Another pulled pork question


 
I

I. Nelson

New member
Hi All -
I am planning on doing pulled pork this weekend for a family reunion. I'm planning on getting a 5-6 lb butt. and it will be part of dinner saturday night.
Here is the question that has me up nights (all problems should be so tough):
Do I put it on at midnight Friday before I go to bed - OR do i wake up at 6/6:30 AM and put it on then.
Last time I tried pulled pork it was great, but after 11 hours it still wasn't done and we ate it too soon - the kids couldn't wait anymore! I want this one to be perfect.
Advice? Fire it up the night before or wake up early and hope 6 AM - 6 PM will be enough.
Thanks!
 
What temp do you plan on cooking the butt at will determine the amount of time it will take to cook. Also on my last butt I cut it in half before I put it on the smoker. That cut my time drastically and I ended up with more bark. I would say if you got the butt on by 6 since its only 5-6 pounds you should be good. My guess is it would be ready to come of no later then 3 and that is not cutting it in half. I usually try to cook my butts at 250 so my timing might be a little off depending at what temp you plan on cooking. Also remember you can foil once the bark is set and this will speed up the cooking process as well. Good Luck.
 
You can always bump it to HH if you have to. 325 for a butt is no great deal. One thing I learned about putting it in a cooler with blankets is you will get a lot of juice from the meat. Make sure you can capture the juice so as to put it back when the pork is pulled. I lost quite a bit due to leakage. Letting it rest is one thing but holding it if you're done early is another. I did not think there would be as much juice as there was.
 
I target 240-250 degrees and would allow 13-14 hours for cooking and resting. I foil somewhere around 150 to 160 and remove foil at close to 190. Let it go to about 195 and check for tenderness. Normally, I remove at 200, give or take a couple of degrees.

I like for it to rest for somewhere between 1 and up to 4 hours wrapped in a couple of towels in a warm cooler. Main thing is to let it rest a good while but keep temp over 140.

For a 6 lb butt, this would allow 1.5 - 2.0 hours for cooking and the residual time is taken up in the rest. My butts usually end up closer to the 2 hrs per pound than the 1.5 hours per pound.
 
Thanks for the replies and great advice. I think I'll put it on in the AM instead of the night before and foil/rise temps up a bit if need be.
Appreciate the help!
 
Hope it turned out well. I started making my own Q about 10 years ago and have tried all the different techniques along the way. For pulled pork I get my best results when I cook it until 190 degrees, then wrap it in foil and beach towels and leave it in an igloo cooler for a couple hours to settle down. I then pull it into 1 or 2 disposable 9x13 baking pans put it in the fridge not to be eaten until the next day. When I want it the next day I heat it 325 for 30 minutes. You can't eat smoked meats too soon after smoking. The flavor you're wanting doesn't "set in" that fast.
 
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