Pork Butt 911

Calder

Need help with my pork butt.... I put two 5lb butts on a 8AM at about 250 degrees. Should I be worried about these things being ready by 2pm? Any suggestions?

fishlessman

i think i would bump the temps to 325 and foil

boston_stoker

Yes, they take one to two hours per pound. Each butt is a little different. I would raise the temp up 25 degrees. Also make sure they don't touch and have good air flow between them. If they are too close, they will cook like one 10 lb'er ( double cooking time).

You should be able to easily pull bone out when done (195 to 205).

You really should read this if you are inexperienced at pulled pork: Elder

civil eggineer

2 hrs/lb cook time at 250 dome indirect generally gets you in the ball park. I have found smaller butts like yours are probably a 12 hour cook at 250 do to the time it takes going through the plateau period. I would bump the dome temp to 300 and as long as your meat temp is 160 or above you can always slice instead of pulling which requires meat temps of 190+.

Calder

Do you mean wrapping each but with a double layer of foil?

fishlessman

yep, maybe raise temps to build a little bark, then wrap in foil, might even add a little juice or water or vinegar to get it braising. at 250 i see a 10/11 hour cook.

Calder

I appreciate the advice. I remember being a little worried the last time I smoked 2 smaller butts in the egg. When I kept them separated, I was able to reach the 190+ temps in 5-6 hours, then I wrapped in foil and towel and placed in a cooler for about 45 minutes then served. I hope I can "pull" this off! Thanks again!