1.92 lb pork butts, 5 1/2 hours and still at 180 degrees.


 
Jeff Padell

Jeff Padell

TVWBB Pro
As I said in another post, I am doing a test smoke, well actually Saturday dinner. Everything came out ok (or awful in the case of the country style ribs, very dry)

The pork butt, I bought 4 of them, 2 2 pounders and I thought 2 4 pounders. What I got was a 1.92, 1.98 2.60 and 2.90 pound butts, the 2.6 and 2.9 are wrapped as a roast.

I put the 1.92 on the WSM at 3:15 at 237 degrees and kept it at that for 3 hours, at that point the butt was at 160 degrees so I increased the WSM to 275-280, that was at 6:15, it is now 8.45 and the butt is at 180 degrees.

The outside has some nice bark, and I just turned it over and reinserted the probe, it was reading 183 when I put the probe back in it is now 180.

This is a 2 pound butt and it has been on for 5 1/2 hours.

I am wondering if I should let it go and see what I get or pull it, OOPS the WSM just went to 282 and the butt dropped to 178! :wsm:

I don't need this for food so I will let it go another hour, or should I?

6 hours for a 2 pound roast, has anyone heard of that?
 
Absolutely that all sounds normal to me. 12 hours is my 'norm' for a pork butt. Let that puppy ride through until it's probe tender (around 190 degrees) and you'll be glad you did.
 
There's another thread rolling right now where the guy is smoking a single butt and he's on 19 hours now. Sometimes --- it happens.
Personally, I'd never put a butt (even less than 2#) on the smoker in the afternoon and expect it to be done for dinner.
Going from 160 to 180 in 2.5 hours doesn't seem bad to me. Did you probe test it yet? Don't be so concerned with temps and just stick a probe/skewer in there and check for doneness. If it slides in like butter, it's done. If you feel some resistance - let it roll on.
 
I have not had a butt take 3 hours per pound so I have a couple thoughts:

Have you been opening the cooker to see how things are going? I am concerned when I hear things like "The outside has some nice bark, and I just turned it over and reinserted the probe." Though that's a normal impulse, you may have extended the cook time by opening the cooker a few too many times. If you're lookin you ain't cookin'.

If you haven't been opening the cooker too much, another concern is your pit temp probe. What are you using to determine pit temp? Is your pit temp probe accurate? Are you certain you are cooking at the temp you think you are?

I agree some cooks take longer than others. Chad has some good input.
 
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Opening the top may be the culprit, I started the butt and then after an hour put on the next course, and then had to take the beef ribs and chicken off, then had to take the country ribs off, so I have opened it several times.

My instant read probe agrees with the Maverick probe. I will see how it slides into the butt, it way well be done.

Will check it in a few minutes.

This is only my third smoke so it is a learning experience
 
I was very sloooowwww, but am learning

Just pulled the butt at 181, the inside about the size of a oversize golf ball was done but not silky tender, but the rest of it was easy to pull apart and what a taste. I was going to chop it anyway and add Sweet Baby Rays for sandwiches tomorrow, BUT I have a feeling my 2 boys who still live at home will find it, even though I put it in the back of the fridge.

My wife who so far has been iffy about my smoking ability, when I ask her how was it, she says "ok" in that tone that you know she is being polite. Well with this she said it was the best I have ever done. I agree it tastes great, I didn't wrap it but it doesn't over power with smoke.

I will do another small one tomorrow, but I can't start until 10 am, butt on at 11, but at least I know what to expect, mainly because I want lunch and dinner Monday! The rest of tomorrow will be ribs, kielbasa, and a new recipe for country style ribs (searing and then 30 minutes on WSM, lower grate.

Here are the results, I am happy, but if I didn't have to get up at 6am for church (was up at 5 am today) I would have let it got one more hour.

Did I mention I am having fun?

 
Pork butt & chicken are pretty forgiving and help with the learning curve & confidence. Ribs have a pretty small window from undercooked-perfect-overcooked. As with most guys starting out, ribs is what I wanted and what I did. They were good, but not great. In addition to working on your confidence, you gotta work on the families confidence. Glad to hear you're having fun and still able to eat the end results. Pork looks great!

Here's a "duh" comment - next time, start earlier. Like, waaay earlier. After it's done, wrap it in foil & towels and let it rest. I've held 8 pounders for 6 hours like that and they're still hot. Resting will redistribute the juices and keep it moist. Pulling off the smoker & tearing into it will aid in drying it out.
 
Chad,
Yesterday like today it was impossible to start early due to not being home until 1 pm yesterday and 10 am today (for a 2pm party) so no butt today, I am exhausted. Will probably just grill
 
Bob Bass said:
Jeff... This is what it's all about ! Great job on the stubborn butt ;)

Bob
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I agree, you've probably learned more on this cook that the others you did due to the challenge. You had fun and you have a dad gom good lookin butt. ...uh, I mean... pork shoulder roast.
 
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Jeff Padell said:
Chad,
Yesterday like today it was impossible to start early due to not being home until 1 pm yesterday and 10 am today
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Understood. Sometimes life happens and the best laid plans don't happen. It's difficult to rush BBQ though. It's all part of the learning curve.
Once you get comfortable, overnight cooks will help your plans a lot. I prefer to toss my (larger) butt on the smoker around midnight and let it roll while I sleep.
I'm sitting at 183 internal temp after 10 hours and it's only 10AM :D
 
Chad Bman said:
Understood. Sometimes life happens and the best laid plans don't happen. It's difficult to rush BBQ though. It's all part of the learning curve.
Once you get comfortable, overnight cooks will help your plans a lot. I prefer to toss my (larger) butt on the smoker around midnight and let it roll while I sleep.
I'm sitting at 183 internal temp after 10 hours and it's only 10AM :D
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Nice, I will try that. My wife didn't like the idea of something being left "on", she turns the dryer off if we go out of the house etc. I will convince her it is safe.
 
I remember reading somewhere where the pork butt will stay at a certain temp for awhile before moving up again in temp. True no?
 
The first time I ever tried to smoke something I had the same result. I keep a log book of all my smokes so I can go back and look at what I did right or look at what I can improve on.
 
Luckily, I stopped documenting after 5 or 6 smokes. Yes, it helps for a review. But after a few cooks, both you and the smoker will go through the learning curve and sync with one another. :)
 
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