Smoked my first pork butt......C-

aggieljh · January 2017

So the wife bought me a Large Big Green Egg right before Christmas...i have used it several times...grilled steak the day we got it, and made some pizza on Christmas day...both turned out great....

I bought a pork but half at the grocery store on Thursday. I was right at 4 pound...figured that would be a good starter, and if i screwed it up, no big deal...it was only $7.00. Took it out Saturday afternoon washed it down, patted it dry, and then injected it with some Tony Cachere Creole Butter and back in the fridge. Sunday morning took it out, and put a light coating of mustard and then coated it in Stubbs pork rub. I let it sit out a couple hours to get closer to room temp.

I filled the bowl on the BGE with the BGE Lump charcoal and got the fire going, and lit a fire in the back of the egg....once it got to 220, i added some Apple wood chips, the place setter, and a drip pan with a little apple juice. Closed it up, and let it run for another 20-30 minutes until the temp was stabilized at 220 again.

I put the pork butt on about 1:30 and had a Thermopro thermometer set for 192. The temp of the meat when i put it on was 52 degrees. I had to keep adjusting the vents, because it kept getting hotter in the egg....i was checking the temp on the egg about ever thirty minutes...once it was up to 260.

About 4 (5:30pm) hours in, i was up to 140 degrees on the Thermopro, so I thought it was going ok, and then i guess i hit the stall...over the next hour and a half...i only got up to 151 degrees, even after increasing the temp in the smoker to 250 degrees.

About 7:00, i realized that I wasn't going to get to the 192 mark any time soon, and i was hungry, so I pulled it off, foiled it, and put it back on the smoker, increased the heat to 300, and let it go to 7:30. I pulled it off at 7:30, it had reached and internal temp of 165, so we just sliced it and ate it.

The flavor was ok....but i'm starting to question my choice of meat.....once i sliced it, probably about 1/3 of my butt was just fat...

I'm just a little let down, figured that i could get it done at and hour and a half per pound...but i would have needed way more time to get it up to a pulling temp. Also being the first butt i tried, i was surprised by how much fat was there...

Overall...i give myself a C-..... i'm open to any suggestions to make the next one go better...

RedSkip · January 2017

Undercooked.

Pulled pork will be cooked for bacteria at 160F, however for tenderness you need to take to 200 +/- 5 F.

it will undergo a stall around the 160 and 180 mark, therefore most folks will foil around 160 to help it push through (speed up cook time).

lastly, temperature too low. PP can handle higher cooking temps, bump your temp when you are needing to increase speed of cook. I smoke between 265-275. Comes out great.

pork is "tough" when undercooked and "mushy" when overlooked - unless it's just dry (too hot temps)

tarheelmatt · January 2017

Time man, you just didn't give it enough time to render the fat.

For something that small, you could have ran 350° or so if you're crunched for time.

MattBTI · January 2017

Sounds like there's something else going on there. I did an 8lb butt in 8 hours @ 275F (grid temp...dome tends to read 290-300F) I did foil at 150 but still, I would expect your cook to have finished.

Maybe your dome thermometer isn't calibrated...

RedSkip · January 2017

With the majority of your cook at 220F (dome), you can anticipate the 200F (grate) or less. Just by bumping from 220-275 from the start of the cook you can knock hours off the cook time.

Increase your temps, foil at 160F, and cook until 195-205F (bone will pull clean from the meat).

xfire_ATX · January 2017

I always get to ~150 unwrapped on egg. At that point I put in CI DO until ~205.

Took about 6 hours last time at 350 unwrapped, 275 in DO.

dgaddis1 · January 2017

When I do butts I shoot for a grate temp of 225* (usually ends up a bit hotter, in the 235-250* range), and it typically takes about two hours per pound, that's with a bone in, around 6lbs butt. I pull when the IT reaches 195*F.

dldawes1 · January 2017

I've converted to all Turbo Butts. 400F dome, wrap butt(s) at 160IT. 4-1/2 hours total cook to 205IT. Great outcome and consistent every time.

Mickey · January 2017

TURBO BUTTS

· Hot'n fast, 350 for 5 (+ or -) hours to internal to 200. Falls apart and oh so good! Have fun!

Be sure you only get a 7lb butt or so for the time (or a couple ((same amt of time)) or more for more protein )

. Note: The butt box is not required unless holding for dinner.

I use mustard & Bad Byron's Butt Rub (both not required). I put on the rub, then mustard,

then rub once more. Ps: I do not foil on the Egg. Also good with the coffee rub.

FTC afterwards.

MattBTI · January 2017

I foiled my last butt. I don't think I will again. I really like crisp bark.

TheToast · January 2017

I've done 3 pork butts - they've been FINE TO GOOD. I generally do them at 110c / 230f grill temp and they're normally 6-7kg / 13-15lb beasts. They take about 19hrs. They tend to dry out a little on the outside. Would they be better if I did smaller joints?

Ive never foiled them. When ive poked them mid way through a cook the outside is normally gooey but by the time they've cooked they're drier on the outside but still moist in middle.

I normally pull at 195f. Any advice appreciated!

jtcBoynton · January 2017

Welcome. At the temps you were trying to cook, you should have planned on dinner at 9:30pm. Some comments:

aggieljh said:

....I bought a pork but half at the grocery store on Thursday. I was right at 4 pound...Sunday morning took it out, ... I let it sit out a couple hours to get closer to room temp. You don't need to let it set out - you would have better results starting to cook earlier.
I filled the bowl on the BGE with the BGE Lump charcoal and got the fire going, and lit a fire in the back of the egg....once it got to 220, i added some Apple wood chips, the place setter, and a drip pan with a little apple juice. Closed it up, and let it run for another 20-30 minutes until the temp was stabilized at 220 again. The little apple juice didn't help anything and in fact probably contributed to your temperature control issues.
... I had to keep adjusting the vents, because it kept getting hotter in the egg....i was checking the temp on the egg about ever thirty minutes...once it was up to 260. 220º is tough to hold in most large eggs. 240-250º is much easier to maintain and results will be as good as 220º and will take less time. I normally cook at 275º.
... I pulled it off at 7:30, it had reached and internal temp of 165, so we just sliced it and ate it.
The flavor was ok....but i'm starting to question my choice of meat.....once i sliced it, probably about 1/3 of my butt was just fat... Your results will be quite different if you let it go all the way to tender (195-205º).
I'm just a little let down, figured that i could get it done at and hour and a half per pound...but i would have needed way more time to get it up to a pulling temp. Also being the first butt i tried, i was surprised by how much fat was there... At 220º expect over 2 hours per pound. Fat will really render out a lot if you get it up to temp. I normally trim any fat cap way down before cooking.
..... i'm open to any suggestions to make the next one go better...

Approximate cooking times for pork butt/shoulder:

225º: 2 hours a pound

250º: 1.5 hours a pound

280º: 1 hour per pound

350º: 30-45 mins per pound

There is a good amount of variability between individual pieces so take all times as rough. Times assume a full sized butt - 7-10 pounds. Temps are dome.

johnnyp · January 2017

You've got a lot of great advice above.

welcome and keep trying.

Killit_and_Grillit · January 2017

You got all the advice you need above. (I didn't see it but I have been told 109 times on this forum...pulled pork is a forgiving hunk of meat, don't be afraid of a little heat!)

RedSkip · January 2017

TheToast said:

I've done 3 pork butts - they've been FINE TO GOOD. I generally do them at 110c / 230f grill temp and they're normally 6-7kg / 13-15lb beasts. They take about 19hrs. They tend to dry out a little on the outside. Would they be better if I did smaller joints?

Ive never foiled them. When ive poked them mid way through a cook the outside is normally gooey but by the time they've cooked they're drier on the outside but still moist in middle.

I normally pull at 195f. Any advice appreciated!

@TheToast
Bump your temperature on the egg to 130C or 265F at the grate level (where the meat is sitting). This will mean your dome temp will most likely be 135-148C or 275-300F. Pulled pork is very forgiving and don't sweat it if it goes up. A lot of folks will cook PP at 350F or even 400F.

Once they reach 71C or 160F, wrap them twice in foil (double layers) and put back on the Egg.

Cook until they reach 93C or 200F. At this point, the bone will pull clean from the meat and your temperature probe/thermometer will "probe like buttah".

"Probe like buttah" means when you insert your probe into the meat, it should have no resistance. As if you took a hot knife and sliced it through butter. Any resistance means it's not quite done yet. When i first started out, I would probe until it felt good in a few spots, then pull. I noticed that sections of the shoulder would still be tough (not quite finished). Now, I don't worry so much until the entire shoulder is probing well.

Once it hits your desired temperature, be sure to pull the meat and let it rest. If you are pressed for time, pull once it's cool enough. If your cook finished early, then FTC (Foil, Towel, Cooler) or put in the oven around 768-82C. It can rest for hours until you are ready.

Side note: Most folks will check their pork between 195-205 because each piece of meat will finish differently. Feel free to do this as well. I find the last few degrees can take up to 30-45 minutes at times. Be patient and enjoy the cook.

GATraveller · January 2017

@TheToast - I agree with bumping your grid temp up to 130C as that is the temp I've found to be the "sweet spot" for butts (IMO). I also use 3 small blocks of foil to raise my grid to felt line. I have NEVER wrapped in foil during the cooking process so I would skip this step as I've found it unnecessary for a great finished product. Others swear by it so give it a shot if you have the time and feel like putting forth the effort. If there is any way to find a smaller cut (depending on the size egg you use) you may find it beneficial because a shoulder that big does not get full coverage from the plate setter on a LBGE and will dry out on the sides receiving the higher temps. I pull the shoulder once the IT hits 190-195 depending on how it probes then FTC - which I believe is the most important step of all. It can stay wrapped in a cooler for up to 7 hours or so and still pull easily.

JustineCaseyFeldown · January 2017

agree with the above.

just a quick note though. no need to let the butt come up to "room temp" before putting it on.

this is good advice for things like a roast or steak where you want the cross section to be even (as opposed to overcooked exterior and small amount of med-rare center).

but for a pork butt there's really no advantage. and if you are a smoke ring fan, the meat going on cold will help with that.

GATraveller · January 2017

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

agree with the above.

just a quick note though. no need to let the butt come up to "room temp" before putting it on.

this is good advice for things like a roast or steak where you want the cross section to be even (as opposed to overcooked exterior and small amount of med-rare center).

but for a pork butt there's really no advantage. and if you are a smoke ring fan, the meat going on cold will help with that.

Great point.

TheToast · January 2017

@RedSkip @GATraveller @JustineCaseyFeldown Thanks loads for the advice. I think the next time I try I'll go for 130c like you've advised, rather than 110c.

I always find that the bone pulls out easily, but the butter-like probing generally meets with some resistance from the outer layer. The joints I've used sit within the platesetter btw but maybe only just (pic below on a Large). Maybe the massive size contributes though.

When ive touched the joint maybe two thirds into the cook, the outside of the joint is gooey and buttery but by the time it's internally cooked its drier outside.

Thanks again - I'll try this out some time

Smoked my first pork butt......C-

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