Dave Lewis
TVWBB Super Fan
I cooked a 7.5 lb butt this weekend and my internal meat temps stalled in the 170s for over 4 hours. At the 18 hour mark, the internal temp still read only 175 and I had guests arriving 2 hours later. So I tried the "Texas Crutch" for the first time and wrapped the butt in foil, added a little apple juice, stuck my polder probe back in the meat thru the foil and put the butt back in the WSM. My lid temps were 260-275 this late in the cook to get this butt done. To my pleasant surprise, my internal meat temps rose from 175 to 195 in only 1 hour! I took the butt off and put in the cooler to rest for another hour before pulling. The result, a very moist, delicious butt. My butts always, and I mean always, take far longer than advertised, but the use of foil late in the cook may be my solution when time becomes an issue, especially in competition. I will use it again when my butts hit the 170 degree mark to see if I can duplicate my success and trim several hours off of my butt cooks.