Pork Butt Help

jb1020 · January 2009

I got about a 9.5 lb pork butt. I put it on right at 9 pm last night. the temp had settled right at 250. it stayed at 250

till about midnight. i figured i could rest easy. :side:

i get up at about 6am, the temp had dropped to about 220. (internal temp of the pork was 169). so i opened the draft door a tiny bit to try and get the temp back up before i left and i came back and checked it before heading to work and the temp was at aboput 190

i took it off to check the coals, i thought i had enough, but decided to throw some more on there just in case. i had to leave for work, but i left the draft door open a little more than where it should be at 250. id rather it be too hot than too cold when i go check it in about 3 hours.

any suggestions? any idea what made the tempt drop so rapidly in about an hour this morning after holding steady for a 5-6 hour period last night?

thanks

gdenby · January 2009

Most often, when I run into something like that, the fire has burnt straight down the middle of the lump pile. Also, I've had the bottom vents clog with ash. I keep a long rod at hand to stir around the sides, and push the lump into the center, and I've got a bent coat hanger to poke up thru the bottom vent to loosen ash piles.

Assuming you don't have a big clog, you may find the temp up around 275-300 at next check. Be prepared to stick a finished butt into a pre-warmed "cooler," to hold for dinner. I've had butts at 195+ stay above 140 for more than 5 hrs. when wrapped in HD foil and double towels in a cooler with a jug full of hot water.

jb1020 · January 2009

thanks, i think that was it actually. apparently adding some lump did the trick too.

11:30 got home and the dome was reading 250 on the dot. i took the internal temp and it was at 192.

it was looking good, thanks for the info.

jb1020 · January 2009

ok need an expert opinion.

got home from work and took the internal temp, it said 172. it was in the same place where it was reading 192 about 4 hours earlier.

the dome temp had died down to about 190.

is it ok to eat now? i would assume it got to 195 an has now just cooled?

need some expert advice, im a little worried/stressed

Nils · January 2009

You're good, and the Butt is too

Safety zone is 140-150 degrees F - stay above that and food is safe.

Most of us remove the butts from fire and wrap in foil and then blankets/towels and store in cooler for 2-5 hours to pull later. I leave a thermometer in at least one of them with a remote monitor so I can monitor internal meat temperature. Just pull and eat/store it by 150 degrees.

Pork Butt Help

Comments

Categories