What Temp to Pull and Foil Butt ?


 
J

James Harvey

TVWBB Pro
Hi All,

So the butt is 8lbs, bone in, rubbed, injected and has been on since 10pm EST. It's now 10am EST and creeping SLOWLY up (now 186F but took 3hrs to move from 178 to 186 at a stable 230F lid). I would generally pull it off at 195, foil and cooler it until my guests arrive around 2pm.

I'm just wondering what others think for temp. Pretty standard butt, good fat, boned, rubbed and injected as noted earlier.

I expect to hit 195 around 11:30-Noon EST.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

James
 
James, I have been in this position before. I lowered the WSM to 200 and did not foil till 1 hour before I wanted to pull off (2-3 hrs ahead).

At that point check for tender, if needed check fuel and re stoke, put the foiled but back on the WSM. If tender, put in a cooler till time to pull.

My 2 cents.
 
Hey James;

So what time was the butt done? I guessed that your cooking grate temp was about 210-215 if the dome was at 230. With that in mind, I would have planned on a 14 hour cook, then foiling, then resting in the Cambro or cooler. I notice if I pull at 195 (which is my preference) then as I foil and rest in the Cambro, the butt will continue to rise in temp and possibly hit 200 or even 202. No biggie since the tissue is resting and redistributing juices. What was your final time line?
 
Morrey,

I pulled it off at 12:30pm EST at 195F. That gave me 14 1/2 hrs cooking time. I foiled it and placed it in a cooler wrapped in towels until 2:30 then shredded it, used a variation of the No. 5 sauce to finish and served.
The meat was great but I didn't get the bark that I'm used to with prior cooks. I'm not sure why.
Anyway, it was a success. Next up is a full pork loin.

James
 
James,

Sounds like you made a darn good butt! Maybe the length of time in the foil resting softened the bark more than you expected. I use a rub with a good amount of turbinado and brown sugar, so the bark I create is pretty well set and can take lengthy foiling.
Good luck on the pork loin. I made one last fall and it was great. I only cooked it to maybe 140 internal, so it was juicy, moist and flavorful. It has basically no fat to render, so cooking it to high internal temps will dry it out and make it tough.
Let me know your results. Good cooking!
 
James,

Forgot to mention that some competition cook teams will unfoil the butts after they have rested and return briefly to a hot charcoal fire to firm the bark back up. I dont particularly want to light up another batch of charcoal to do this, so I just put it on a hot gas grill for a few minutes to reform the good bark. This dries the bark off somewhat making a nicer turn in box. If you want firmer bark after foiling, this will work.
 
There's no rule that say's you "have" to foil anything. I used to do some catering on my old big Traeger (which is gone and replaced by a 22.5 WSM) and I never foiled pork butts when I catered an event. To much work trying to foil 12-18 pork butts. Now comp cooks will almost always foil at about 160 or so. I've learned the key to good bbq is experimentation. You gotta see what YOU like.
 
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