Boston Butt Help

Eggcellent

I have been cooking a 2.3 lb butt since about 1:00 Eastern @ about 250 degrees. Seems I read this should take about 2 hours per pound or a little more than 4.5 hours. I've let the temp come up to about 325 degrees for the last hour. The current temp is still only 167 degrees. Any ideas?

Am I going to be able to eat today?

Grandpas Grub

 
Sounds like you are in the plateau. The cut will take what time it needs to break through. As you have bumped up some watch your bark. If it begins to overdevelop loosely tent it with aluminum foil and watch the meat temperature. The fork test always works good for tenderness.

GG

Fidel

The 2 hours per pound rule doesn't really apply to the small butts.

I would double wrap it in foil, bump your temp another 25 degrees, and it should jump right up to a finish temp.

If you prefer to slice it instead of pull it then it will be done at 175 or so.

thirdeye

Those rules of thumb don't really apply to small butts or to big ones either. For example if you had a half-pound chunk of a Boston butt, it would not be pullable in one hour..... and if you had the whole shoulder (say a 22 pound one) it would not take 44 hours to barbecue.

I would have guessed 6 hours at the temps you are using, because even though the thermometer says 250, you are really cooking about 220 or so. The grate temp and the dome temp are different.

You did good by jacking up the temp, but to inusre you don't dry it out, I would wrap it in foil and finish cooking that way.