Brined Pork Butt for Pulled Pork

[anesdoc]

Yeah, TJ, the bone end gets hotter, faster.  I think the bone serves as a heat conductor into the meat.  But, that also makes the whole thing cook more evenly.  Bone-in meat always seems to cook better, imo.

I found that that bone end was the lower temp side.  This was confirmed with 2 temp probes (the Auber and one of the Maverick probes) in the meaty end, and only the other Maverick probe in the bony end.  I chose to disregard the probe in the bony end.
I sort of have that finding with grilling bone-in steaks where the meat around the bone is less done.

[DivotMaker]

I agree, TJ!  I think I said it backwards.  The bone is really like a "heat sink," more than a conductor.  It absorbs the heat, and makes the meat cook more evenly.  Your experience is right!  What I do know, for sure, is bone-in meat cooks better!  lol.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

[NVW-SSV]

Just finished a set of (2) butts in the #2, using DM's brine recipe. 9 # and 7.3# for a total of 16.3lbs. in the #2, crammed in TIGHTLY.


Brined for 15 hours in the fridge in my Sam's Club bucket of DM's brine,  rinsed well, patted dry and back into the fridge with olive oil/rub for about 7 hours.  Used 3.0 oz. white oak and 3.0 cherry from Smokinlicious.com (excellent quality!!!)

Placed into the smoker at 9:20 pm on Wed. night.  From 40*F to 140*F in exactly four hours on an Auber program of 145* for 45 mins, 235* until 190*F.  After staying up those four hours watching Heisenberg learn to cook.....I was awakened not much later by my Maverick 733 probe alarm (on the smaller butt) at 188*F at 6:15 am on Thursday morning.  The other butt was same temp. with Auber probe (larger butt)

These butts were purchased from Sam's and never frozen -  is this normal to finish so quickly?  They were touching on the rack and couldn't have had much more than a half inch at the back and the door.....  Yeah, I did check with my trusty digital thermometer in several places of each butt to confirm these IT's. 
 
Does approx. ONE hour per pound sound OK?  Currently in foil wrap and towels for a couple hours....eating tonight at 7 PM......what should I do to preserve the taste for tonight?  Need ideas

Jody

[BedouinBob]

Jody, it could. Depends on the meat. The times are average and are really guidelines. You will find that the meat will tell you when it is done. So at about 190 deg pull the meat and let it rest for 30 minutes. If these were bone in make sure your probes are not in the bone. That could make the temp run high.

[NVW-SSV]

Thanks Bob.  I checked in several different places on both butts and kept getting 187+ numbers with my digital kitchen thermometer.  So, I just decided to take them out, wrap them in foil and put in a cooler , and pulled them 2 hours later. 

What I found was - more fatty output than last time, no big deal....and the bone didn't slide out as easily -  though it wasn't a chore to remove.  I'm very PLEASED with the flavor and attribute that to DM's brine.  Probably (tonight) will put this in the oven at 250*F for about an hour, let rest for 30 minutes, and then thoroughly impress the guests.  Very happy overall with this cook, though it only netted 8 lbs from 16.30 lbs. precooked.  One of the butts had a huge bone, almost 1.5 times the size of the other one.  And I keep very little fat in the final product.  Another good day for the #2.

[NDKoze]

Every piece of meat is a little different and cooks differently. Since the bone was a little tougher than normal to pull out, I am guessing you could have gone a little further. I take mine to a minimum of 190, but usually end up in the 192-193 range.

I start mine at mindnight too which puts me closer in line to my right meal time. I have let them rest up to 4 hours double-foiled in the cooler, but I think that would probably be the max. Your idea of pulling and then reheating later is probably a good idea.

If vacuum packed, I usually just reheat by simmering the bag in a simmering pot of water. Or reheating in a crockpot with a little apple juice on the bottom is a good idea too.

[icebob]

i'm game enough all set up for a late saturday night smoke...

[DivotMaker]

Way to go, Bob!  Bring it!  Let me know what you think - good or bad!

[icebob]

Struggling with this one, temps really drops outside, (in the 10s right now) 12hrs in right now and IT stuck at 170, just cranked up the regular oven and will finish that way....

[DivotMaker]

Struggling with this one, temps really drops outside, (in the 10s right now) 12hrs in right now and IT stuck at 170, just cranked up the regular oven and will finish that way....

I know it's too late now, but sounds like you were in the "stall," which has nothing to do with the outside temp.  As long as your smoker was the right temp (and I suspect it was), you could have just let it ride.  Stalls, on large cuts, can last several hours!

[icebob]

Yeah, I know about the stall, I even try to wrap it to get it up.... but my belly was setup to eat some pulled pork for dinner.... I started the thing at 5:30 AM and end up getting to temp at 9:45pm.... not used to have a stall that last that long...

[DivotMaker]

I usually average 1 - 1.5 hours/lb, Bob, but have had butts go almost 2 hrs/lb!  Funny thing about meat....it has it's own agenda, depending on how it was raised!  That's one of the things I love, and hate, about this hobby of ours - unpredictability!  We can plan all we want, but BBQ isn't like baking a cake.  There's a bit of "black art" that comes into play, and keeps us guessing!  All that to say, allow 2 hrs/lb on butts.  If it's done early, a wrap/rest in the cooler is in order.

[NDKoze]

I always start mine at midnight the night before and never eat late. If it gets done early, double-wrap in foil and rest up to 4 hours. If it gets done earlier than that, turn your temp down to 140 when the internal temp hits 188-190 and hold in the smoker (do not open the door) until to get to the four hour mark before the meal. The residual heat will take it the rest of the way to 190+.

[GarthMN]

Howdy folks,

Long time reader, first time poster.  I'm 12 hours in on a brined 7 lb bone-in boston butt and the smoke stopped coming out of the hole in my SI1.  A little more detail if it helps:

10:00PM:  Started the smoke (6 oz of hickory and cherry chunks from Maine Grilling Woods)
6:00AM: Kids run into our room and jump on the bed, so I check the temp - 180.  I clean the undermount drip pan, which is fairly empty.
7:00AM: Check again - 177 - figuring temp hasn't moved because it's in the stall
8:00AM: Temp is now at 166.  Check the drip pan and it's full of gelatenous rendered fat (usual at this outside temp).  May have been clogging the hole, so cleaned it out.
9:00AM: Temp is at 171.
10:00AM: Temp is at 172 and no smoke coming out the smoke hole.

Any cause for concern here?  Any action I need to take?

Thanks fou your help!
-Garth from Minneapolis

[DivotMaker]

Welcome Garth!  No cause for concern, whatsoever.  You should not have smoke going after that length of time.  Assuming you started with 5-6 oz of wood, that would be used up after around 5-6 hours.  The smoke is absorbed best when the meat is below 140.  After that, it tends to build up on the surface and gives an over-smoked taste.  You should be good to go!