Pork butt help!

[Manania]

I currently have an 8lb butt in my little guy. 5oz of hickory set to 225 around 430 this afternoon. I'm making it for my office potluck tomorrow.  The goal is to eat around noon.  I've never had a butt take 2hr/pound, but I didn't want to chance it since I have a deadline.

Every time I've smoked a butt in the past, I put it in right before bed so I'm not watching the temperature change until I wake up in the morning.  This is the first time I've watched and I'm already up to 142.

I'm concerned this is going to get to my 195 target temp WAY before I need it.  I've used the method of foil wrapping and setting temp to 140 to hold it before, but never for hours.

Am I going to lose quality if I need to hold the temperature that long? Is the rapid temperature gain in the first 4 hours normal?

Help!

• Tweet
• 

[NDKoze]

I think you will be alright. The temp will fly up to 140-150, but will then really slow down.

I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Not that I think you are going to have to resort to this, but you can turn the heat down to 140 when you hit 190 degrees and it will coast to 195 before starting to go back down again. You can leave it in a warming state for several hours and then double wrap in foil and rest for up to 3-4 hours with no loss in quality.

More likely, you'll hit 195 sometime mid morning and you can double-foil and rest for up to 3-4 hours. Even after 3-4 hours, the meat will most likely be too hot to handle with bare hands.

[DivotMaker]

Relax, Mike!  What you are watching is the climb to the stall.  lol.  If this is the first time you've watched it, it will freak you out!  Trust me, once it hits the 170+ range, that steady temp rise will stop.  It will even go backwards!  You should be fine.  Just don't mess with it, and let it go to 190-195, then double-wrap in foil and rest it.  You can also use 235 box temp on butts, with no difference in outcome (just a little less time).

Don't fear the stall!  This is when the magic happens!

[Manania]

I figured I was freaking out unnecessarily.  Thank you for confirming this for me guys.

This is the first time I've ever watched the climb, so it's a new learning experience.

When you guys hold at 140 in the box do you typically remove the meat and wrap in foil? I've done this before and the meat has always been fine, but is my foiling an unnecessary step?

[DivotMaker]

Mike, when I use the smoker to "hold," I remove the butt and double-wrap in HD foil.  I also leave the door open for 5-10 min, to cool the smoker down below 140.  Then, put the butt back in and set the temp to 140.  If you don't cool the smoker, you'll continue to cook due to the great insulation in the SI.  They just don't cool down!