Butt cook time advice


 
PeterD

PeterD

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi all,
I normally do butts overnight--on at 1am off about 3pm, hold and pull for supper, usually at 225-240. Tonight I'm just dog tired and would rather do it all when I'm fresh first thing in the morning.

I've never done a butt with the pit above 250° so if I run it at 275° what should I be looking at as a rule of thumb for cooking a 6-1/2 pounder on my 18" WSM?

Yes, I cook to temp and tender but I'm in new territory here (for me) so I'm trying to see what kind of time I should be budgeting. It's OK if I'm late by an hour or so, but I'd rather not have it ready to pull much before 6:30 or 7pm. Thoughts?

I do hot-and-fast briskets on occasion and they usually turn out quite tasty but does the same hold true for butts? Can I get away doing one faster and still get a good render on the internal fats?

Thanks in advance.
 
Looks good. 300° at the dome is probably about 275-285 at the grate, which is my target. So 7 hours total then. Only thing is the foil; I generally dislike foiling butts since I like the bark to be rich, deep black. I'm wondering how much time I'd have to add if I don't wrap.
 
That could work nicely. A 9am start, about a 9 hour cook time and it'll be ready to pull by 6-7pm. We usually have supper around 7-8pm so any time between 6:30 and 8:30 is good for us. Just gonna be the two of us and a bunch of lunches for me vacuum sealed ;D
 
Peter, late to the party, but I hope this helps...
I always cook my pulled pork at 275-285 and it turns out great and I have never had to foil. As a rule of thumb, a 7-8 pound butt takes me +\-9 hours. You will always get the one that acts totally different and cooks slower or faster, but for the most part, I get the meat on the smoker by 7 AM, I pull it around 1600 wrap in foil and towels and let rest in my cooler, and am pulling by 1700. Good luck, and keep us posted,
Tim
 
Followup: The butt went on at 8:15, I took it at 200° around 5pm, held it for two hours and pulled. A little tougher than I'd have liked but it was tasty and a bit of sauce hit the spot. The smoke ring was deep and red, but the bark a little soft, which I expected due to the short time in the smoker. Also despite using a heavy hand with the rub there was almost no pop.

Six food-saver bags of 4.5 ounces will make for some yummy lunches over the next few weeks. My temps shot up to 300 and stayed there after a minion start (no water in the foiled pan) for much of the cook. I had all the bottom vents shut down and the top down to about 1/4 open (far more restricted than I like to keep it). Next butt I'm going back to my usual 14 hour cook at 225.
 
Another approach would be to foil the butt for the 20% of the cook. Not too much different than foiling and holding....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top