I am wanting to smoke a pork butt for my lady's birthday this weekend. There should be maybe 16 people for the party. How much meat should I buy? Will one do it? 2? It's my first butt attempt actually. Last min pointers? I've heard that butts are pretty tough to mess up. Wood selection suggestions?
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Don't worry. The only fear you should have is not cooking it long enough.
Bone-in butts come about 5 or 6 pounds. I'd do 3 of them if I were you.
m3n00b
Well-Known Member
Here's a couple of butts and a brisket I did last week.
I gotta run up to bass pro shops this Friday so I can pick up some pucks for my Bradley smoker. Going to be smoking a 9-10lb pork butt. Haven't smoked since mid summer, so it'll be nice to get it going again.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
I'd go with 13lbs minimum. 225-250. I smoke with oak and apple. I like pecan too, but be careful not to overdo it. Pork is generally very forgiving. Have fun!
I like cherry and maple for pork.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
I prefer mesquite for beef.
For pork I like fruit wood. I haven't picked a favorite, but I think the rub has a greater impact on the flavor in the end than the wood.
Smoke at 225 or so, and let it cook until the inside is well done. Pulling it off too early will not make the best pulled pork. I *think* the finish temp for that is above 160. I want to say to let it run up to 190. I'd have to look it up again. I usually do the thermometer and when it's at 160 or so I do a test pull to see how it shreds.
A lot of people then wrap the pork in tin foil and let it rest before pulling and saucing (if you sauce the whole thing. You could pull it and offer sauce on the side.)
I'd make sure to make extra. It's not hard to get rid of pulled pork leftovers!
We're not saucy fans... and all of my extra smoked meat gets tossed in zipper baggies and put in the freezer for future chili additions.
Now you guys have me thinking about doing some carnitas on the smoker this weekend.
Wait until you hit 195-205 internal. The lower the temp, the tougher it is. When you pull it from the smoker, put it a foil pan and cover it, then put it in a cooler for 30-60 minutes, or wrap it up in towels. This allows all the juices to be re absorbed into the pork
I have to agree with caleb. I go 225 on butts and have had the best luck when it is over 200 IT. Takes forever though. I have had some 16 hour smokes at 225 without wrapping though wrapping will speed things along nicely through the stall. Or when you get impatient that the temp is not going up anymore and throw it in the over.
^ill say i disagree in the temp.
I shoot for 190* internal and always have incredibly tender/juicy pork.
Truth is - the internal temp is not all that reliable. Once you get close, start probing the meat. You'll know when it's done! The probe should slide in effortlessly
I shoot for 190* internal and always have incredibly tender/juicy pork.
Truth is - the internal temp is not all that reliable. Once you get close, start probing the meat. You'll know when it's done! The probe should slide in effortlessly
brewbama
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2013
- Messages
- 3,802
- Reaction score
- 2,829
I agree. Probe tender is the key. Temp is secondary and only tells you when to start probing.
However, if you cook at such a low temp (225), it is going to take forever because the cook temp is so close to the finish temp especially if you have a large hunk of meat (10 lbs+). I recommend cooking at a higher temp but that's just me.
Have fun!
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
I keep mine in the smoker till I hit 200+ IT. Once it's around 180, I will wrap it in foil and put it back in the smoker. When it does hit the temp and the probe goes in easily, I'll take it out, wrap it, put it in towels and in a cooler to rest for at least an hour. It pulls soooo nicely and once the juice gets back into the meat, it's very flavorful.
Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Cheesy_Goodness
Well-Known Member
I did a boston butt a few weeks ago for dinner on Sunday. I smoked it @ 225 for probably about 12 hours and it only got to 170 internal. The next day (dinner day) it got tightly wrapped in foil and finished in the oven until it hit around 190.
Shredded beautifully for me, but more than one way to skin a cat
Shredded beautifully for me, but more than one way to skin a cat
I wanna see em sliced! they look tasty!
BadDeacon
Well-Known Member
pork shoulders (3) and brisket this weekend. Yummers.
I made a pot roast yesterday, tastey, but I miss the smoke.
I made a pot roast yesterday, tastey, but I miss the smoke.
Every shoulder is different. You don't know if it came from a male or female, age, freshness etc. And with someone that hasn't done many of them, temp is an easy guideline. I do agree w/ the probe tenderness part. But thats something hard to describe on a forum.
I have two more racks of baby backs going on tomorrow morning for another test smoke...
so how'd the party turn out?
I have probably made close to 20K lbs of bacon in my career, and I think it tastes better if cured and smoked skin on, but I think that meat cooked with skin on or bone in always tastes better.
That being said, skinning a raw pork belly REQUIRES an EXTREMELY sharp knife, but I prefer a 12 inch cimiter instead of a boning knife.
If you leave the skin on the belly on during the cure and smoking, as soon as you take the bacon out of the smoker, it is much easier to skin as the fat is much more pliable. Even after cooling it is still easier to skin after the curing and smoking.
If you remove the skin prior to curing and smoking, you can however make cracklins, after curing they do not crisp up as well.
Chef Jay
That being said, skinning a raw pork belly REQUIRES an EXTREMELY sharp knife, but I prefer a 12 inch cimiter instead of a boning knife.
If you leave the skin on the belly on during the cure and smoking, as soon as you take the bacon out of the smoker, it is much easier to skin as the fat is much more pliable. Even after cooling it is still easier to skin after the curing and smoking.
If you remove the skin prior to curing and smoking, you can however make cracklins, after curing they do not crisp up as well.
Chef Jay
Hmm okay, my bad, I replied to the bacon thing on a previous page thinking it was the current one... no more Rodeo Clown and HBT!
Chef Jay
Chef Jay
No worries, I knew you were talking pork bellies. I'll be the rest of our carnivorous crew did, too.
Thanks for the info.
It's tomorrow. I'll snap some pictures if I can remember.
brewbama
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2013
- Messages
- 3,802
- Reaction score
- 2,829
I found the most limber brisket in the meat case at Wally World, a nice 13.5 pounder.
Trimmed it, sprinkled with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic (SPOG) and placed it on a Royal Oak fire at 350*F with some Mesquite wood for flavor.
When it hit 170*F internal (about 3.5 hours) I placed it in a disposable alum pan which I had to bend a bit to make it fit. Added some Stubb's as a foiling sauce.
wrapped with foil to head to the finish line
The temp alarm went off at 190*F but I poked around on it with a wood skewer and it was not ready yet. So...I reset the temp alarm for 205*F. When the alarm went off the second time I probed around with my wood skewer and it was like a hot knife thru butter. According to the iGrill, I put it on at 8:52 and it was done at 4:15. 7 hrs 23 mins total cooking time. I'll never do another low n slow brisket.
I separated the point and flat and sliced the flat for dinner.
I dressed mine with a ribbon of No5 Sauce. No need for a knife here.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Trimmed it, sprinkled with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic (SPOG) and placed it on a Royal Oak fire at 350*F with some Mesquite wood for flavor.
When it hit 170*F internal (about 3.5 hours) I placed it in a disposable alum pan which I had to bend a bit to make it fit. Added some Stubb's as a foiling sauce.
wrapped with foil to head to the finish line
The temp alarm went off at 190*F but I poked around on it with a wood skewer and it was not ready yet. So...I reset the temp alarm for 205*F. When the alarm went off the second time I probed around with my wood skewer and it was like a hot knife thru butter. According to the iGrill, I put it on at 8:52 and it was done at 4:15. 7 hrs 23 mins total cooking time. I'll never do another low n slow brisket.
I separated the point and flat and sliced the flat for dinner.
I dressed mine with a ribbon of No5 Sauce. No need for a knife here.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Similar threads
