Pork Shoulder Boston Butt


 
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Don C.

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Yup, that's what the package says. It wieghs almost 16 pounds and looks like a single piece. I'm hoping that it is 2 pieces.

Anyone ever run into this before? And is shoulder much different than the butt? I plan on smoking it Thurs. night. I'm posting this from work and can't really check it anyway as the meats in the freezer.

TIA.
 
Thanks for the quick replies. This will be my second smoke, can't hardly wait. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
BJ's. I have never cooked a pork butt or shoulder. This will be my first attempt. Do you also "pull" the shoulder as you do the butt?
 
Hi Rath,

It's my understanding that they're the same thing. Pork shoulder = Boston butt. The label is redundant redundant. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Mark in Trenton
 
Rath
The whole shoulder is the butt with the picnic attached or the whole front leg. What is being cooked here is the butt from what I'm reading.
Jim
 
Again, thanks for the replies. So, figure they're gonna wiegh 7+ lbs. after trimming, I'm looking at a 10 to 12 hour cook?

Would like to get the time down as I will be making up for being stuck at work for the 4th. Will be doing the butts to have for Thursday dinner, Spares on Friday and beef ribs on Sat.

Was thinking of doing the mustard recipe on one butt and Mr. Browns on the other. But might just wind up doing the mustard on both...


Mark, I live in Bridgeton, but work up near Trenton. Maybe I'll bump into you one of these days.

Rath *grateful for the help*
 
Hi Rath,

You might need a little more time depending on your grate temperature. Higher grate temp will give you a shorter cook time and conversely, a lower temp will require a longer cook. A 7+ lb butt will probably take 12 to 14 hours or more at 230 to 240 degrees. Butt /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif,every butt is different. You can always wrap in foil and a towel, then hold in a cooler ~ Sure beats trying to finishing off your butt at a higher temp when guests are waiting. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Good luck on your cook.
 
Thanks Bill,
I was originally planning on alotting 16 hrs to the butt cook, so 12 to 14 is not bad. I did plan to wrap them in foil and put them in a cooler.

I have turned into a big fan of "low and slow" and can't see trying to finish off a cook with a higher temp. And if my guests be waiting, there's always more beer /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I have a single probe polder thermometer with a ET-73 on the way, but don't think it's gonna get here by thursday /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif , so I take the temp at the upper grate. Trying to figure out the best way to monitor the interal meat temp with only one thermometer. Might have to forgo monitoring the WSM temp and trust it to hold temp while bringing the butts up to 190.

Rath *doesn't want to be a "peeker"*
 
I've read posts here about trusting the pit temp and knowing the approx time on cooking a butt . . Twist the bone when you think it's done ~ If it wants to come out, it's done.

On the other hand, monitoring the meat temp lets you know where IT'S at, butt you might have a run away temp situation in your WSM and not know it.

Harley ~ Dinette Set ~ Harley ~ Dinette set

And he bought the dinette set!!

Me, if it were one of my 1st cooks, I'd monitor the pit temp and check the bone. Doug D. always has good advice ~ Maybe he'll chime in here with some expert words of wisdom. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
Might give that a whirl Bill. Let me clarify a bit. I did not plan on checking the meat temp. till the tail end of the cook. Perhaps at the 10 hour mark?

Rath *hoping the ET-73 shows up Wednesday*
 
Well. . .
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Rath *doesn't want to be a "peeker"* <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just kidding /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif If you're quick and have your ducks in a row, you can quickly move the probe from pit temp mode to meat temp mode ~ Be prepared and don't leave the lid off any longer than you have to. You will have a temp spike butt if you're quick, that baby of a WSM will recover quickly.

Let us know how it goes. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif
 
I just did four butts this weekend (again) and I'm still new at this. Mine took 17 hours. I had planned for between 15 and 20. If it had taken twenty, pulling would have been painful (we had a pulling party and I handed out food service gloves to three others and taught them this fine art). For those keeping score, I used sand this time and will never go back to water.

Dinner was scheduled for 6:00pm with ~40 people. The weekend went like this:

Friday evening: Slathered and added a modified Mr. Brown (no mustard powder and ran short of a couple things, improvised a couple others). Packed all four in 1 gallon freezer bags and set in the refrigerator until Saturday night. This was no small feat. We were camping and the refrigerator in my RV is pretty small. So is the counter space to work with all the meat.

Saturday evening: 8:30pm, fired up the grill using the Minion method. When the temp approached 200 degrees, I dropped in all four butts. There wasn't enough room. I was concerned because the meat ended up pressed together. I just decided to "go for it". I spent about the next hour fiddling with lower air vents to try and get it "perfect". Eventually I got bored with trying to get it perfect and went back to the party.

Sunday Morning: The temp held rock steady at 229-231 all night until about 7:00am when I woke up. It had drifted down to 210 or so. I opened the door, stirred the coals a little bit added some more just to make me more comfortable. I also added a couple chunks more smoke meat (I was using Oak and Apple). I played around with the vents a little more just for fun and then got bored again.

10:00am Sunday: I had been so good, but I had to peek. It's a weakness. I called over some other members of the group that had expressed an interest, and we had a brief ceremony. Gawd, they were beautiful!

1:00pm Sunday: The largest of the butts reached 192, and I pulled them all off, wrapped them in foil, and let them rest in an ice chest set aside for just this purpose (a warm ice chest). Then, I went sailing.

Winds were great and dinner was postponed until 7:00pm.

6:30pm: We had our little "pulling party". Each participant had their own turkey roasting pan. When they were done pulling, we covered each pan and returned them to the chest to await dinner.

They were beautiful. This WSM just keeps getting better and better. The best compliment of the weekend came from a member of our fleet. He is a VEGETARIAN! He had seconds for lunch today.

It was a winner.!

Relax, have some fun and try not to worry. It will be a thing of beauty.

Chet
 
Good and interesting read Chet, thanks. Never having cooked such a large amount of meat before, I just want to get it right. I know it would be easier with the ET-73, but right now I am without.

I was thinking of changing up my cooking schedule to give the ET-73 more time to arrive, but with my work schedule and the time involved with the actual cooks, I must do the butts Wed. night.

Maybe I can put a standard meat thermometer in at the 9hr mark and check the meat temp. while basting?

Rath *trying to make his butt work with what he's got*
 
The most important temperature to keep track of for the first 75% of the cook is the grate or dome temperature. The meat temperature will be uninteresting. At 9 hrs, the meat temp will probably be somewhere around 125-145 degrees and all you will know is that it has more time to go.

If your smoker temp is holding steady in the 225-250 range, the meat temp might start getting close at 9 hrs, but more likely at > 12-13 hrs.

If you leave your meat thermomenter in the smoker, it won't be long before you can't read it. Your view will be covered in smoke and you might not be able to see the dial.

It might be better, assuming the temps have been under control, to just take a pair of tongs and pinch a bit of the butt after 12-13 hours. If it pulls really easy, it's ready. If it doesn't lay open and gush juice, give it some more time. Wiggling the bone works too. I could not pick mine up by the bone. All the meat fell off. It took two hands to lift the pork out of the smoker. I had to wiggle it just to free it from the grate or I would have left behind some wonderful flavor.

You'll be fine.

Chet
 
First cook was 2 X 8 lbs, bone in. Second was 4 X 4-4.5 lb boneless. Both were around 18hrs. Both times I've planned on 12 hours and started at midnight to eat at 5pm and both times dinner was late because they used up my buffer time and then some. Next time I'm starting the same amount of meat at 8pm.

Best of luck and have fun!
 
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