Turbo Pork Butt Success and FTC Data

mb99zz

Hi All,

I feel like I lurk here for all kinds of helpful information and great food ideas -- but I hardly contribute.  So, hopefully this post helps any other novices like me contemplating Turbo Butts and how long they an keep them FTC'd if they're done early.  

I had two boneless butts purchased from Costco.  The combined package was just under 19lbs.  I did trim both butts a bit, but I'm guessing each was about 9lbs.  I followed Mickey's Turbo Butt instructions as close as a novice can (grid temp kept at 300 degrees, let the butts reach at least 160 degrees, foil them, then cook till they're done).  The plan was to shred them at 4:30pm.  

I got the fire going around 06:00am and put the butts on around 07:00am.  These were my observations.
Hour 1:  Grid Temp 302 / Meat Temp 70
Hour 2:  Grid Temp 309 / Meat Temp 108
Hour 3:  Grid Temp 298 / Meat Temp 142
Hour 4:  Grid Temp 300 / Meat Temp 163 **This was when I foiled the butts**

At this point, I was worried I was going to be done way too early.   So, I tried to decrease the egg temp a bit.  I couldn't get a good grid temp because I think the foil was too close to the probe and giving a much higher reading.  Estimating by the BGE's dome probe, I think I continued the rest of the cook around 280 degrees (grid). 

Hour 5:  Meat Temp 185
Hour 5 and 25 Minutes:  Meat Temp 190

Although many say to pull at 190, I felt that many spots on the butts weren't ready.  I could tell the probe of my thermopen wasn't going in as smoothly as I'd like.  So, I cooked some more.  By about the 6th hour, the temp readings were anywhere from 203 to 210 in different spots of the butts, but the probe went in and out like butter.  So, 6 hours to cook two 9 pounders...I was shocked.  I was expecting at least 8 hours.  I never saw a stall.  I'm not sure if that was because the butts were boneless, or if the Turbo method tends to have no stall, or if those cuts of meat were just lucky cuts...

Now I had to keep these guys warm before the party.  I had pre-warmed a cheap cooler by adding two tea kettles of hot water and letting it sit in the sun.  The air temp outside was nearly 90 deg F.  I did four layers of heady duty foil around the butts, wrapped them in beach towels, and put them in the warmed cooler.  I had the probe still in one of the butts.  This is the data I hope is helpful for others:

1:11PM:  Meat Temp 201
1:30PM:  Meat Temp 196
2:33PM   Meat Temp 187
3:09PM   Meat Temp 183
4:17PM   Meat Temp 178

I was really shocked at how well the FTC really worked.  When I finally opened them up to shred, the steam burnt my hand. The meat was very juicy.  The bark wasn't as good as low-and-slows, but I didn't really care.  Everyone raved about the pulled pork.  I have four little kids and a stressful life (don't we all).  I can't imagine I'll do many low-and-slows after this experience.  It just made life so much easier.  

SciAggie

Congrats on a successful cook. Yes - we should all look for ways to make our lives less stressful. 

SteveWPBFL

Nicely done and documented. I have done all this with similar results and doing a pair today. Recently, though, I have found that our new oven can be used instead of FTC. It is so well insulated it keeps things hot for hours without turning it on, just sliding a pan of just off the Egg material in on a rack.