Boston Butt alternative methods

wingfoot · November 2005

I'm doing pulled pork again this weekend. It's gotta be my kids' favorite. Every time I do them, I cook 'em at about 250 dome and it takes about 22 hours for a couple of 7 to 8 lb bone-in butts to get to 200, which is where I like them. My question is, that after seeing and hearing about folks who do these things in 10 to 12 hours, including prep time, is there a way to get the same results in a shorter amount of time? I remember when watching the All Star Barbecue Showdown that they only had about 12 hours from start to finish......... I think. [p]What say you?[p]Thanks,[p]Mike

Unknown · November 2005

wingfoot,
Personally, I think it has to do with the piece of meat. Some cook faster than others. I have done a butt in less then 12 hours and some more then 16 hours. I wonder what would happen if you up the temp to 300 for the duration?[p]Jerry

YankeeBBQ · November 2005

wingfoot,
I'm fairly new to this egg cooking but I do have quite a bit of bbq experience. When I hear about people cooking a butt for 20 or more hours it simply amazes me. What is your grate temp when the dome temp is 250 ? If you can raise the temp in your cooker to 230-250 at the grate you should be able to cook your butts in 10 to 12 hours amd produce an excellent product. Your not opening your cooker on a regular basis are you ?[p]Steve

wingfoot · November 2005

I'm not sure about the grate temp when I'm at 250 to 260 dome, but I'm guessing around 210. As far as opening the lid, I never open it until well into the cook and then only to spritz the butts with apple juice, but only a couple of times in total. The results I get with the long cooks are fantastic, and the only reason I'm interested in shortening things up is because I don't really want to do overnighters in the dead of a Kansas winter because I don't have a guru. Thus, I have to get up a few times during the night to check the temps. I think this time, I'll try Jwhilwind's suggestion and kick the dome up to 300 and see what happens. Thanks for the feedback.[p]Mike

Hammer · November 2005

wingfoot,
I'm with you on this one. I have never had a butt or shoulder finish in less than 20-25 hours, much less in 10-12 hours.
I follow the Eggsperts advice on lo and slo's; especially Elder's and The Naked Whiz's. I don't raise the temps to speed up the cook. I pull it off at 200 internal period.The bottom line to me is that if raising the temp is the answer to quick times; I need to raise it to 500 and hit the 200 internal quick, but I think I'll continue cooking it lo and slo.
As Jwhilrwind stated; it may be the size of the meat as well.
Just my thoughts!
Hammer

Rumrunner · November 2005

wingfoot, follow the link for my method of 'quick' cooking a butt.

[ul][li]Injecting a butt[/ul]

Boston Butt alternative methods

Comments

Categories