tikigriller said:

I went to 205 on the last one.  Had to toss the end pieces, as they were like chewing on actual bark---good for the first few bites until you feel like you are just chewing on an old piece of gum.

I might have been able to let it go a little longer, but I bet I would not have noticed much of a difference, and it was already bloody 10 at night!  This last one took so much longer than previous ones.  I am going to have to start lighting the egg before bed, then waking up at 3 just to toss the meat on.

So this takes me to another stupid question.......and I actually really do feel stupid for asking, but with a brisket moved from the freezer to the fridge this morning in prep for this weekend I need to ask it......what really does "a hot knife through buttah" feel like?  Seriously......is it really like when I probe it, there should be no resistance at all?  I always worry about looking for too much of that feel.  not sure if anyone will be able to express it in words outside of the already known descriptions.......

I can already tell I am taking to cooking on the egg like Golf......I watch it on TV and am convinced I can do it just as good as far as texture/moist.  I've made it to a 5.3 Handicap in Golf, so why not with cooking too!?!?!?

while feel matters, 198ish is usually the max I'll hit for pork.  I think 205 is too high (although that works for chuck, and occasionally for brisket).

As for the "knife through buttah" question, you'll know it when you feel it, and when you first feel it, there will be portions of the brisket (the best cut to learn that feel) that don't have it.  As it settles in, more and more of the flat will get that feeling.  IMO, it's best to pull it slightly before the whole thing goes to jelly because 1) once it does, it will overcook on the rest and 2) it will cook the rest of the way on the rest, because brisket requires at least an hour in the cooler and does better with 3.

And cooking is much easier than golf.  You can get better much quicker. 

I always foil at 160-170 and never have dry meat. Not only does foiling enhance moisture, you can add another layer of flavor depending on what you wrap it with. It does sacrifice the bark which is overrated anyway in my personal opinion.

I do not inject, nor do I FTC unless it is done more than 1 hour before eating time.  I have not noticed a difference with bone in or boneless, nor if it was FTC'ed or not (with the exception of bark texture.)

I am in the middle of the low and slow and turbo methods.  I will take the butts and cut them in half, regardless if it has the bone or not. If it does, I make sure that the edge of the half that has the bone is pointing to the back of the egg. Then I cook as close to 290F as possible. Most of the time, I have between 9-11 lb butts, bringing them down to about 5 lbs when cut. I light the egg about 7 AM, meat on at 8, and let it ride at 290F all day, and they have always done between 4-5. Bark is deep mahogany, not black, and as juicy as I want it to be. No controllers, no sleepless nights, and nothing burnt or black.  Simple, and delicious.

@billt01 's method sounds very interesting though. Might need to give that method a try soon just to try something different.

@SmokeyPitt and @Sea2Ski

If time permits, it will be worth it...it does take a bit longer, but pork butt jelly is the bees knees....

nolaegghead said:

....so moist you should feel inclined to reach out and grab it....

Where's the Bill Murray gif when you need it? 

And that fat that you scrape off the top of the refrigerated butt juice... use it next time you're sauteing mushrooms or onions - next level stuff right there.

blasting said:

And that fat that you scrape off the top of the refrigerated butt juice... use it next time you're sauteing mushrooms or onions - next level stuff right there.

Now that is one I haven't tried yet. Sounds like a winner though!

I've done a handful of pork butts so far (and will be doing two or three more this weekend!), so here's what I do and what I've learned:

I don't brine, inject, or foil.  The less work I have to do, the better!  I get the BGE set up and lit, and then let the butt sit out on the counter (still wrapped/packaged) for about an hour/while stabilizing the temp of the grill to let it warm up a bit.  I put a rub on it, put it on the BGE, and don't open it back up till it's done.  I cook at 225*F (sometimes I can't quite get it settle there and it'll end up around 235-240), and remove once the internal temp of the meat hits 195*F.  Then I'll wrap it up good in some foil and put it in a cooler with some towels to keep warm.  Once it's time to eat, remove from cooler, pull it, and serve.  It's always very moist and really good. 

While cooking I do use a drip pan to catch drippings, but I don't put water or any other liquid into the pan.  All the butts I've done so far have been in pretty warm weather, and here in GA that means it's also super humid, so if you live in a drier-air'd climate, YMMV.  The planned cook for this weekend will be in cooler/drier air, so we'll see how it goes.

With leftovers I put them into sandwich sized ziplock bags, get as much air out as you can, flatten it as much as you can (helps it thaw faster and more evenly), and freeze.  I don't have a vacuum sealer (or the space to put one anywhere), but this seems to work fine.  To re-heat, I fill the sink with hot-as-it-will-go water and float the bag(s) for a few minutes.  Gets it back to temp without losing any moisture - it's literally just as good as when it was originally pulled.  Put it in a bowl and microwave for a little bit if you need it hotter (but you will lose a little moisture that way).

I don't add any sauce to the meat until it's on someone's plate - what kind of sauce and how much is up to them.

I've only done one boneless butt, and it was a little dry, so I'm sticking with bone-in from now on, they all turned out great.

SmokeyPitt said:

...I also agree that @billt01 pork jelly has me intrigued so I would be game to try that sometime. 

The way I do my butts most of the time these days is just so I can get more of the juice that leaves the butt.

When I do a butt in the crockpot when making Kahlua Pork all the liquid is preserved and you'll end up with lots of gelatin and fat. Doing a butt in the smoker you lose most of that. I missed having all that meat jelly and fat for other uses.

Now what I do when doing a butt is to cook it normally for the first few hours so it gets some smoke, a smoke ring, and some bark. When there are just a couple of hours left instead of foiling I go an easier route - I use a large stainless dog food bowl (I think it's about 10 inches in diameter) and plop the butt in that and just cover that with some foil. Quicker, easier, and I never have to deal with an accidental puncture/leak in the foil making a mess.

Doing that I'll usually end up with a cup or so of gelatin for use in either using on the butt once its pulled later on or for other purposes. I also end up with softer bark which is fine by me as I don't like a really hard bark.

I brine mine for at least 24 hours, using water pickling salt and molasses. Pull it out of the the brine, pat dry, add dry rub, and then I coat it in peach preserves. place on the BGE at 225, smoked with peach, and pull only when the bone comes out using no effort. It is very moist, and stays moist. Try it sometime. It works very well.

These are 6 I did for my son's party.  Sent my aunt home with a whole butt and bagged one.  As you can see, I wrap in foil, but I couldn't tell you what temp as I usually do it when I'm satisfied eith the bark.

When serving pulled pork, I highly suggest you pull to order and not to shred the entire butt.  It's more work, but you'll be happier with the product you're serving.

Always put the fat back in. lots of juice after i rest and it goes right back in. im not a wrapper but that juice would probably go back too.