I've been a WSM owner for a couple of weeks now, and after seasoning, and my first shot at ribs last weekend (very successful, if I do say so myself), I decided that there is no time like now to do a pork butt. So, with my new WSM, my new Maverick ET-733 thermometer, and my brand new 10lbs pork butt, I was ready to get started.
Rub was the Mr. Brown rub
Used some apple, and a bit of hickory. Also threw in a few cherry chips that I had lying around. Used the Minion method, here's the charcoal waiting for it's hot friends.
10pm Friday night, coals are warming in the chimney
10:30pm, pork is seasoned and gets its first taste of the grill
By 11:30pm the temps had stabilized to around 240 measured at the grill, so I went to bed and let the magic happen
The night went OK. I had set the Maverick to beep if the temp dropped below 205, or rose above 270, but it didn't wake me at all during the night. I did wake up twice and checked the temps, but it was nice and steady at around 235-242. I was even happy when my 3 year old woke me up at 6:30, cause I was excited to get a look at the pork. I held back a little, and waited until 7:30 to take my first look.
I gave it a couple of sprays with apple juice and apple cider vinegar, and then around 9:00am I flipped it over. Around 11am, I put the probe in the meat. Initially it showed that the meat temperature was 190F, so I figured it had cooked fast that that maybe we'd be having pulled pork for lunch instead of supper. But then I put the probe in a couple of other places, and it consistently showed around 170. I'm guessing that the first time I put the probe in it might have been close to the bone which gave me a false reading. Not sure though...
Stayed at around 170 for a while, then slowly climbed up to about 180, where it again stayed for a while. By now I had to replenish my charcoal because my grill temps were dropping, and I think I made the mistake of not putting enough charcoal in. Lit a bit with the chimney, added them in, and they slowed the temp descent, but did not reverse it. The temps at the grill were now about 220. So then I added more warm water, and even more charcoal, bringing the temps back up to about 235-245.
By about 4pm, the meat temp was still only 183, and it looked like this
I had been hoping that it would reach 195, but I had a family to feed, so I pulled it off, wrapped it in foil, and popped it into a pre-warmed cooler for about 45 minutes.
Not sure what the temp was while wrapped, because I took the probe out when I wrapped it.
Here's after the pull
And on the plate with some coleslaw.
It tasted really great, but might have been a bit dry. It was nice and tender, but not as juicy as I had hoped for. I wonder if I left it on the grill at 180 or so too long at too low of a heat, which dried it out a bit, or if I should have kept it on the grill till it reached 195. Any thoughts? I'm thinking maybe I should have pulled it off earlier, but I don't know.
Anyway, it was a great first overnight cook. I had a good time, and will be doing it again soon hopefully!
Trevor
Rub was the Mr. Brown rub
Used some apple, and a bit of hickory. Also threw in a few cherry chips that I had lying around. Used the Minion method, here's the charcoal waiting for it's hot friends.
10pm Friday night, coals are warming in the chimney
10:30pm, pork is seasoned and gets its first taste of the grill
By 11:30pm the temps had stabilized to around 240 measured at the grill, so I went to bed and let the magic happen
The night went OK. I had set the Maverick to beep if the temp dropped below 205, or rose above 270, but it didn't wake me at all during the night. I did wake up twice and checked the temps, but it was nice and steady at around 235-242. I was even happy when my 3 year old woke me up at 6:30, cause I was excited to get a look at the pork. I held back a little, and waited until 7:30 to take my first look.
I gave it a couple of sprays with apple juice and apple cider vinegar, and then around 9:00am I flipped it over. Around 11am, I put the probe in the meat. Initially it showed that the meat temperature was 190F, so I figured it had cooked fast that that maybe we'd be having pulled pork for lunch instead of supper. But then I put the probe in a couple of other places, and it consistently showed around 170. I'm guessing that the first time I put the probe in it might have been close to the bone which gave me a false reading. Not sure though...
Stayed at around 170 for a while, then slowly climbed up to about 180, where it again stayed for a while. By now I had to replenish my charcoal because my grill temps were dropping, and I think I made the mistake of not putting enough charcoal in. Lit a bit with the chimney, added them in, and they slowed the temp descent, but did not reverse it. The temps at the grill were now about 220. So then I added more warm water, and even more charcoal, bringing the temps back up to about 235-245.
By about 4pm, the meat temp was still only 183, and it looked like this
I had been hoping that it would reach 195, but I had a family to feed, so I pulled it off, wrapped it in foil, and popped it into a pre-warmed cooler for about 45 minutes.
Not sure what the temp was while wrapped, because I took the probe out when I wrapped it.
Here's after the pull
And on the plate with some coleslaw.
It tasted really great, but might have been a bit dry. It was nice and tender, but not as juicy as I had hoped for. I wonder if I left it on the grill at 180 or so too long at too low of a heat, which dried it out a bit, or if I should have kept it on the grill till it reached 195. Any thoughts? I'm thinking maybe I should have pulled it off earlier, but I don't know.
Anyway, it was a great first overnight cook. I had a good time, and will be doing it again soon hopefully!
Trevor