Boston butt overnight cook temp drop


 
D

DaveCrosson

New member
Hey guys - this is only my second cook on my WSM 18" and I am cooking a 5.5lb Boston butt boneless and tied. I started the cook around midnight at 250 since it just ran really hot at the beginning.

At about 1:45 I checked the oven temp was around 240. That was my last check before I slept through my alarm. I woke up at 6:45 and the oven temp was at 209. The meat temp was 149. I am getting the back up now, but did I kill this butt by letting the temp drop that much?
 
Nope, not all all. Re-stoke the fire and carry on.
(I just did the same thing this morning on my mini)
 
you're fine. are you going off lid temp, or using a electronic thermometer like the maverick? my lid temp is 20* lower than the actual temp in the cooker (every lid thermo seems to be different in terms of accuracy).

when i wake up and see it low, i normally wait another 15-20 minutes and re-check before i do anything... a 15* swing in temp isn't totally abnormal. if it doesn't come up on it's own after that time, play with your vents, gently stir the coals and you ought to be back up to your desired level in a little while.
 
I agree you're fine. Kick the ash off the coals and it should come up on its own. If not stir the coals. If that doesn't work light a full chimney and when it starts burning clean dump it in - all the coals won't be lit but they'll be warm so you won't get nasty smoke on your food.
 
Briant - I am using a maverick digital oven thermometer, my lid therm is about 20 degrees off as well. I opened the vents and got the temp back up around 235, but the temp kept falling after that. After checking the fuel, I lit a 1/4 full chimney and put them in the door. I'm around 250 again and just hit 185 internal at 12:20pm. Getting close!
 
So everything turned out great for my first run at a Boston butt. After I refueled it only took another couple hours to hit 195 internal. I wrapped it up in foil and let it rest in my oven for 2 hours. When I took it out the smell was incredible. When I started to pull the butt apart it looked delicious. Pretty decent ring but it was a little less than 1/4". Great flavor.

I noticed when I pulled the meat apart there were some really soggy wet sections. I assume that was a fatty section that just melted. I actually left those parts out of the serving portion since the texture was slimey. Is that normal?

The parts I did serve are really tasty. Perhaps a bit dry in some parts. Maybe the bone-in cut would be a tad more moist?

Ill post a pic I took of the cooked butt on the grill when I took the lid off. Give me a bit.
 
Yes, it's very normal to have some undesirables while pulling a pork butt. Just get in there with your hands and pick the goo out.
Glad you enjoyed the pulled pork as it only gets better from here. :)
 
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