What did i do wrong with this pork butt cook? 22 hour cook for 7lb pork butt, double stall.

drgiggles

first time cooking pork butt on the egg.
LG green egg.  used a round deflector in an ceramic grill spider.  6.7# pork butt was on main level of adjustable rig with a drip pan beneath.  did not foil / wrap and did not rest meat after pulling.

On the bottom graph (orange line, right axis) cook seemed pretty straightforward with a stall at hour 5 @ ~160 degrees F which lasted through hour 8.  What i didn't expect, however, was for the food temp to peak at 186 in hour 15 and drop despite a 225 pit temp.  I increased pit temp to 235-240 at hour 16 and opened the egg to check on fire and to confirm food probe temps.  The food remained stalled at ~185 degrees through hour 19 after which i increased pit temp to 250 to try to finish the cook.  The bone came out clean and the meat was pullable, though it struck me as slightly dry with a tacky feel.  The bark seemed chewy in a beef jerky sort of way.

pit temperature was well controlled using pit fan @ 225 which i manually kicked up a few times to try to hit target temp

in retrospect, I'm guessing i should have checked for doneness at hour 15 and wrapped if it needed to go longer, but i didn't think pork butt should have this many curveballs.  any thoughts would be appreciated.


fireboard log here:

https://share.fireboard.io/78FB5B

more detailed chart here:

Wolfpack

225 is the “historic” low and slow temp, but you are trying to get a piece of meat up to 200+ using temps barely higher than your target.  It takes a long time once the meat gets closer to target as you are only cooking at 35-40 higher temps (than the food). 

Wrapping will help push you through the stall at this low a temp. 

I don’t use 225 anymore for that reason. I will run closer to 250-275 when “low” and slow or go turbo at 300-350. 

Pork butts have tons of fat and you won’t notice a difference from the higher heat. 

Turbo is the best as you don’t have to go over night and the results are just as good IMHO. 

OhioEgger

Absolutely no reason to cook at such a low temperature on the egg.
Search for turbo butt and try it. You won't be able to tell the difference and it takes all the headache out of what is really a pretty simple cook.

EzraBrooks

Yep, too low.  Either try 275 or turbo as mentioned.

jtcBoynton

At 225° that butt should have been done in around 14 hours. You had it at 186° about then - consistent with expectations. The next several hours is where it went away from expected. I wonder if probe placement was messing with you. 

Also think about smoke quality. Not all smoke is the same. It is hard to produce great tasting smoke at low temps on a ceramic cooker. 

lousubcap

I have seen a second stall with butts as you described but not as protracted as you experienced.  As above, I run in the 250-280*F range on the dome (wherever it settles).  FWIW-

drgiggles

thanks for the feedback.  the advice on running higher temperature makes a lot of sense, esp. given how forgiving the meat is.  makes me hesitant to try a brisket though...

@jtcBoynton - i mk4 probed it in multiple locations and it was consistent with the food probe.  pit probe was in line with what dome thermometer said.  

Wolfpack

I run briskets at the 250-275 level too. 

lousubcap

Jump into the deep end and take on a brisket cook.  The only way too get proficient is to cook 'em.  When you decide to cook the brisket shoot me a PM and I will send you some light reading material in advance of the event.  FWIW-

JohnEggGio

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd guess that your shoulder was good to go at 12-14 hours, even though it had never gotten to your target temp.  From there, you were drying it out.

Gamecockeggman

You have to get away from the tools and gadgets and look at temp and feel.  Everything said above is true, I would add that when the meat is probing like butter you have achieved your goal.  Pork will be more forgiving than a brisket typically but don’t shy away from a brisket.  You will be missing out on one of life’s greatest spoils.  Enjoy the journey.

alaskanassasin

Smoke it at 225 if you want but when its closing in on time to eat quit screwing around and bump the temp up for the finish.

MotownVol

I cooked about an 8 pound butt (prior to trimming) this morning.  Put the butt on at 8 AM at temp of 225.  Wanted a higher temp so adjusted to a temp between 280 and 290 degrees.   The butt was done around 2:45 PM.  Wrapped, coolered, and rested until around 4 and turned out perfect.  

I'm over those 225 degree cooks that start around 11 PM.  275 to 300 gets it done so much faster and easier.  The butt is just as good.  I have cooked as high as 350, but I think 275 to 300 is the sweet spot.