Bone in Pork Butt questions

[Andy-CaliCowboy]

So I nailed a brisket, largely thanks to all of your guys help, on Father's Day. See brisket tax below.

I've decided to tackle pork butt now, which I have heard is more forgiving. I picked up a 9lb bone in for Saturday. I was thinking of letting it roll st 275 on my 18.5". However I'm not sure what range I should estimate my cooking time to be. I've seen ranges from 9 hours to 18 hours.

But I was thinking closer to 10-13?

Also should I leave the bone in or debone and split it prior to cooking? I've seen both methods discussed?

 

[DanHoo]

I would leave the bone in.

I've joined the the temp-doesn't-matter club. last one I did was a "turbo pork butt" ( google it ) and It was just as tasty as ones I've done at 225F over night.

I wrap about an hour or two after it stalls, and then pit temp really doesn't matter.

As far as timing? I try to add a couple of hours of buffer in case it cooks slower than I expect. It will hold very well wrapped in a cooler, wrapped in towels.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Agreed, chasing the temp will do no good, set it up, throttle back to where you’re comfortable, let it go. A butt will forgive you a great deal. I don’t wrap through the stall, I just sit back and either have a cup of coffee in the morning or a beer in the afternoon.
Really, don’t sweat it, just let the barbecue let you know when it’s done.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Pretty much anything goes with pork shoulder......
I however am going to have a hard time not cooking it like I did last time.
Cook was fast and flavors were killer.....I still have some vac packed up.
Look here, after it is pulled you can do what you want with it, it doesn't have to have my spices or be made into tacos......

Smoked, lard braised butt

The title is as about as sexy as Chris will let me post…..(y) Got a shoulder cut into 4 pieces and on the smoke for about 7:30 this mornin….about 7.75 lbs. Gringo grande with as much force as it would handle….this stuff is so good, mainly because maybe it isn’t salty at all….large quantities go...

tvwbb.com

 

[Andy-CaliCowboy]

I would leave the bone in.

I've joined the the temp-doesn't-matter club. last one I did was a "turbo pork butt" ( google it ) and It was just as tasty as ones I've done at 225F over night.

I wrap about an hour or two after it stalls, and then pit temp really doesn't matter.

As far as timing? I try to add a couple of hours of buffer in case it cooks slower than I expect. It will hold very well wrapped in a cooler, wrapped in towels.

Thanks for tips! And good to know about the "temp doesn't matter club" haha I won't be stressing so much about using such a high heat now.

 

[Andy-CaliCowboy]

Agreed, chasing the temp will do no good, set it up, throttle back to where you’re comfortable, let it go. A butt will forgive you a great deal. I don’t wrap through the stall, I just sit back and either have a cup of coffee in the morning or a beer in the afternoon.
Really, don’t sweat it, just let the barbecue let you know when it’s done.

Thanks for input!

 

[Jim C in Denver]

TBH, any temp between 200 and 350 will work. The temp I use is mostly determined by when I want to be done and what's convenient.

For example, if I'm doing an overnight cook and want to sleep well, I will use a lower temp just so that I won't have to do any wrapping and fire tending until morning arrives. If I'm starting in the morning and need to be done for dinner time, then I will cook at a higher temp.

And once you wrap, feel free to use the kitchen oven for the last part of the cook. Since once you wrap, any BTU source will work the same. Using the oven let's you shut down the fire and clean up while the pork is finishing up. If you are running behind, putting the wrapped butt in the oven can help you land the plane sooner.

Bone or boneless is fine -- I'd just work with whatever you have.

I usually get the boneless shoulders from Costco and butterfly them -- more surface area/bark. Bone in is more compact on the grill grate and takes longer to cook. Bone in lets you do the fun bone pull at the end.

 

[Andy-CaliCowboy]

TBH, any temp between 200 and 350 will work. The temp I use is mostly determined by when I want to be done and what's convenient.

For example, if I'm doing an overnight cook and want to sleep well, I will use a lower temp just so that I won't have to do any wrapping and fire tending until morning arrives. If I'm starting in the morning and need to be done for dinner time, then I will cook at a higher temp.

And once you wrap, feel free to use the kitchen oven for the last part of the cook. Since once you wrap, any BTU source will work the same. Using the oven let's you shut down the fire and clean up while the pork is finishing up. If you are running behind, putting the wrapped butt in the oven can help you land the plane sooner.

Bone or boneless is fine -- I'd just work with whatever you have.

I usually get the boneless shoulders from Costco and butterfly them -- more surface area/bark. Bone in is more compact on the grill grate and takes longer to cook. Bone in lets you do the fun bone pull at the end.

Thanks; I'm guessing that temp rule also applies to cranking the temp post wrap?

For example if I'm oven finishing but smoked at 275 I can put it in a 300-350 degree oven to drive it home?

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Thanks; I'm guessing that temp rule also applies to cranking the temp post wrap?

For example if I'm oven finishing but smoked at 275 I can put it in a 300-350 degree oven to drive it home?

Sure!
But, don’t take a defeatist attitude, it should go just fine, just let it roll. You will be fine!

 

[Jim C in Denver]

Oven finish temp should be whatever you need to get dinner on table on time. Can be higher different than the smoke temp.

 

[Bob Bass]

There is one very important rule.... Cook to Tenderness !

 

[JWorden]

I cook mine to 205F. By then it's normally tender. I've tried cooking to 195-200F but's never been tender enough. However, I still check for tenderness even at 205F just to be safe.

On my WSM I normally get the temperature between 240-270F and wrap around 160-165F. If I don't wrap I get too much bark for my family's liking.

 

[Mike Shook]

I cook mine to 205F. By then it's normally tender. I've tried cooking to 195-200F but's never been tender enough. However, I still check for tenderness even at 205F just to be safe.

On my WSM I normally get the temperature between 240-270F and wrap around 160-165F. If I don't wrap I get too much bark for my family's liking.

Too... much..... bark......

Nope, Google can't find a definition for that phrase. Must be a typo.

 

[Gib Gibson]

I cook mine to 205F. By then it's normally tender. I've tried cooking to 195-200F but's never been tender enough. However, I still check for tenderness even at 205F just to be safe.

On my WSM I normally get the temperature between 240-270F and wrap around 160-165F. If I don't wrap I get too much bark for my family's liking.

I cooked one for 4th of July to 201F and the thing was falling apart putting it in the pan to go pull it. I guess every piece of meat is different. I typically give the bone a little pull and if it slides out pretty easy, I'm usually satisfied with the product.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

When it pulls clean, I’m usually pretty happy too!

 

[Jacky Kimes]

I would leave the bone in.

I've joined the the temp-doesn't-matter club. last one I did was a "turbo pork butt" ( google it ) and It was just as tasty as ones I've done at 225F over night.

I wrap about an hour or two after it stalls, and then pit temp really doesn't matter.

As far as timing? I try to add a couple of hours of buffer in case it cooks slower than I expect. It will hold very well wrapped in a cooler, wrapped in towels.

I always read to watch the temp over 250-275 due to burning the sugar in the rub. Is that a myth?

 

[Bob Bass]

Myth ?? Ask yourself this... Your smoker is running at 275 while cooking a brisket. Before the stall, there is usually visual moisture on the surface of the brisket. SO... If your at 275, how can that moisture exist if water becomes steam at 212 or so.... ??
Just because you're running at 275, the meat surface and consequentially the applied rub is running at a much lower temperature.

 

[DanHoo]

I always read to watch the temp over 250-275 due to burning the sugar in the rub. Is that a myth?

if you google "turbo pork butt" many results suggest less sugar in a rub, yet there are a bunch of variables like pit temp, wrap or no wrap, bone-in or boneless.

The rub I use has very little brown sugar and I didn't change it when I've cooked turbo. I've only done it a couple of times but it worked well and I'm not sure I could tell any difference in the end product.

TBH, I prefer a long, lower temp smoke because its easier. I set it up, and forget about it while I sleep. In the morning after coffee I'll foil boat it, and forget about it until the temp alarm hits 198, and then I've got some time to collect towels and the cooler for the rest.

 

[timothy]

I always read to watch the temp over 250-275 due to burning the sugar in the rub. Is that a myth?

You see so many overnight butt cooks where it looks like a black meteorite and it was only cooked at 225.
I usually only do high heat butts and they come out more mahogany using S&P and turbino sugar.

 

[DanHoo]

I usually only do high heat butts and they come out more mahogany using S&P and turbino sugar.

Can you share your high heat details please.

Pit Temp?

Bone in or Boneless?

Wrap? Foil boat? leave it till the end?