Help - Boston Butt ?

Egghead Willie

10# butt went on at 11pm @ dome 250. 1am went to bed. Dome@ 250. Checked at 4:30 dome at 190. Opened vent a tiny bit. Went bact to bed. 7am dome@ 275. Should I leave it? Also when checking meat temp later with my thermapen what part of the meat to I take my reading from. Thanks all for your help.

BBQMaven

Not unusual to need to "wiggle rod" the lower grate during a long low/slow... note the position of lower vent, wiggle rod the grate, and then put it back where it was... Egg will return to your set temp almost every time.

Temp test in meaty part - fat tends to read higher...

boston_stoker

It should be ok. What matters is how long meat was in danger zone of 40-140. The limit is 4 hours in the danger zone, but this is a rule of thumb. When meat is between 100 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit bacteria counts double every 20 to 30 minutes, so this zone is extra sensitive. Also whole cuts of meat like a bone in butt are safer that cut up pieces because the majority of the bacteria tends to only be on surface. Ground meat is the worst safety wise.

Meat temps should be taken in center. Make sure you are not in a fat pocket.

You can try to dial back to 250, but there really is nothing wrong with 275. It may cook a little faster, but that is not a drastic difference that would cause concern.

If you are new to this, I would read this.

Also, you double posted, the back button can cause that. You may want to edit the other to be blank.