@Jonathon Jonathon, the only bad thing I can say is that many of those great, overlooked, & extremely tasty cuts that used to be very cheap, throw away prices, are now rather expensive as folks & especially restaurants have figured out how great they taste!

@sstory ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY!

@sstory That looks good
I have been waiting now for some beef ribs to go on sale so I can smoke a bunch of them & then make broth out of the bones & make some middle of the Winter beef stew or beef & vegetable soup. I just finished two weeks or so of boiling the bones from the smoked turkeys & hams from Thanksgiving & Christmas to make Turkey noodle soup & Ham Bean Soup. That butt really looks good after a few weeks of eating soup.

@jonathon I will definitely keep you in mind & you just never know where i could end up. But, mostly these days it ends up in the south east, but sometimes I get a surprise & if I get one you way, I will remember you. $16.99 & $24.99??? This stuff is good, but someone is making too much profit.

@austin Smoke it Baby, Smoke it!

@jonathon OK, I will buy all that! Buffalo Rock is really, really, really good if you like it & it is far better than any of the other allegedly real good ones. However, $16.99 a 12 pack? I don’t think so! We pay $3.49 a 12 pack & some times less than that if it is on sale. I would have a real hard time paying that kind of money for it. Something just does not sound right there! I wish you were a little closer or I had a building to inspect in your neck of the woods as I would bring you some.

@jonathon Black Bull, the name makes it sound like it would be a winner. Yes, I have done the injecting as well. I forgot about that. I thought the overall flavor was a little better with the brine, then a pat down, & the dry rub to finish it off.
The Alabama trick. Well, more like the Dave trick, but definitely from Alabama. Occasionally I will add a can of Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale to my brine or injection liquid. Buffalo Rock, to my knowledge only available in Alabama. It is some real serious stuff No liquor though, but serious stuff. Just about like what Coke used to be. You either like this stuff o you don’t. We like it. We have let some folks try it & they definitely did not like it. I have never found an in between. I have never found a Ginger Ale quite like it in all my travels either. A few have been close, maybe, but not there. I few folks thought that some particular variety might be similar, but them having not tried both the Buffalo Rock & their brand, there is no comparison. How they got the name Buffalo Rock in Alabama. either I don’t remember or never learned. It seems to me that it might have been some sort of Texas thing, probably because I am thinking of Buffalo Gap, Texas. But, the fact of the matter is it apparently started over 150 years ago, but in Alabama. Good stuff!

I have brined the butts before smoking them & they are nice, especially when I had that little Alabama trick to the brine. On the other hand, I have just smoked them straight up too, with a dry rub only & was just as satisfied. The brined may have been a bit moister, but the straight up had that candy like taste on the outer edges. Has anyone else tried brining the butt & what are your thoughts on each method?

@jonathon Jonathon, Thank you! Can you tell me exactly what the California Seasoning does for the ham, as noted in your ham curing suggestions? What sort of flavor does it have? Would that help when working with a particularly large ham to enhance the flavor & perhaps eliminate some of the “porkiness”? I may want to try that in the future. I am wide open to any ideas, thoughts, tips, or suggestions you may have. Dave

@jonathon Jonathon, PS: I saved your calculations since mine were off just slightly & not surprisingly, so next time I will use yours head on.