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First Pork Shoulder / Boston Butt

Jimmy99s
Jimmy99s Posts: 9
edited April 2020 in Pork
Hey BGE ers,

New large BGE owner since a few weeks ago. Last week did my first pork shoulder (9 pound), was a ton of fun. Tons of time to learn how to use BGE properly during the pandemic.
Kept it simple with the rub - Stubb's BBQ rub, ground mustard, salt and pepper, pinch of Epicure Souvlaki spice.
Started a fire, used some chunks of hickory, let it go for about an hour and got the temp dialed in to about 250F. Raised indirect using the convEGGtor, pork went on. Took about 5 hours to get to 165F internal temp. At that point, wrapped in foil and back on grill, raised BGE temp to about 300-350F for this phase. Another 2 hours to 205F internal temp.

Taste was great in the end!
Next time I think I will allow it to cook a bit longer, as it was a tad tough to pull even after the full 7 hours. Any tips to help make it easier to pull aside from leaving to cook "lower and slower"?

Followed this video decently closely. Thanks to EggerPalmerATL for the helpful post! https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1220339/boston-butt-hybrid-cook-let-me-know-your-thoughts


Cheers!







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Comments

  • TN_Egger
    TN_Egger Posts: 1,120
    Looks pretty good from here - but I gotta question your temp unit of measure.  
    Signal Mountain, TN
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  • SonVolt
    SonVolt Posts: 3,316
    Bill Clinton wrote a book?
    South of Nashville  -  BGE XL  -  Alfresco 42" ALXE  -  Alfresco Versa Burner  - Sunbeam Microwave 
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  • Jimmy99s
    Jimmy99s Posts: 9
    edited April 2020
    Yes - opps on the temps, they should be degrees Fahrenheit switched those in original post.
    Book is.... "The President is Missing" by James Patterson and Bill Clinton. Isn't too bad, pretty good start to the storyline, haven't finished it yet.
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    Welcome. The procedure you used is fine. No need to go lower and slower. I would suggest that you use tenderness as the guide as to when to end the cook. At 190°F start checking the butt for tenderness. Most times the butt is tender around the 205°F mark but not always. Sometimes higher and sometimes even lower. 

    You may also think about foiling and bumping the temp up. These two are usually done for the same reason. I’m not sure both are necessary. Think about why you use foil. Think about why you bump up the cooking temp. Then decide if both at the same time is worth doing. 
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 33,906
    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun. Great looking outcome.  
    For me the key to declaring victory with a pork butt is when the bone pulls with very little to no resistance.  That is usually 202-207*F but the feel is the key.  That is as noted above, when it probes with no resistance.  FWIW-

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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