior to cook
• Applied dry rub (mine was an altered Memphis Dust) 24 hours prior to cook
• The morning of the cook I applied a thin coat of maple syrup with another light coat of rub
• The meat went on the smoker at 6:00 am at 225; when they hit an IT of 160 I wrapped one butt in foil and the other in butcher paper, raised pit to 275; this was at 2:00 pm
• The meat came off the smoker when they probed tender at ~203 IT, rested in an unheated oven for an hour, then pulled

This is the foil butt - lots of juice, tastes wonderful
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This is the bp butt - lots of juice and flavor, more bark
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Both side by side, foil on the left. You can see the bp pork is darker due to more bark.
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So, it's butcher paper for me and I'm sold on this method. Even though I had used maple syrup for the rub glue I couldn't taste it in the final product so I probably won't do that again. Others with a more sensitive palate might be able to taste it, but not me; I can't tell any difference between different pellet flavors, either. I pulled the butts using tongs - they were soooo tender. After pulling both butts I poured the juices into a fat separator and poured the meat juice back over the meat, though it wasn't necessary from a moisture standpoint it did add quite a bit of flavor.

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[Craig in Indy]

Looks and sounds fantastic. I may have to get me some butcher paper.

[Kristin Meredith]

Very nice experiment. I love when folks do stuff like this and then share results.  Thanks.  And your pork looks great

[triplebq]

Yum

[cookingjnj]

Great looking PP.  Thanks for sharing.  Butcher paper it is for my next PP cook. 

[Canadian John]

 Excellent post Michael. Good description, start to finish.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I will need to use that butchers paper that I bought next time.  Any particular reason why you let the fat separate from your juices and didn't include it in the mix?

[DMAXNAZ]

Great comparison.

[Michael_NW]

I will need to use that butchers paper that I bought next time.  Any particular reason why you let the fat separate from your juices and didn't include it in the mix?

None other than I thought there was already plenty of fat and flavor in the pork. Really. When I pulled it with the tongs it almost sounded mushy. After I had added the juice back in to both pulled butts I could see the liquid in the bottom of the pans; that had never happened with my pulled pork cooks before this. My wife raved about the taste - end of discussion!

What was surprising was how well the butcher paper held in the liquid; it was trickier to pour off due to the less stiff nature of the paper, but there was no less liquid in the bp than the foil.

[Canadian John]

 Shouldn't a great post like this be in the recipe section under pork?   It would make it easier to locate later, especially for someone not too familiar with the site.

[Michael_NW]

If Kristen or Bentley want to move it they can. I meant it as the end to an experiment regarding foil vs butcher paper and trying to find the balance between temp-time-bark, so it's not so much a how-to as it is a look-what-happened.    But you're right - I suppose it would make a decent place for someone to start if they are new to pellet cooking or are trying to nail down their method like I was.

[Kristin Meredith]

It would be good to have in the recipe section now that it has spent a few days in general, so I will move to make sure it is always easy to find.

[lamrith]

Nicely done!

I "foil" mine in a foil lasagna pan with apple juice, but I might try that way soon now that I have butcher paper.

I agree with you on the binder.  I have never used any "binder" on anything I put dry rub on.  Never found a need.  Put the rub on a few hours before cook and then into fridge to keep cold, the natural juices from the meat will do the binding for you.

Thanks for sharing!

[Bentley]

Very nice color.

[Bar-B-Lew]

What was surprising was how well the butcher paper held in the liquid; it was trickier to pour off due to the less stiff nature of the paper, but there was no less liquid in the bp than the foil.

That is why I put the foiled butt in a pan after I pull it off the grill.  I just remove the foil and the juices fall in the pan.  I then pull right in the pan with the juices and mix everything together after throwing a little more rub in with the pulled meat before mixing.  I am too lazy to wait to separate fat and reincorporate.