On Mar 21, 7:27 pm, "Nunya Bidnits" > wrote:

>but lately he has been brining some of them. I think it makes them
> too salty, with a hammy flavor. Nothing wrong with ham, but its not the same
> as bbq butt. Same thing with baby back ribs. I prefer the spares because
> they don't take on that hammy flavor, although unlike with the butts, I
> really cannot put my finger on why I get that hammy flavor in the loin
> backs.

I had some pork butt that had been brined and I think they must have
put some Tender Quick or something similar in it. It was nasty. I
felt like I was eating a very poor ham with too much smoke. I didn't
like it one bit. With the other crap he put in the brine, it also
kind of tasted of hot dogs. I may have just been so turned off that I
imagined it, but it had that hard cardboard garlic taste that you get
from old powdered garlic.

Odd though, I love to smoke a cured ham, over red oak. I like the
texture and the taste a lot, and for holidays (like this last
Christmas) it was a real crowd pleaser to put one on the table.

Robert