Cooking time for 2 7 lb pork butts


 
R

Ryan P

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I smoked two 7 lb pork butts for the 4th. It took over 19 hours and I only reached an internal temp of 190! I was using an 18.5 WSM with a stoker attached (first long smoke with the stoker). The fire temp was a steady 210 for the entire smoke. The roasts stalled at 150 to 160 for over 5 hours and then the temps rose slowly over the next 7 hours. It has been my experience that after the stall the temps rise relatively quickly. It ended up great but really late. I estimated 10 to 11 hours for the smoke (90 minutes per pound of a single roast). So my question is where did I go wrong with my time estimate?
 
You normally cook at 210* and get 90 min per lb?

I think your 210* pit temp was the culprit for the long cook time.

...or you could have had a tougher roast. I've had some take longer than others (but not that long).

I've read where folks run lower temps like that to keep the moisture level higher in the food. The downside is the length of cook. ...and maybe fuel usage.

If on a time schedule a bit hotter should speed up the cook. ...but if time is not an issue I like the idea of a LOW and SLOW cook myself.
 
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That's a lower temp than I use. I typically do 2 butts combined for 15ish pounds. It normally takes me 14-16 hours cooking 225-250. I cook them to at least 195. It doesn't surprise me that it took 19 hours at 210.

I've never cooked that low, but cooking at 225 turns out fantastic q.
 
I normally try to keep it that low but the temp fluctuates between 200 and 250. First attempt with the Stoker and it kept it at 210 the whole time. I will crank it up next time. Thanks for the advice.
 
For the pit temp of 210, the time it took is not suprising at all. I find anying below 230 to be too low, unless I wan't to extend the cooking time because of an early event, say at noon and I put the meat on early the night belolw. I typically adjust the pit temps according to when I start the meat and when I need to have the meat finished. If I only have 10 hours then I use a pit temp of 275-300, but if I have 18 hours then I'll run it at 230. Don't worry about bumping the pit temps up to 275, it's not going to affect the quality of meat. Also, don't be afraid to use foil to speed up the process.
 
I've never cooked with that low of a temp before so it's not surprising it took that long. 250 seems to be the magic number for me, whether brisket or butts. I go a tad lower for ribs, but not much.
 
I did two 7 pound pork butts for the 4th of July as well. I keep my WSM at 250 degrees. I also have a 18.5. I trimmed all fat and removed fat cap. Which I believe helps to cook faster. I put butts on at 7:00 am and pulled at 5:30 pm at an internal temp of 195. 210 seems really low unless you want to do an overnight cook. I also hear if you wrap in foil at the stall this will decrease cooking time but I have never foiled my meat. Maybe I will try next time. Give 250 temp a try and see what you think. Best part of BBQ. There is no wrong way to do it.
 
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