Got a Boston Pork Butt, help me out here please.

[betarhoalphadelta]

You gotta go fat cap down, otherwise you risk hot side aeration!

 

[Jaybird]

You gotta go fat cap down, otherwise you risk hot side aeration!

Baaahhhaaaaa! I almost spit out my coffee!

Thanks for that this morning!

Cheers
Jay

 

[MagooBrew]

I have made competition award winning pulled pork with a very simple method. Cook at 215-220 with 50/50 hickory and apple. Slather entire butt with mustard and then apply whatever rub you use. Cook to internal temp of 190. Remove from smoker and immediatley wrap in foil. Place butt in a small cooler or wrap with blankets or towels. Let set for at least one hour before unwrapping. Pull and serve. I have tried various injections and methods but this will win them over.

 

[fadedgiant04]

i usually go 240-260 for 5 hours in the smoker with applewood chips, and a water dish for humidity, then throw it in the oven at 240 till 190 internal temp. then let it rest for 3-4 hours, then pull it.

the oven switch is great for big butts, i cannot lie.

 

[passedpawn]

the oven switch is great for big butts, i cannot lie.

Why?

 

[fadedgiant04]

For 10lbs or more it is a pain and expensive to control charcoal for 16 hours. I usually start around 5pm then throw them in the oven at 10 pm, then go to bed.


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[fadedgiant04]

my usual rub and injection.


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[Jaybird]

Beans are on and were rocken......
and I though I needed patience for beer brewing and wine making! THIS IS KILLING ME!!! I want to look I want to look soooooo BAD!!! BUT looken aint cooken SOOOOO I dont! Maybe just a peek for a picture...LOL

Cheers
Jay

 

[bob1852]

For 10lbs or more it is a pain and expensive to control charcoal for 16 hours. I usually start around 5pm then throw them in the oven at 10 pm, then go to bed.


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That's why I cut the big ones into chunks. Quicker cooking and MOAR bark!!

 

[fadedgiant04]

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[DrunkleJon]

is that... Cheese on top of the butt?

 

[fadedgiant04]

That's the fat cap I trim off while smoking and throw it back on in the oven. It kinda bastes it while being cooked.

 

[bettyford]

I have made competition award winning pulled pork with a very simple method. Cook at 215-220 with 50/50 hickory and apple. Slather entire butt with mustard and then apply whatever rub you use. Cook to internal temp of 190. Remove from smoker and immediatley wrap in foil. Place butt in a small cooler or wrap with blankets or towels. Let set for at least one hour before unwrapping. Pull and serve. I have tried various injections and methods but this will win them over.

Oh yes ! Mustard is very good on pork . I smoke mine with apple wood also and sometimes a mixture of apple and cherry . I usually put in just a little hickory at first . Mostly ribs so I use the 3-2-1 method . then like you I wrap it and let it sit .

 

[mjpeisher]

to anyone interested - I would seriously check out Amazing Ribs. It is a great resource for all things grill related. Has articles on the science of the stall, recipes, equipment reviews, etc...

Really good stuff.

I have a Traeger pellet smoker. When I am doing pork butts, I rinse them the night before, rub them with an extra light virgin olive oil, and rub them down with Memphis dust. If I am going pulled pork for dinner, I will put it on early morning of (like 4 AM), if I am aiming for a lunch, or mid afternoon feeding time, I will put it on the night before. I find that 1.5 hours per pound at 225 is a good planning estimate, and I always plan a 2 hour gap between finish cooking and serving. Pork butt is done between 195 and 205, as that is when the collagen has liquefied, giving maximum tenderness. I do not wrap in foil while it is on the grill (this is the texas crutch method, which is a really good method, I just generally have more time and don't want the hassle of it), however, once it reaches temp, I will pull it off the grill, wrap in foil, and in a big beach towel, and place inside a cooler to have it stay warm until time to pull it apart and serve.

Slow and low is key.

 

[mjpeisher]

Post removed - duplicate. No clue why.

 

[Jaybird]

A tale of the BUTT. It was 7:30 AM yesterday morning and I was slapping a big ol' BUTT in the smoker. Fast forward 11 1/2 HOURS later. This BUTT was still at 190* F and my guests were getting hungry. I had to pull it. I had already raised the temp to 275* I was using 2 thermometers in the smoker so I think I was accurate there. I was able to hold the temp in the smoker at 225-235... Next everyone kept telling me about the bone. This didn't have a bone in it. I bought it at my local meat market..... Boston Pork Butt is what he pulled from behind the counter. It was tied with butcher string. What gives? What would make this take 11 1/2 hours and still not be hitting 195* .

I will say though, the pork was amazing! I will do this again in a heartbeat!

Thanks for all the help along the way!

Happy Memorial Day!

Jay

 

[mjpeisher]

I am guessing your pork butt was somewhere around 12-14 pounds, boneless. The bone-in pork butts cook differently, the bone heats up hotter than the meat, which is why they say don't let your thermometer touch them, as it makes them inaccurate, so you are "kinda" cooking from both the outside (using the heat in the smoker) and the inside (heat radiating off the bone). With a boneless, the bone isn't "helping" you cook at all.

You underestimated the time needed to cook, that is all. If the size you cooked is close to my guess, 16 hours would have been my estimate. Always remember, you can let the meat sit, wrapped tightly in foil and a towel in a cooler, for multiple hours until time to serve, but it is really hard to speed up cooking. Next time, start the meat at midnight, and let it go. Pull it when done, and hold it until serving time. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[Jaybird]

Thats the funny thing about this, the Butt was only 6.5-7 pounds. Next time I will account for a little more time and kick the heat just a tad. Maybe 5 deg.

The smoke flavor was outstanding! I thought I had Hickory on hand and didn't so this was all Apple!

The beans WOWED the crowed! Thanks for the advise there guys.

Cheers
Jay

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Thats the funny thing about this, the Butt was only 6.5-7 pounds. Next time I will account for a little more time and kick the heat just a tad. Maybe 5 deg.

I'm routinely approaching 2 hour/lb cook times on my rig. I'm not entirely sure why my cooks take longer than other folks, but they do.

Maybe yours are the same?

 

[dfess1]

sounds like you really had a picnic cut, which suck. They take a lot longer to cook, as you found out. Next time, just make sure it's got the blade in it. As stated already, it heats up and helps cook from the inside out.

 

[mjpeisher]

I would first start by questioning your temps. What kind of thermostats are you using? Where are they located? If you don't have a decent digital thermometer, and are instead using a bimetallic gauge, then you are plus/minus 50 degrees at best.

Second, different animals and grades of meat are different, which is why you can't cook to time, only to temp.

Just my 2 cents.


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[mjpeisher]

sounds like you really had a picnic cut, which suck. They take a lot longer to cook, as you found out. Next time, just make sure it's got the blade in it. As stated already, it heats up and helps cook from the inside out.

I get them boneless all the time with no problem. But again, I have a super nice digital thermometer, so I know what my targets are. Just what I can get local. Go go gadget Costco.


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[DrunkleJon]

Mine take forever too. Costco sells them boneless near me and i use them. I did have the same problem as you, pulled early and it was good. I went longer the next time and it was better. I went longer still the next time, still hadn't hit temp so threw it in a Pyrex dish covered in foil and threw in a 230 degree oven where it started increasing in temp. Ended up close to 200 and tender and amazing. If you stall too long crutch it. True the bark will soften but the extra few degrees do make all the difference.

 

[lolznrofls]

I wrap mine at the stall usually..then once I get the temp just right I preheat my oven and just shut it off at 220 then set the meat in there over night ..I wake up the next morning and I can shred the pork with two forks..that's after about 14 hours in the smoker the day before...if you want a nice bark do not wrap at the stall and just let r rip..then pull it off the heat at your desired internal temp.

 

[lolznrofls]

Update..I didnt have to wrap mine at the stall..it just powered right through it..I pulled my pork butt off the smoker at 190 and it literally fell apart..made awsome pulled pork

 

[Rockn_M]

Update..I didnt have to wrap mine at the stall..it just powered right through it..I pulled my pork butt off the smoker at 190 and it literally fell apart..made awsome pulled pork

Yum!


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[troy2000]

Update..I didnt have to wrap mine at the stall..it just powered right through it..I pulled my pork butt off the smoker at 190 and it literally fell apart..made awsome pulled pork

I like stories with a happy ending....

 

[Jaybird]

Update..I didnt have to wrap mine at the stall..it just powered right through it..I pulled my pork butt off the smoker at 190 and it literally fell apart..made awsome pulled pork

I sure do love to see a plan come together!

Cheers
Jay