Going to attempt my first butt for pulled pork (m)

Unknown

this week or next (depending when my wireless thermometer comes in) and I saw the problems the gentlemen below were having so I have some questions..... [p]1) How much lump (large BGE) and how should I arrange/stack it to ensure that my fire does not go out.[p]2) What dome temp and how much time per pound? I'm guess that I want to achieve a 190 degree internal judging by the posts below.[p]3) How long after the butt is off the grill should I wait before pulling it?[p]Thanks.

Wardster

TideJoe,
I suggest going by Elder Wards method. It's quite detailed. You can find it in the recipe section of Naked Whiz's site.... www.nakedwhiz.com[p]If you follow that, you should not have any problems.... like I did...[p]Just pulled mine off at 9pm. Almost 30 hrs cooking. I ate some, just a bit. I'm trying to see how my body holds it!!!!

Mike in MN

TideJoe,
The internal temp should be at about 200. After removing from the egg, the meat should sit covered from 20 minutes to 3-4 hours before pulling. (shredding) [p]After a couple hours of cooking, the meat will reach a temp of about 160 (+or- 10°) and it will "plateau" at this temp for maybe 10 hours. This is the time when the meat is doing its real "thing." It is tenderizing, (and converting the connective tissue that normally makes it tough) and turning this into steam and moisture, which causes the meat to stall at that temp until all that tissue has been rendered out...then the temp will begin to slowly climb until it reaches that 200 finish temp.[p]Cooking time varies, and it is not necessarily calculated/estimated by the weight of the products being cooked. (not like a Turkey) I have (2) 4.5 pound shoulders going now, and the cooking time will be about 20-24 hours. It doesn't matter whether I was doing 1 or 2 or 3 or 5 shoulders. If the shoulders are smaller in size, they will be done sooner, but not by much. This is where a good probe style thermometer (wireless or polder) is absolutely necessary. [p]As far as fire prep goes...fresh, quality lump is very important. Your choice of lump brand has an effect on the results. Wicked Good burns longer and hotter than the Cowboy brand, not a problem on a 2 hour cook, but on a 24 hour burn, it does make a difference. The firebox should be full. It may help to empty everything out and make sure everything is clean and open when you first try this extended cook. I have no preferences as to arranging the lump. Some of us just dump from the bag, and everything goes fine. I find the overall success is determined by how much time you have available to babysit the temp. Sometimes you can set a temp (or the egg will peg at a temp) and everything will sit there for hours without any variation. Then, sometimes you couldn't get it to hold a set temp if you stood there and manipulated it for the full 20+ hours. I'm babysitting mine right now. Mr. egg wants 215, I want 225. We are going back and forth...If I just left it alone, it would sit at 215 for the next 15 hours....but I WANT 225...so we are going from 210-240...back and forth. Been checking it every 15-30 minutes since I started at 1:30 this afternoon. We went into this see saw phase earlier this evening. hey, if it goes too bad, I'll just pull it off the egg, and throw it in the oven.....but probably not. I've only had to do that once or twice.[p]Mike in MN

BobinFla

Mike in MN,[p]I've only got a coule additions to what you wrote...[p]I cook at about 250, and after the meat has sat there at the ~160 mark for a couple of hours, I'll bump it up to about 300 (dome temps) until it starts rising again. Then, back to 250 or so. [p]I build my fire, basically the "dump it in and fill the firebox" way. [p]BOBinFla

Bob V

Good comments above. What I learned from my pulled pork experiment was:[p]a. Elder Ward's charcoal stacking method works! It makes sense, too, since you are maximizing the volume of charcoal in the firebox. If you just dump it in, there is much more air space between the pieces.[p]b. Trust your instincts on the air flow. I use the daisy wheel, and it needs to have a good trickle of air coming out steadily. Down too low, you kill the fire (I did).[p]c. 250 may be easier to maintain than 200.[p]d. Remember, *cold* meat will take the smoke better than room-temperature meat, and the smoke is really most effective in the first few hours.[p]Good luck -[p]Bob V

Buck Shot

TideJoe,[p]Just did a 16 hour smoke of a Boston Butt Pulled pork Saturday Night. Eldar Ward Style. I do like this style and recommend it. Build the fire in his method and have the fire box full. It really needs to have the lump in there if you want to get to 300 degrees for the last 1 - 2 hours after it has been sitting at 225 for 12 - 14 hours.
Cheers
Let us know how it goes.