How to pork butt

drgordon

Hey all,

New owner of a LBGE as of father's day.  Did some baby back ribs on it last weekend that came out great (done faster than expected, couldn't get temp below 300).

Wanted to tackle a pork butt this weekend.  I have a few questions that I will put out to you all.  I appreciate the input:

1)  Water pan or no?  I see some disagreement on this forum as to yes or no.  If yes, I imagine I will have get the plate, water pan, and grill up to temp before adding the pork.

2)  Foil to get over the stall/keep in the moisture?  Seems like doing a foil really cuts the cooking time and pushes through the stall.  Is anything lost by using the foil?

3)  If I foil how do I get the temp probe in?  Do I put it through the foil?  Won't that ruin the purpose of the foil?  Or wrap it up in the foil?

4)  I plan on doing foil at 160 and pulling at 190.  Does that sound about right?

5)  When I reach temp do I wrap tight in foil/towel/cooler?  Or do I wrap loose in foil and let rest/cool at room temp?


First post so be gentle...

WeberWho

Welcome! No water or foil needed while cooking pulled pork on the egg. The egg will keep all the moisture where other grills will need foil and a water pan to help it out. When the cook is done you can foil, towel, cooler until you're ready to serve. (This keeps it warm until ready to serve)

Legume

My opinion, skip the water, skip the foil.  It's really, really hard to dry out a pork butt, but water and foil will mess with your bark.

If you want to run overnight, stay at 250 or below, if you want to run it faster, shoot for 325-350.  You can spritz with apple cider vinegar if you're worried about moisture, but I usually don't bother.  Don't open the lid while cooking.

gmac

1. Not necessary but a drip pan saves your plate setter a lot especially with sugary rubs. 
2.Not necessary but if it's taking too long can help. Bark will be softer with foil. Not much is lost in my opinion. I sauce it after its pulled which softens the bark anyway. After a few hours you have enough smoke for taste. 
3. If I poke you will you bleed to death?  One small hole won't hurt anything. 
4.The meat is in charge. Foil when you want and pull when the bone is loose and it probes like butter. Do not go by a predetermined temp expectation. 
5. You are done way early, wrap in foil, towels and cooler to hold temp until serving. If done within an hour or so of eating time, just tent and rest.FTC is about holdIng it warm for service, it doesn't make it better. 

CtTOPGUN

 The Kamodo style cookers retain plenty of moisture. There is no need for a water pan(it actually can complicate keeping temps stable). As for foil? I never use it on pork butt. To me it prevents adequate bark formation, and I like a nice dark bark for my pulled pork. The foil will speed up the cook. So would raising the temps. Final temp is dependant on how you like your pork butt. If slicing you can take it off at 165* . If chopping, 180*-190* is a good range depending how you like your texture. If pulling, it will be better at 195*-200*(or even 205* on some). Probing is the best test.I like to stabilize my pit temp at 250* to 260*, but it is not overly critical. It affects cooking time more than it affects the final product. That is mostly dependant on the final temp you cook it to. I do think the traditional low and slow is better than the turbo methods. That is very subjective and greatly debated. But part of my enjoyment of BBQ is the time relaxing while it cooks. Maybe that affects my preferance.

   Jim

Wardster

I followed this my first go around.  Now I'm not as picky.  I still use the rub.  Temps can go higher but I pull around 200*.  A good read anyway...

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm

drgordon

Great advice all!  Thank you!

WeberWho

drgordon said:

Great advice all!  Thank you!

Keep asking questions. Always someone here to help you out. Stick around even if you don't have any questions. You will learn a ton just by cracking a beer or two and watching other cooks/methods on this forum