First pork butt attempt coming soon!


 
G

Grant Narita

TVWBB Fan
okay, so this Saturday I am going to try my first pork butts. I got one boneless pack at costco which is about 14 1/2 pounds so I figure each one is around 7 lbs. I have an 18.5 wsm.. Here are some questions I have. thanks in advance!

1. Will both fit on the top grill or I need to have one on the bottom grill?

2. It sounds like I don’t have to foil them, but do I have to turn them at all?

3. At what point do I start spraying them (will probably use apple juice), and then how often do I spray them?

4. If I have one on the bottom grill, do I need to remove the top grill with the one Pork butt before I spray the one on the bottom grill? I have actually never cooked using the bottom grill at the same time I was also cooking something on the top grill.

5. when I have done other meats I have used a clay dish that I put in the bottom of the pan instead of using water. would that be good for a pork butt, or should I use water in the pan or an empty pan?

thanks...!
 
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Both will fit on the top rack. Do yourself a favor and remove the bottom one ( one less thing to clean) unless your putting a tray of beans under the butts.
I use an empty foiled pan and run @ 275. If you want L&S use a heat sink..
I don't rotate or spritz so no help.:)

Tim
 
If time is a factor you may want to consider foiling them once they get around 165F-170F. Pork butts stall around that time and it can add several hours to your cook to power through that. Another good thing about foiling is it captures a lot of the juices you're losing to the fire gods. It dissolves some of the bark on the bottom but once you pull the pork and get it mixed together that smoky flavor will be throughout the meat.

I like a lot of bark on my pork so I usually wet it with a mixture of apple juice, acv, whatever rub I'm using, and some chipotle cholula or tabasco (mix to taste) around the 4, 6, and 8hr marks. There are a lot of opinions on whether or not this adds a fair amount of flavor to it or not, but I like doing it.

If you're cooking like things on the top and the bottom then I just let the excess run off on to the food on the bottom grate, but like Timothy said you should be able to fit both up top.

I usually cook my pork butts with an empty foiled pan.

Make sure to take it to at least 190F. 205F if you have the time.

Have fun with it!
 
Lee Ingraham said:
If time is a factor you may want to consider foiling them once they get around 165F-170F. Pork butts stall around that time and it can add several hours to your cook to power through that. Another good thing about foiling is it captures a lot of the juices you're losing to the fire gods. It dissolves some of the bark on the bottom but once you pull the pork and get it mixed together that smoky flavor will be throughout the meat.

I like a lot of bark on my pork so I usually wet it with a mixture of apple juice, acv, whatever rub I'm using, and some chipotle cholula or tabasco (mix to taste) around the 4, 6, and 8hr marks. There are a lot of opinions on whether or not this adds a fair amount of flavor to it or not, but I like doing it.

If you're cooking like things on the top and the bottom then I just let the excess run off on to the food on the bottom grate, but like Timothy said you should be able to fit both up top.

I usually cook my pork butts with an empty foiled pan.

Make sure to take it to at least 190F. 205F if you have the time.

Have fun with it!
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thanks.. I may decide to foil. I have an aluminum pan I could put it in, which would probably make it easier when I start checking the temp to see if it is near 205, since I can just lift up the foil covering the pan.
 
I foil mine in steamer pans as well, they're easier to carry and are less likely to leak. I have a probe thermometer and just stab right through the foil on top. The little hole(s) won't make a difference unless you go Norman Bates on it.
 
is there any drawback to prepping and tying the pork butt the night before, putting it in the refrig overnight, then putting on the rub the next morning? for people who want to put the rub on right before smoking, it seems they also do the prep work that morning of instead of the night before. just wondering
 
I'm doing a 7lb bone in pork butt tomorrow on my 18.5WSM!

I typically trim, rub, and let my pork butts set up over night. One less thing to do before smoking.

How much time are you planning for on your cook?
 
Erik Tracy said:
I'm doing a 7lb bone in pork butt tomorrow on my 18.5WSM!

I typically trim, rub, and let my pork butts set up over night. One less thing to do before smoking.

How much time are you planning for on your cook?
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I have no idea. They are two 7 lb butts and I plan to run it around 250-275. I am thinking maybe 10-12 hrs?
 
Grant Narita said:
I have no idea. They are two 7 lb butts and I plan to run it around 250-275. I am thinking maybe 10-12 hrs?
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I keep track of all my cooks.

For me, on my WSM, and my target cook temp of 250, a typical 7-8lb pork butt is done to 203F in about 10 hours, which includes resting before pulling.

I dunno, 14 lbs is a lot more mass to heat. I'd plan on longer or hotter, just my deflated 2 cents worth.
 
Erik Tracy said:
I keep track of all my cooks.

For me, on my WSM, and my target cook temp of 250, a typical 7-8lb pork butt is done to 203F in about 10 hours, which includes resting before pulling.

I dunno, 14 lbs is a lot more mass to heat. I'd plan on longer or hotter, just my deflated 2 cents worth.
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Ok. Thanks for your help!
 
You can probably fit on one grate, but may be better spacing one on top, one of bottom. Wrap for juicier pork at 170, or don't if you prefer a better bark, however this will add time (my preference). You shouldn't need to turn, I'd start spraying everyone hour or two after the bark had formed (maybe around the 5 hour mark).

Good luck! Start early and post pics :LOL:
 
I done it both ways but most of the time I don't wrap simply because it's not necessary.
Not at 250 to 275.

Spritzing probably helps a little bit to keep it a little less hard, if you want to do that don't do it till after you have the bark you want and then just do it every 30 minutes or hour or something. I've never tasted anything I Spritz with so I really don't think it matters what you use. Water, apple juice, Lea & perrins and apple cider vinegar.... It all tastes the same.
 
I thought my first try went ok... not perfect though. after trimming they were probably both around 6 lbs. Took the first one out after 8 hr 40 min. seemed like the second one wasn’t done yet so kept that in for 9 hr 15 min. I mostly smoked at 250-275. unfortunately, for the second one half of it was dry and half seemed just about right. the main problem I encountered is really knowing what the temp was. I bought a new instant read thermometer which I like but when I tested for temp, I’d get all different numbers so most of the time newr the end I was just guessing whether it was done.. Like one time I had readings of 205, 195, 190, and 189, so I had no idea whether it was done or not.

thanks again for everyone’s help!
 
Sounds normal. There are times when the bone test can confirm the thermo. Otherwise the standard is the did it probe like butter
 
Tony-Chicago said:
Sounds normal. There are times when the bone test can confirm the thermo. Otherwise the standard is the did it probe like butter
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that was also part of the problem..I kept the second one in longer because some places it was like butter but some places were harder to push the probe in...and then half of it ended up dry after I finally took it off. I let it rest for 30 min before pulling..
 
No worries, my first one came out drier than I would have liked as well, ribs too. After that, I started foiling at the stall. For long cooks, like pork butts, I recommend getting a leave in probe thermometer. It makes it easier to track your temps and you don't have to lift the lid all the time.
 
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