To Mop or Not to Mop pork butt

ndfan6464

Well-known member
Active Military
Messages
529
Location
Summerville, SC
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
So I am getting prepped for an up and coming cook for some friends. they requested I do my pulled pork and brisket. Got me thinking about moping my pork butt every hour. But I've never done it that way. I've always cooked all my protein naked as a jail bird..

So let me know what your thoughts are and out comes...
 
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Experimentation is a good thing regardless of the result, you should learn whether or not you benefit from whatever process/procedure. Personally I don't mop or spritz much of anything unless I'm trying to add another flavor profile to the final outcome. And to that end that usually means those added processes come near the end of the cook. Some people have been influenced that spritzing every hour leads to the holy grail because someone with "a reputation" says it must be so. Eh, whatever. Give it a go and see if it works for you. My guess would be that your guests will rave either way, so you'll have to be the final judge.
 
I do experiment quite a bit. Bust mostly with rubs and injections..never really thought about mops.

The thought of opening every hour and introducing a cooler liquid and out door air doesnt seem quite pleasing because of the extended cook time. But maybe I am missing the bees knees by not..lol
 
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I don't recall that I spritz anything, hourly. Depending on my mood or how I feel the exterior texture looks I will sometimes spritz a few times throughout a cook. But that is not to say that doing so is not the best decision.

Good luck on your cook and fellowship with friends!
 
No dog in the fight here. But, the pellet grill loses more temp than my old propane grill when you open the lid, and takes longer to get back up to temp. So, mopping/spritzing often to get the taste you're looking for seems to be a function of time and money.
 
I'd have to agree with you @Hot Rolled. I did try on one of the butts a mop. My thoughts on it, not worth the extra cook time that it caused. It did give it more crispy coating. As far as any extra knock your socks off taste compared to the un mopped butt, nothing worth wild. So from here on out I'll stick to what I normally do and that's just slap some rub on it, toss it on the smoker and let it go.
 
So I am getting prepped for an up and coming cook for some friends. they requested I do my pulled pork and brisket. Got me thinking about moping my pork butt every hour. But I've never done it that way. I've always cooked all my protein naked as a jail bird..

So let me know what your thoughts are and out comes...
Cook two and mop one. Compare the results.
 
I’ve tried mopping/spritzing and I don’t see any real difference. It’s just not worth my time to maybe add something to the meat that is very minor. Maybe if I was competing for 10,000 dollars, but not for my family and friends. I’ve never had a complaint so I put it in and leave it.
 
I have an awesome mop sauce that gives the BBQ flavor I like the most but on the BGE the ceramic holds the heat so you don't really get a swing in temp when you open it. I don't think it would work well on the Stampede.
 

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