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Boston Butt

CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
in EggHead Forum
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This is my set up, except I covered the pan with heavy aluminum foil to make clean up easy.

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Boston Butt - 6 pounds - marinated overnight in: Allegro Original,Orange Marmalade,Chopped Garlic,Crushed Clove,Crushed Fennel Seed, and Crushed Red Pepper. Then removed from marinade and dried with paper towels and rubbed with Grill Mates Applewood Rub. I made sure to get the rub everywhere I could using my fingers. Placed in rack with fat cap up.

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Started smoking/grilling at 4:30pm @ 230 F and grilled overnight up to the noon hour, a total of almost 20 hours! I used a wireless probe to monitor the internal temp of the Butt, in the end, it hit 174F and I took it off. I simply ran out of time.

dc592329.jpg The results were fantastic, moist, tender and falling off the bone. Actually, the bone just pulled out.
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Comments

  • resullivanresullivan Posts: 28
    Wonder why it took so long? I have done several boston butts and mine have not took near that long and have always gotten all the way to 190+.
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  • CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
    Overnight, the temp dipped down to around 185 F, the next morning, around 830am I, opened the egg, stirred the coals, and opened the vents a little to bring the temp back up. Slowly raising the temp back to 230-240 and watched the internal reading rise to 174 F where I knew it was done. Trust me, not over cooked at all, very moist, very tender and it pulled apart nicely.
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  • resullivanresullivan Posts: 28
    That's good. I did not figure it was overcooked because of the temp, but the drop in temp probably explains why it took so long.

    Did you wrap the butt and let it sit? Mine tend to turn out better when I wrap in tinfoil and towels then put in a cooler for about 4-5 hours.
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  • CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
    No, I had to go to work at 2:30pm, so I had just enough time to pull it after taking it up. The bark was nice and easy to separate from the fat and the meat pulled apart without any effort. This one did not seem to need any sitting time, however, I'll try that on the next one. I'm never one to pass up a chance to try something new.
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  • SqueezeSqueeze Posts: 706
    Check the calibration on your thermometer. 174 would not pull as easily as you mentioned nor would it give up the bone that easily. My guess is you were above 190 and probably closer to 195. I shoot for 200-205 and they pull real easily.
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  • CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
    Interesting, on my meter, it indicates 170 for pork as well done. The only thing I don't know is how high that temp got during the night before the Egg cooled down that next morning, however, I'll check the calibration with ice water and then boiling water. I'll let you know how it comes out.
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  • SqueezeSqueeze Posts: 706
    Pork is well done at 170, but for butts, a different temp range exists. Slicable butts are around the 160-165 area. Butts give up for pulling at around 185....and if you take them higher, you start to get into the area where they fall apart. Now, I do foil mine when they hit the 160ish area so I will have a different texture on the bark, and I do cook at a higher temp - 275 on the grid, so those are some things a little different as well.
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  • CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
    I love this site. Everyone is so helpful and willing to share their experience and knowledge. Tips like yours and resullivan give everyone opportunity to expand their skills. Thank you so much for your posts.

    I think perhaps the long cook time may have contributed to the tenderness of my Butt. Also, it had a nice fat cap and a good bit of fat layered throughout. Wish I had weighed the final pulled pork to know what my yield was, but I would guess it was around 3.5 to 4 pds. I'll have to try the wrapping next time.
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  • fiercetimbo17fiercetimbo17 Posts: 135
    I would check your dome thermometer as well while your checking the other
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  • CaptDaveCaptDave Posts: 54
    Yes, when I set up my egg, I went through the process of checking my dome thermometer, and it is calibrated correctly. You know, its not just temperature nor just time that equal doneness, it is the combination of time and temp that goes into consideration, especially with long cook times approaching 20 or more hours. I read where some on this site cook their Butts for 22 hours or more. I do know my results were very tender and very good! :cheer:
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  • SmokeyPittSmokeyPitt Posts: 2,181
    It looks great. 20 hours is a long time. If you want to go quicker, you can kick the dome temp up to 250. That seems to be the sweet spot. Also, I don't know if it really matters much, but next time you might put the drip pan on the plate setter instead of on the grid. That may have blocked a little of the heat circulation and prolonged it. It does sound like it worked out fine so congrats! There is certainly nothing wrong with going low n slow for 20 hours so if you got the time :)...
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