First Butt! Need advice on rest time!


 
D

D Johnson

New member
Picked up a little 6-1/3 pounder and trimmed it to 5-3/4. Don't shoot me.

Dropped it in the WSM at 10:45 this morning and was guesstimating 1.5 hrs per pound.

So... am guessing on 7:30 finish time before pulling off the grate. (Of course, if it ain't ready, it ain't ready.)

But my question is... is 1/2 hour long enough to rest? Or should I give it more?

Should I foil in a cooler?

At 7 o'clock my temp was 180, so I'm in the ballpark. The bark looks WICKED.

Also smoked some beans in a skillet and I'll post about the results/recipe! To be honest, I don't really get the idea about doctoring up Bush's. Feedback on that welcome too!

This site rocks.
 
Try not to go by temp, rather by feel (super tender) If you must temp go around 190-195ish. A 20-40 min rest under a tent foil is perfect!
 
DJ like Glenn said, tented with foil is fine. But I try to time it so I have it foiled in a cooler for an hour or longer. Depends on your preference and also how hungry you are and if you have guests waiting. I prefer when its foiled because it softens the bark up a bit. Try both ways and see what works.

Eric
 
Thanks Glenn,

Yep, no need to end the smoke on temp, but it "feels' close...

Great, I've heard about two hour rests, but it seemed excessive.

I'll post pics!

And thanks Eric! An hour is fine too... there's a ballpark here I can work with.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I prefer when its foiled because it softens the bark up a bit. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Very true, however thats why I have gone back to water with butts. Even if I finish early I still tent for a few min to stop the cooking so it won't over cook in a cooler.
 
I filled my water pan and still had trouble keeping my temp low. Bottom vents open only a sliver for most of the cook when outside temp was in the 40's (F).

Definitely reversed the problem when the sun went down and air temp dropped! Not a big problem, just reporting an observation.
 
Make sure your door is flush and fit to the middle section (it is easy to massage), also you can measure all 3 sections with a tape measure at 12 & 6, 3 & 9, 10 & 4 and 2 & 8.
 
Just some notes about resting from my personal experiences...

My first 2 butts I took them out of the smoker and let the heat dissipate a little bit, then foil wrapped them and kept them in a cooler for 4 hours with a probe in it making sure it stayed above 140. Because the probe was in it, the cooler door had to be kept open a little bit so as not to crush the probe wire.

The meat came out tender and juicy...

For butts 3 and 4 a few months later, I foil wrapped them immediately and put them in the cooler but with no probe, so the cooler door was closed completely.

I brought these to a Super Bowl party, and pulled the first butt immediately...it turned out well and was juicy. But the 2nd butt I pulled a few hours later when the first bit of pork was finished up. This 2nd butt was noticeably drier to me, as I feel this one kept cooking because of the lack of heat dissipation.

Just something to keep in mind..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top