Cooking my first pork butt


 
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Paul Balzotti

TVWBB Fan
Well I picked up a pork butt today that I want to cook. This will be my first one I have done in my WSM. Before I do this I have some questions. Hoping all of you experienced cooks can help. The butt I purchased is a boneless butt and it weighs about 4 pounds. Everything I have read the butt always has a bone in it. Has anybody done a boneless and had any luck with it and what are the average cook times for a butt thats 4 pounds.

thanks
 
Boneless butts are cooked all the time. The problem with all butts, bone in or bone out, is that there is quite a bit of variation in cooking times with each piece of meat. Sometimes a smaller butt takes longer than a larger one due to the variation of internal structure.

Some believe that a bone-in butt comes out better in the end, but I haven't found that to be the case.

A rule of thumb is 1 1/2 hours per pound cooking around 240 lid temperature, but I find that this is very approximate.

The best way is to stick a probe or fork in about once every half hour after a few hours. A perfectly done butt will have some resistance to your probe as it goes in easily.

Once you feel that for yourself, you won't forget it.

Good luck with the smoke.
 
Paul, my butts have never cooked as fast as 1.5 hours per pound to 190+ degrees.

For example on Tuesday night I put on two 5.5 pounders and removed them at 3pm Wednesday for a 15 hour cook. Meat temps were in the low 190s and pulled ver nicely. They were both cooked on the top rack.

If I were you, since you are firing the WSM up put on an extra butt, brisket, etc. Why fire it up for just one 5 pounder?

Last weekend for a competition, the 5.5 pound butt took around 13-14 hours.

John
 
The only difference I have experienced has been that you should really tie a boneless butt up really well. Otherwise you may have some difficulty taking it off the grill.

As far as temperature I would get a remote oven thermometer that you run the cord under the lid so you can monitor the internal temperature. I would not recommend taking the lid off ever half hour (that would make it difficult to maintain the temp).

Most of all enjoy your first pork-butt.

Good luck!
 
I have a similar question. My wife and I are cooking a bone-in butt this weekend (starting tonight around midnightish maybe) for a family get together around noon tomorrow. We're getting one that'll be in the 10-12 lb range. It won't be our first butt, but it will be the first in the WSM. Our general method of eating is to cook it, rest it, pull it, and sauce it for sandwiches.
I was wondering if there were recommendations for lid temps and times. I know it depends on the butt; I was just hoping for a general guideline. I'd hate to have everyone get there at 12 or so and go, "Okay guys, just another 4 hours and we can eat!" Also, if you have a favorite seasoning to put on the butt I'd love to hear about it! We'll probably be smoking with hickory. Later!

P.S. If we can't find a good looking butt in the 10-12 range, we'll probably get 2 smaller ones in the 5-7 lb range, so cook times/temps for that as a backup would be welcome as well. Again, thanks!
 
Luke, you better put a butt that big on a lot earlier than midnight if you're figuring on eating it for lunch tomorrow. I'd try more like noon today. You can always foil and hold but making it hurry up could be a trick. For something that big, I'd probably shoot for 250 or maybe even 275. Kevin Krueger regularly cooks at higher temps and seems to have great success. As for a recipe, I'd start with Mr. Brown from this site. It's been declared a winner and the cooking instruction are excellent.
 
Thanks. That kind of stuff is what I'm talking about. We've only ever used our grill as an offset style smoker, and we've managed to cook an 11 pound butt in around 9 hours. Because we were using the grill, we had no clue as to what the temp inside the grill was. The earliest we'll be able to start will be around 6 or 7 this evening, so hopefully that'll be long enough. We'd like to bring it off between 200 - 220. Should we heat it up to at or over 300 the last couple or three hours of cooking? Again, fairly new at this. Thanks everyone!
 
Thanks for all the advice everybody. But I have another question. Now I have done ribs and chicken but man to I have trouble keeping the temp constant. I have tried playing with the bottom vents keeping them wide open closing two or closed half way. How do you guys keep you cooking temp constant for such a long smoke? My biggest worry is I start it at 9pm and by the morning I have nothing but ashes. and I say ashes because I am using kingsford.
 
i'm in the same boat, next friday eve i'm gonna put on a couple butts (mr brown's) and while i've "cooked" butts before on the gasser this is my first time using the WSM... keep us informed about how it goes...
 
Temp control is easy to learn and you get better at it each cook. The minion method of lighting the charcoal is the best way to start(search here for instructions) assemble the cooker wait 10 - 30 minutes, add your meat, sometimes the temps will drop with alot of cold meat added, leave vents wide open until lid temps get around 240 or so and close all vents 75% to 100%. With a full load of charcoal and starting the minion method the WSM will carry overnight very easy with the vents closed and still have coal left in the morning. Sometimes I do need to add a little charcoal depending on what my internal meat temps are. Enough air gets in around the cracks and door to keep the fire going but not enough to burn itself completely out.

I dont worry to much about keeping a certain temp, just within a range, when I go to bed I set my ET-73 for a range of 220 - 320 so anywhere in between there if fine with me. With fine adjustments it will keep more consistent temps but you are checking it every hour or so and making minor vent adjustments, I prefer some sleep myself.

Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out. And like Kevin said I would start as early as you can, if it does get done early, you can always wrap and store in a cooler which it needs a rest anyway for a few hours.

Randy
 
Luke, instead of one 10-12 lbs, get two 5-6 lbs. Cook on the top rack, keeping temps in the 220-250 range and it should reach the low 190s in 12-16 hours.

Take off, wrap in foil, place in an ice chest for a couple of hours.

If the meat is not done (low 190s) by the time you're ready to eat, have sliced instead of pulled pork and chalk it off as a learning experience or as an alternative kick up the heat towards to end by opening the vents and door or place it in the oven for finishing.

The meat should reach 160 pretty fast and then stall for the longest time. It may take another 3-4 hours just to go from 160 to 170. Have patience it will get up to temperature.

John
 
Paul, I've gone 15 hours method without dding charcoal (using the Minion). You may need to add water at about the 8 hour mark.

I use the Brinkman charcoal pan for water, get the WSM settled at around the 220-230 mark, close off two vents and open the 3rd half way and so to sleep.

John
 
I agree with Randy... you will get better with temp control over time... For me, in the beginning I was checking temps every 15 minutes and making small adjustments. Now that I have a better idea of how the WSM operates, I might check temps every hour. I usually fire up using the Minion method. After my temps come up to target (slowly), I can run it for hours and hours within a +/- 20 degree ranges without touching it.
 
Well Everybody I have finally got sometime to cook these butts. Had them in the freezer. The little ones 1st BDay party is tomorrow so I thought I would smoke up the butts.

I have them on the smoker right now waiting for the temp to get up to 200. 7pm eastern time

Does everybody flip at about the 8 hour mark and start basting with apple juice?

Thanks.
 
I don't flip either. I have mopped with apple juice with a few things mixed in. Get it up to 200-205 meat temp and when you take it off, it'll practically fall apart in your hands.

Good luck.

Buckeye Bob
 
ok so I got up this morning and I found that it rained last night unexpectedly..grrrr. My temp at the cover right now is 205 or so. So I have added some more apple wood and stirred the coals. Temp is starting to creep up. Its been almost 12 hours but I am not sure when the my temp started to go down. Do I have to worry that it may take a lot longer now?
 
Just saw your post.

Most times, no, you don't have to worry. Sometimes you have to cook a bit longer. You can--if it seems to be going slower than you like--boost the cook temp by 20 degrees or so.
 
Kevins right... You can bubp up the temp some with no worries.

I'm sure that even if the 'crew' has to wait a little longer the end result will please all, and, they'll forget all about waitin...
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