How Come Pork Butts take S-O-O-O Long

Unknown · August 2005

I'm new to BGE - BUTT I've BBQ'd at least 100 Butts. I always cook at 225 - 230 for one and one-quarter to one and one-half hours per pound. Result = moist, tender, great tasting pulled pork. So how come you guys are cooking Butts at 225 for 15-20 hours? 225 is 225.[p]If you can cook ribs on a BGE at 225 to 250 in 4 hours or so (about the right amount of time for any cooker - IMHO)how come it takes all those extra hours in a BGE? I don't get it! mitch

mollyshark · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,[p]It's the smell. You sit there and inhale deeply for as long as possible. It leads to things. [p]mShark

JeffHughes · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,[p]225 dome is not 225 grill. 250 dome is more like it for a pork butt(or brisket or spares IMHO). [p]Jeff

Car Wash Mike · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,
Cook like you want, the desired result is what everyone is concerned about. If it takes a shorter period of time and you like it, great.
[p]Mike

Salmon · August 2005

<p />Car Wash Mike,[p]Yo Mike, this pork took about 13 hours.[p]Rick

Unknown · August 2005

Good Golly Miss Molly, I think you've hit on something!!! And Car Wash Mike. Is that a K.S.U. Wildcat? G.B.R.![p]

The Naked Whiz · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,
How about a serious answer? naaaa....[p]Well ok. It takes longer for butts because butts are full of connective tissue made from collagen. Collagen/connective tissue = tough and chewy. When cooking a butt low and slow, you give the collagen lots of time to be converted to gelatin. Gelatin = moist and tender. But the conversion takes place at a specific temperature range known as the plateau, at which the temperature of the meat stops going up and stays relatively steady for hours and hours. If you rush the meat through the plateau, the conversion isn't complete. So, that's sorta why....[p]TNW

jaymer · August 2005

hey Mitch,[p]one idea might be that BGE people are using meat thermometers and BBQ Gurus... so everyone is "conditioned" to wait for 195. but anyone who has had to pull at 182 also has a great, juicy butt, of course, this is assuming they did at least 1.x hrs per pound. if you did a 7lb butt for 7hrs, then it prolly aint gonna be tender, juicy, etc. but for 10-12 hrs in the low 200s, it may not matter exactly what your internal hits as you are still gonna have good eating.[p]you didn't say that you used a thermometer... and I used to make great butts before I ever used a meat thermometer, so its possible to do this based on strictly on weight * time... and since you seem to have plenty of experience then you knew your pit & time/temps so yours came out fine.[p]jaymer...

Unknown · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,[p]I like the nice supportive vibe coming from this post - if it tastes good do it.[p]An 8 pound chunk of pork takes you 8-12 hours to cook (new math) yet takes me a good 15-20 hours. Yep, that is a time savings and I can see some advantage to that. On the flip side, either cook takes some planning and time commitment – with the only difference being starting time.[p]Presuming that you get the same end results (which I believe that you probably do) as long as you don’t have to check your pork, tend the fire, or worry about running out of fuel then I actually like your 8-12 hours better.[p]Keep on Qing bro

mast3quila · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,
Are we to believe it takes you 5 minutes to cook grits when it takes the entire grit eating population TWENTY minutes?
What, do you have some sort of magic kitchen?[p]hehehe sorry couldn't resist. Just watched My Cousin Vinnie lastnight. Cheers![p]--
Jason

Unknown · August 2005

mItch in lincoln,[p]Okay, I'll give you a serious, scientific answer.[p]First off, eggs are monitored by dome temperature which is usually 25-30 degrees hotter than the grill temp. So most eggers are really cooking their butts at about 200-215.[p]But there's one other key difference. Because an egg is insulated, it takes much less fuel to hold a temp than with other metal type cookers. Less fuel means less oxygen, which means less airflow through the egg. That lower airflow is the secret to ceramic cooking. Less airflow means the meat does not dry out as much. Meat comes out much more tender and juicy than with other methods. BUT, less airflow also means a slower cook. Airflow is why convection ovens cook faster.[p]Us ceramic cooks would rather have a slightly longer cook, in order to get juicier meat, and less fuel usage.

Car Wash Mike · August 2005

Salmon,
You had the nerve to turn that in? LOL Looks great and congrats to you and Juggy. My weekends are so packed. I am finally going to get away to OK eggfest. You have any comps in the area coming up?[p]Mike

How Come Pork Butts take S-O-O-O Long

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