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First time pork butt!

LumberJake
LumberJake Posts: 14
in EggHead Forum
hello fellow eggheads. I am relatively new to the game and am looking for a good pork butt recipe and any tips that I can get! Picked myself up a 9.2 pounder yesterday and I can't wait. Thanks in advance!
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Comments

  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
      Set up egg for indirect cook. Get stable temp any where from 225-325º (I aim for 275º). Rub pork butt with salt and rub (hundreds to choose from so pick any). Put butt in egg and cook until tender (normally somewhere above 195º internal, I usually find it about 200-205º).

    Approximate cooking times for pork butt/shoulder:

    225º:  2 hours a pound

    250º: 1.5 hours a pound

    275º:  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.

    These times reflect commonly reported cook times from other discussions on this forum.

    There are lots of variations that people use. They almost all work quite well. Do not obsess over different suggestions - pork butt has a wide latitude on how it can be cooked.

    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • 1voyager
    1voyager Posts: 1,161
    I smoked a 10.2 pound pork butt last night/this morning. 

    • Rubbed with Kosher salt and set in fridge for 24 hours.
    • After 24 hours, injected (I know, most people don't inject pork butt) with apple juice and vinegar 50/50.
    • Heavy coat of Red Rocks rub.
    • Loaded Rockwood lump almost to bottom of plate setter.
    • 3 fist-sized apple chunks.
    • 225 degrees at grate level, indirect, drip pan with apple juice.
    • It took about 17 hours to 203 degrees.
    • Removed from BGE, wrapped in aluminum, then towels and placed in faux cambro for 2 hours.
    • Temp dropped to 180 degrees, pulled pork and we ate WAY too much!
    • Good luck and have fun.


    Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser.
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    @1voyager - I like to inject pork butt. I use the same vinegar based sauce we usually use as a dip/pull sauce. 
    Have never used as much apple chunk, maybe 1 fist sized split into three and spread thru the lump, I also spritz with ACV to pull the smoke into the meat. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • LumberJake
    LumberJake Posts: 14
    @1voyager could you explain why you take it out and wrap it in aluminum foil and towels and what is a faux combo?
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  • dsrguns
    dsrguns Posts: 421
    Depending on your time frame you can cook pork at 225-350+-. If you search "turbo butt" you will see how to cook at higher temps and have said protein done much sooner. I have not tried injecting yet. I typically just use a rub of choice. I have done both low and slow as well as turbo with great results from both. After cooking I typically let the pork sit out until it cools down enough for me to handle it comfortably. If you need to hold a butt for an extended period of time then you could FTC it. 
      
    XL BGE
    MD
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    Turbo, epecially with a butt that big. Keep it simple. Butt's are virtually impossible to screw up. 

    FTC, by the way, stands for foil, towel, cooler to keep butt warm for hours before serving. 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • 1voyager
    1voyager Posts: 1,161
    LumberJake said:
    @1voyager could you explain why you take it out and wrap it in aluminum foil and towels and what is a faux combo?
    I wrap in aluminum to maintain moisture and keep the juices from running all over the place. I wrap in towels because it's easier to handle and to slow the cooling process. The other reason to wrap and hold is that I control what time to serve. You never know exactly when the butt will be done. At least I can't predict when they will be done, even after smoking dozens of butts.

    A Cambro is a food storage and transport product that is mostly used for catering. A faux (fake) Cambro just a cooler. In my case, a 30+ years old plastic double insulated Coleman. 
    Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser.
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  • LumberJake
    LumberJake Posts: 14
    Well the butt is officially on! I went with a Memphis style rub I find online and I'm trying the injection method. I work tonight so I'm gunna set the egg at 225 and shoot for 2 hours a pound. Hopefully be done sometime tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! I'll post some pics when it's all done
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    LumberJake said:
    Well the butt is officially on! I went with a Memphis style rub I find online and I'm trying the injection method. I work tonight so I'm gunna set the egg at 225 and shoot for 2 hours a pound. Hopefully be done sometime tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! I'll post some pics when it's all done
    Looks perfect with the rub but you missed the sides.lol
    Remember, If you are cooking at 225* on the dome temp gauge, you are not cooking your Butt at 225*. Temp is hotter in the dome than at cooking level. It's going to cook real, real slow at this temp. You can always bump the temp in the morning. Also very hard to push a butt through the stall at this low of a temp.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • LumberJake
    LumberJake Posts: 14
    Haha I fixed the sides right after I took this pic. But thanks for the advice, I'll be back home from my break in a few hours and I'll bump it up to 250. It is my first time injecting anything so do you only do it once or through out the cook?
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  • LumberJake
    LumberJake Posts: 14
    Had a little trouble in the middle of the night keeping the temps right, but 20 hours later and here we are! I could barely get it off the grill without falling apart. The hardest park was wrapping it up and putting it in the cooler before I ate it all!
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  • dsrguns
    dsrguns Posts: 421
    Looks like your patience paid off. Well done sir,enjoy the eats.
      
    XL BGE
    MD
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