Admittedly, I fall into the category of Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Undoubtedly, there is another category called Monkey Do, so other Monkeys can See.

Certainly, my friends Taylor and Emery fall into the latter category, because what I am about to write next wouldn’t be possible if they hadn’t shown me how to do.

And, I suppose what I am about to write about could also be skewered into the minimalist category, by those not of that category.

Put it where you want.  I don’t care.  I know what I’m doing makes me happy.  That’s enough.

*****

I started yesterday morning. 

I scraped all the dried mud off the floor of the garage and swept it out.

Next, I got my faithful, basic green weber grill that I bought at Home Depot several years ago.

(Even though I have a nice, fairly state of the art Treager pellet grill sitting right beside it)

I cleaned all the ash out, and, following Taylor’s instructions from a while back, I started laying in the charcoal briquettes, one at a time, in a single row around the edge until I got back to the start.  I left a six-inch gap between the start and end.

A second line of briquettes followed, right up against the first line.

And then, a third line, against the second.

On top of the three across snake, I started a fourth row, spanning the first two briquettes.

Lastly, a fifth row on top, against the previous fourth row. 

I sprinkled apple wood chips over the entire snake. 

*****

This morning, I sprayed lighter fluid on the first 8 briquettes and lit them.

I got the pie pan I always use cleaned up and nestled just inside the ring. 

I heated water to boiling while I started trimming the Boston butts.

My fingers found the seam that Emery told me about one day.  I never knew it was there. 

I sliced down with the seam and pulled at all the ‘garnuckle’ as Emery calls it, while using my knife to pare it away from the meat it clung to. 

Next, I flipped the butt over, and sliced almost all of the backfat off, because, as he says, most of that stuff is still there when you are completely done with your meat anyway.

I liberally covered both butts with seasonings, patting it into all the surface areas, including down into the seam that I cut the garnuckle out of.

I filled the pie pan with boiling water, and placed the butts above it on the meat rack.

*****

I got the meat on at 10 this morning.  A little later than normal, but a certain cinnamon roll needed special time and attention, amidst other things.

I will make repeated and many trips out to my grill today, insuring that the ambient temperature inside the grill doesn’t exceed 240, rather hoping to hold it around the 225 mark.

In six or seven hours, when the internal meat temperature reaches 160 (an Emery suggestion), I’ll pull the meat off and wrap it tightly in tin foil. 

I’ll put it in the oven and set that temperature at 225, carefully monitoring the internal temperature until it reaches 205 degrees.

If I hear any crackling or boiling sounds from the tin foil, I’ll reduce my temperature immediately.

Once it hits 205, I’ll pull it out and let it sit for an hour or two, before opening the packets.

If it’s like other times, it will be so tender I won’t be able to lift it out of the foil in one piece.  It will fall apart while I transfer it.

Since I cut out all the garnuckle this morning, there will be very little waste this evening, and most of the fat that is left will have vaporized into the meat, allowing me to squeeze it with my fingers to break it apart. 

I’ll weigh it, and put it into vacuum seal bags in 1-pound amounts.  These bags will go into the freezer and later, they can be thawed and put into a pan of water in an oven that is heated to 245 and then served.

My personal favorite is toasting the buns and making up some Carolina sauce.  This pairs very well, (in my opinion) with Swiss cheese and the meat.

If you are interested in trying this, I highly recommend splurging a bit of your hard earned (or easy, depending on which type of monkey you are) money on a temperature device that has several probes and remote access.