Pork butt - It's what's cooking today

Jeepster47

Watched a Chris Lilly video yesterday ... after watching that video nothing would do but to try a pork butt today.  Wow, he just pushed down on the butt and it simply disintegrated into pulled pork.

So, off to the grocery store for a 7.8lb butt then to the specialty market for some Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust course grind rub.  It's handy that my BGE store is also a small town market owned by two brothers who are eggheads ... almost all the rubs and sauces are right there on the shelf.  Did a complete clean on the egg and filled it almost to the top of the fire ring.  Sprinkled in some hickory chips along with the lump ... got to get some chunks of smoke wood.  Set up the PSWoo with the BGE plate setter (covered in tin foil) and the grate so it's ready to install.  Fired up the lump, installed the DigiQ, and went inside to prep the meat.

Applied a very, very LITE coating of Duke mayo and then covered the entire butt with the Dizzy Dust.  Stuck the meat in the egg at 9:00am.  This is also a test flight of the DigiQ, so that's why it's a daytime cook.

My prep table is a little small ... will have to work on that.  Two probes for the DigiQ and one pit probe for the Maverick (for remote temp alerts) ... looks like it's read for launch:



And, since I've looked at all your butts, I'll show you mine:





It's now about three hours and 40 minutes later ... the grate temp is 250 on the money and the IT is at 140 ... looks like it's time for a nap.

Jeepster47

IT at 5 hours was 157 degrees ... it's now 6 hours into the cook and the IT is 164 degrees.

Couldn't stand it, had to look.  Looks like I should have used a drip pan ... yes?  Otherwise, does everything look okay?  Last week someone posted that "Butts are done when they WANT to be done." ... but, what should i expect from here on out?

TheShaytoon

DUDE!  It's looking great...still needs to cook a while longer..it will likely stay in the 165-175 range for hours during the "stall"...what temp are you thinking about pulling off the egg?  

Drip pan is optional, but I like it...

Jeepster47

@TheShaytoon ... planned on checking as it gets close to 200 degrees.  From prior posts, I'll be looking for ease of probing and a loose shoulder bone.  Well see if I can get it right.

TheShaytoon

I usully start checking it out right about where you are planning, 195-200.  So far it looks like you are on track...My guess, it should be ready sometime around 11pm.  Maybe sooner if the bone is larger...

lousubcap

Good call regarding the drip pan going forward.  Just be sure to elevate it (air gap) off the platesetter so the drippings don't burn.  Lookin good!

Jeepster47

@TheShaytoon ... I can live with that. Thanks.

When it hit the grate, i'd guessed 9pm based on an hour-and-a-half per pound.  It's easier to stay up late than get up early, but I should have prepared the egg and the meat last night ... will do that next time.

johnmitchell

Looks awesome...You are in for some good eating... =D>

clifkincaid

Good reading...just learned something. No wonder why my drip pan is always charcoal =D> Good tip Lousubcap :-c

bluebird66

Looking good

Jeepster47

Eleven hours into the cook. 

Internal temp has been 179 for the last hour ... can the stall happen at that temp?  Or, is my probe out of the coldest point in the butt?

Prior to the stall, the IT was increasing at about 6 degrees per hour.  Is the temp rise after the stall the same as before or faster?

Mattman3969

It's not uncommon to see a stall around 160 & another little one around 180. That thing is looking good, btw.

theyolksonyou

It should pick up the pace soon, you can also bump the temp up some to speed the finish. You've got plenty of flavor on it at this point. 325 would be fine.

Jeepster47

theyolksonyou said:

It should pick up the pace soon, you can also bump the temp up some to speed the finish. You've got plenty of flavor on it at this point. 325 would be fine.

Maybe my DigiQ is smarter than I am.  At 5:00 the guru was pumping the temp up ... it coasted up to 335 degrees after I caught it.  I moved the pit probe from the grate up to the dome temp stem.  Then I choked the temp to 270 degrees.  The DigiQ's been perking along since then.

RRP

Tom, I haven't read your travelogue but when do you want to finish it tonight and how long do you plan to stay up and pull it ? Not sure why your dome temps have continued evo rise, but your IT hasn't already been through the roof. Something seems amiss... Ron

Jeepster47

@RRP ... Reader's Digest version is: just short of 12 hours on an 8 lb butt.  Grate temp was at 250 for eight hours before I caught the dome temps heading up.  Brought the temp back to 270 over the course of an hour.  Internal temp had been steadily rising (about 6 degrees per hour) until it stalled a couple hours ago. Still holding at 180 degrees IT.

The "travelogue" on the temp excursion is on another thread: http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1174674/jeepster-digiq-round-ii  Don't think that excursion hurt/helped the butt ...

Been told I could kick the temp up now, but have been holding off a little.  Was under the impression that pushing through a stall will cheat the meat out of fully tenderizing itself.

Mattman3969

If you want to put this thing to bed you can bump the temp to 350. It won't hurt a thing and will actually make the bark nice and crispy. I have not cooked a butt below 350 in 2 1/2 yrs.

Jeepster47

Mattman3969 said:

If you want to put this thing to bed you can bump the temp to 350. It won't hurt a thing and will actually make the bark nice and crispy. I have cooked a butt below 350 in 2 1/2 yrs.

Is there a "not" missing?  Should it read "I have not cooked a butt below 350 in 2 1/2 yrs."?

Mattman3969

Good catch and yes I should proofread before I hit the post button. I edited for future readers.

Jeepster47

Okay, that's two of you who suggested kicking up the temp.  It's at 180 all the way through the butt and the bone is still firmly held.  Been that way for well over two hours.  325 to 350 it is.

Mattman3969

Once you bump your prolly looking at 2 or so hrs till tender is my guess. Start checking about 195 or so but it will prolly be done around 200-205.

RRP

Let her rip tator chip! Unless you want to stay up for several more hours and then fall asleep and wake up with the robins for dried out butt. I'm with Matt...I havent egged a butt under 340 in years!

Mikee

I've cooked butts at 275* and 350* due to time restraints. Given a choice I like the lower temperature. When cooked low, there is basically nothing left but the bone and meat. The fat disappears (drip pan). The longer the butt stays in the 'stall' state the more the fat melts and connective tissue breaks down.  

Jeepster47

Two hours puts it about midnight local time.  FTC for a couple hours then pull it?  Or, will it make it until around 6:00 via FTC?  Which would you do?

Mattman3969

In a good cooler, double wrapped in foil and pre warmed towels is doable for 6hrs. Unless you are gonna eat it at 6 in the am you will have to reheat anyway so not really an advantage of FTC in my book. BTW you do not need to let the pork rest before pulling. Once it it cool enough to pull you can go for it. I will just leave on the counter for an hr or so and the go to town pulling it. It is still hot hot hot in the center but manageable.

RRP

Tom, have you probed the butt in several places? It still strikes me strange with the higher temperatures you have said that it isn't further along than what you think. Does your Guru have a Ramp feature? If it does the closer it gets to the set temperature the more it slows down the temperature. If you want to cruise until 6 am then the Ramp feature will take over.

Jeepster47

@Mattman3969 ... thanks, that's what I'll do ... plus, it'll make a nice midnight snack.

Jeepster47

RRP said:

Tom, have you probed the butt in several places? It still strikes me strange with the higher temperatures you have said that it isn't further along than what you think. Does your Guru have a Ramp feature? If it does the closer it gets to the set temperature the more it slows down the temperature. If you want to cruise until 6 am then the Ramp feature will take over.

Probed several places from one side all the way through to the other ... very consistent 180 degrees.  The higher temps were for about an hour maybe more, so not sure they had a chance to do much.  Plus, they happened right before/as the stall, so maybe that kept the internals cooler.  I'm staying with this one now ... we're going to end it tonight ... or early in the am.

Temps at 185 now, so ...

minniemoh

As far as the stall, the one I made last night/today stalled at 160 and again at 190. It spent an hour and a half at 190 and then I had to take it off to deliver it for lunch. It wasn't very tender and some parts were dry. I've never had one that was dry so I chalk this up to a sub-par pork butt. Definitely not one of the best butts I've done but it was still pretty good and the guys I took it to liked it. 

The stall is pretty tough to calculate. The first time I made a pork butt, I saw how fast temp was rising early in the cook and told my wife's family to come over to eat at 5 PM (assuming it would be done early). We were still waiting to get to 190 at 10 PM. Most of them left without eating but the rest of us were good n drunk and we ate well at 11 PM! Ended up being a great night. Moral of the story, call some buddies and invite em over.

Jeepster47

Finished ... pulled it at 11:45pm ... 13 hrs and 45 minutes ... final temp was 203.  Bone started to loosen at about 195 and came out easily at final temp.  it's in the frig now ... but, not before some of it was diverted for nourishment.  Very moist and very tender ... didn't quite "squash" like in the Lilly video, but close enough for a first cook.  Looks like the egg came through again.

Thanks for the late evening help guys.  Appreciate it.

dstearn

Jeepster47 said:

Finished ... pulled it at 11:45pm ... 13 hrs and 45 minutes ... final temp was 203.  Bone started to loosen at about 195 and came out easily at final temp.  it's in the frig now ... but, not before some of it was diverted for nourishment.  Very moist and very tender ... didn't quite "squash" like in the Lilly video, but close enough for a first cook.  Looks like the egg came through again.

Thanks for the late evening help guys.  Appreciate it.

Did you inject?