first boston butt


 
M

Mike_L (Big Mike)

TVWBB Fan
Well, I tried to do a boston butt this weekend for New years eve. It did not go so well. In hindsight i know what i did wrong.

First off i bought too big of a bb. It was around 10 pounds bone in. The size wasn't the problem but the cook time of that size. I did not give myself enough time to cook it properly. I put it on at 8am. At 8:30pm it was still holding at 180. I ended up bumping the temp at 8:30 to over 300 and it hit the 190 temp. I took it off and let it rest for 30 minutes. Even though it hit 190 i'm guessing it still needed another 2 to 3 hours. The bone did not fall out.

The meat tasted good. Nothing special. I used the Alton brown rub from this site and the outside tasted good, but none of that flavor gets into the meat. I also made the Carolina Red and it was OK but nothing great. I think it needs more spices.

I also believe i should have foiled to help speed it up and make it moist. The bark is nice but not necessary if you are pulling it.

I wish i would have tried my first BB with a smaller one just to get used to the cook. The temps held steady though 230 to 250 and i didn't add coal till 8:30 to bump up the temp.

I'll post some of the pictures soon.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I ended up bumping the temp at 8:30 to over 300 and it hit the 190 temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Internal temp doesn't have much to do with it. You're correct in your notion that it didn't have enough time.

At the temps you cooked I would expect 20-22 hours.

Yes, to speed the cook you could have foiled. Not something I like to do with butt but sometimes it's necessary.

Try again with a smaller butt. I'd recommend cooking overnight. That gives you more time as well.
 
At 180 degrees, you could have sliced it up for immediate service. In fact, I'm starting to like sliced pork more than pulled.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I ended up bumping the temp at 8:30 to over 300 and it hit the 190 temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Internal temp doesn't have much to do with it. You're correct in your notion that it didn't have enough time.

At the temps you cooked I would expect 20-22 hours.

Yes, to speed the cook you could have foiled. Not something I like to do with butt but sometimes it's necessary.

Try again with a smaller butt. I'd recommend cooking overnight. That gives you more time as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Really, 20 hours? jeez that is a long time. Remind me never to cook that much pulled pork. On the cooking topics Chris did 25 lbs of butts in 15 hours going 225 - 250 lit temp.
 
Boost your temperatures to around 275 or so. Your butts will cook in a lot less time and the finished product will be just as good or better.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Really, 20 hours? jeez that is a long time. Remind me never to cook that much pulled pork. On the cooking topics Chris did 25 lbs of butts in 15 hours going 225 - 250 lit temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
As Jerry notes, you can boost your temp to shorten the cook. Still, a 10-pounder will take some time. Even at temps approaching 300 you're looking at 11-14 hours.

Chris did 4 butts totaling 25 lbs. Total weight is immaterial. Individual weight is what one goes by. Considering that his were on average, 6.25 lbs each, his cook taking 15 hours > 2 hours/lb. So you see, 20-22 hours for a 10-pounder would be expected, at the temps you chose.
 
I would never disagree with Kruger.
But I have smoked 4 butts at a time. Most times close to 40 Lbs. And I like to cook slow, 225 to 240, and never has the cook time went over 15 to 18 hours. BUT, it isn't about cook time, it is done when it is done. I wouldn't bump up temps, or foil, just give it more TIME to cook. Plan to have the meat done in time. You can have the meat done HOURS before you need it, just cover her up and let it rest. Pull it when you need to eat..
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">And I like to cook slow, 225 to 240, and never has the cook time went over 15 to 18 hours. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would then argue that you are not cooking at the temps that you think you are - not if the butts are 10 pounds each.

There is no need to bump temps or to use foil - agreed - if you allow enough time from the get-go; hence my suggestion to do an overnighter.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike_L (Big Mike):
The meat tasted good. Nothing special. I used the Alton brown rub from this site and the outside tasted good, but none of that flavor gets into the meat. I also made the Carolina Red and it was OK but nothing great. I think it needs more spices. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Lots of good advice above, so nothing to add there.

Easily fixed by trying different rubs. I'm not a fan of the Alton Brown rub myself. There are lots of examples to pick from.

Rub flavors won't get into the interior during the cook. Try working a finishing sauce into the process when you are pulling. This is a good way to add flavor to the finished product. I prefer this method to injecting. There are a number of examples of finishing sauces in the recipe section.

A big part of the fun of cooking butts is that they are so forgiving, as well as experimenting with rubs, sauces, etc of your liking.

Keep at it. IMHO you're off to a good start.

A long time ago I moved from cooking butts at 225-250 degrees to maintaining 250-275. No change in finished results.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by r benash:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike_L (Big Mike):
The meat tasted good. Nothing special. I used the Alton brown rub from this site and the outside tasted good, but none of that flavor gets into the meat. I also made the Carolina Red and it was OK but nothing great. I think it needs more spices. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Try working a finishing sauce into the process when you are pulling. This is a good way to add flavor to the finished product. I prefer this method to injecting. There are a number of examples of finishing sauces in the recipe section. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I also prefer a finishing sauce to injecting. I use Kevin Kruger's finishing sauce (available in the recipe section) to rave reviews every time.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike_L (Big Mike):
i will look for a finishing sauce. The main thing though it can't be a BBQ sauce. My wife, god for bid, hates BBQ sauce and Ketchup.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes - a finishing sauce is NOT to be confused with barbecue sauce. It's typically very thin, made from drippings mixed with other ingredients. It adds moisture, other flavor notes (some of you rub), etc. It's not overpowering. It's similar to what you would want to accomplish by injecting methods.

You can simply use drippings, some butter, and some apple juice for starters. Heat it together and while just warm slowly stir in some butter until just melted, add some of your rub ingredients, then mix in a few tables spoons to the pulled pork until you get it to where you want it. You only need to make up a cup or so, depending on the amount of pulled pork. This is a very simple version that I use quite often. I often will add some apple cider vinegar and or some dijon mustard to the mix (just to taste).

A good number of suggestions are available though by searching. I've used Kevin's suggestion and really like it.
 
Big Mike
Perhaps you just haven't made the right sauce yet that your wife will like - there are many good commercial sauces out there and just about all of us have our own sauce recipe(s) that we like.
You might want to try a Carolina vinegar or mustard sauce. These are what I like on my pulled pork.
I haven't had the time to peruse through the Recipes section but I'm sure there are a lot of good sauce recipes there.
I'm not always the most conventional when it comes to my recipes - I experiment a lot and if something sounds good to me on a given day, I'll try it.
Larry (Cactus)
 
Brian,

If you're going off of the WSM for that temp, it's probably way off.

I've done about about a half dozen butts since I got the WSM last Spring. They were all in the 5-7# range. I thought I was cooking at 225-275. My cooks only took about 7-9 hours. I was always mystified why it took others so much longer at those temps.

Then on Thanksgiving, I used a Maverick to get an accurate gauge on the air temp (doing a high heat turkey) and discovered that my dome themometer was reading 50-60 degrees below actual temp.

So instead of cooking at 225-275 like I thought, I was actually cooking at 275-325, and my mystery was solved.

BTW, I also learned that my Performer gauge reads about 25 degrees higher than real temp, but this could be the distance between vent and gaugue, relative to the charcoal, as I was cooking indirect.
 
I'll add another vote for Kevin's finishing sauce. My wife actually requires extra to use as a condiment, too. Since we never go through a whole butt, I also add a good bit to the leftovers before freezing. It seems to help keep the quality and flavor when reheating.

As far as a sauce, I'm a big fan of doctoring up storebought sauces. You can heat it up and add drippings, seasonings, Sriracha, play with the sweet/sour using cider vinegar and brown sugar, etc. It's amazing what you can do with a cheap bottled sauce.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike_L (Big Mike):
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
At the temps you cooked I would expect 20-22 hours. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Really, 20 hours? jeez that is a long time. Remind me never to cook that much pulled pork. On the cooking topics Chris did 25 lbs of butts in 15 hours going 225 - 250 lit temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, that is a VERY long time to cook a pork butt if cooking at a "steady 230-250*". That's about how I cook, and I've never cooked anything on my bullet over 18 hours. Cooking in that temp range though, 15 hrs. is a solid estimate for a solitary ten pounder. Adding another hour for some wiggle room certainly wouldn't be a bad idea, though.

If measuring at the vent, in my experience the therm needs to read 15* or so higher than your targeted cooking temp. FYI though, I use water in the pan and my start-up is much quicker than dumping only a dozen lit coals or so on unlit.
Click to expand...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Yes, that is a VERY long time to cook a pork butt if cooking at a "steady 230-250*". </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not in my experience, especially if the trend is the lower end of that range, nor in the experiences of any cooks I know, nor in Chris Allingham's experience, as is obvious by his posted recipes.

I don't hit ~1.75 hours/lb till 250-260; ~1.5 till 260-270.
 
Interesting point/clarification. I typically assume 1.5 hour per pound of (bone in) butt for my cooks (general rule of thumb) as for a good 2 years or so I've been cooking butts at 275 AFA target cooker temps.
 
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