First stab at a boston butt


 
Chris Wall said:
So, is it best to reach an internal temp of 195F then wrap in foil and place in a cool box for a couple of hours or reach an internal temp of 195-203F and rest for 30 mins, or can you take the meat straight of the smoker and pull straight away!
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Forget internal temps--it took me a while to learn this lesson, but it's true. Use temps as a guide to start testing for doneness, but trust the test not the temp sensor. Briskets should probe like warm butter. Butts for pulled pork should have a nice loose bone.

I believe resting is necessary for a good final product. All my big hunks of meat like butts and briskets get a rest for 2-3 hours wrapped in towels in a cooler. Turkey breasts are fine after 30 minutes or so tented in foil on the counter, but they're much more lean. If you cut or pull too soon you'll just leak juices everywhere and end up with a more dried out final product. I've seen some posts here about competition guys slicing and pulling at a certain internal temperature, and that might be important. I haven't experimented to see. I know all my meat gets sliced and pulled when it's still hot but not too hot to handle.
 
Dave,

Good information ! With a properly cooked meat, read this as tender, one needs to stop the cooking process after it is removed from the smoker but before wrapping. Else they will overcook. The Boston Butt will will turn mushy and the Brisket will turn dry and stringy. In the case of the Brisket, not only does it look dry, but when slicing the edges will crumble.

There's nothing wrong with holding the wrapped meat for some time, just make sure its internal temperature is below the cooking temperature before wrapping, which some say is about 170. It would be a shame to spend all the effort to cook the meat to tenderness then overcook it during the hold.
 
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Hi Bob,

How do you stop the cooking process before wrapping and are you suggesting to remove the butt at 170F, then wrap and hold?

Many thanks
Chris
 
You don't want to pull at 170 and wrap, it won't be anywhere near done. Bob is saying pull from any heat source and let it sit unwrapped until internal temp hits about 170, then wrap and hold.

I personally disagree, I think you're giving up heat that lets you safely hold the meat wrapped in a cooler, and I've never had meat go over-cooked on me with lack of a heat source. I pull from the heat and wrap immediately (well, in as long as it takes to get out the foil, cooler, and towels). Maybe I'm pulling my meat a little early, or maybe I'm cooking low enough that the surface temp isn't hugely different from the center temp like it would be in a hotter cook, so I'm not going to say Bob is wrong, just that I haven't seen the results he's talking about.

Like everything in Q, YMMV. You've got to try it out and see what works for you. :)
 
Don't worry too much, butts are hard to mess up. Just keep your temp somewhere between 225 and 275, don't use too much smoke wood, don't check it too often, and let it cook until it's done. You'll end up with edible pulled pork and you'll have a base to start adjusting from.

There's a reason why it takes people years and years to develop their own perfect Q recipes. Q is easy to learn but hard to master. The good news is, you're in the "easy to learn" stage. :)
 
Definitely don't want to pull it hot! All those good juices will run out. Giving it a rest is just as crucial as doing the same for a steak if ya ask me. I rest all meat I cook, no matter how it's done. Well, not shrimp or stuff like that, but you get the point. :D

I also recommend just using the therm for guidance and not relying on it, and just probe check it to make sure it's butter. My last butt hit 196 before it was tender and the next was 204 I think. Each piece of meat is different for sure, I learned that and I am still a complete noob to all this. Once you do a few cooks though you kinda start getting the hang of it, but like Mr. Alvarado said it is a lot harder to master Q.
 
I think the best invention is that thermometer that just says low,smoke,high. People get to hung up on temperatures. You will cook much better if you learn to go by look and feel from the beginning. With my kettle I usually just touch the lid to see how hot I'm cooking.
 
Chris, I myself based on how I do things I would probably start no later than 7:30, I have read where some smaller butts can take longer than bigger ones only God knows why. If it finishes early it will hold for several hours wrapped and in a cooler.
 
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Throwing it on in about 4 more hours!
 
Looking Good, Andy !
Wishing you some delightful results and (hopefully) a good night's sleep.

Although pork butts do have the over and under cooked issues, they are magnified with a brisket.
Here's a video from a noted source talking about one of the issues with briskets...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PrbNKcIou8

Bob
 
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So after 14 hours the boston butt turned out great. Learned a few things along the way, such as adding a few more hot coals when starting to get the heat up faster. I was able to hold 225 for 9 hours. When i went to add coals, I should of added not started coals. Instead i heated some up and threw them in which ended up skyrocketing my temp to 300. Had to choke it, to get it back down to 225 range. The cook had 2 long stalls, but i was patient. I fully understand now that temp is only a bench mark. The butt hit 190, checked the tenderness and it was still tough. Hit 195 was still tough. Hit 199, still tough. It sat at 199 for 50 more minutes and wouldnt move, checked it and felt that butter smooth consistency I was supose to see. Issue pulling it apart. It fell apart!.

Thank you to everyone that has given me some input, would have never got to this point with out the info on how to smoke, when to tell when done, and such. Thanks again. Ribs tomorrow!
 
Thanks Matt. Pretty excited the first meal went good. The advice you guys gave pointed me in a good direction. And ya the bark came out really good! The rub needs to cut back on the salt just a bit from the original recipe.
 
Andy,

That's one heck of some Excellent Pulled Pork !!!! It looks nice and tender. A 9+ in Appearance !
Kinda bet both the Tenderness and Taste were 9 pluses too.

Bob
 
Andy;
That is a VERY nice job! The pork looks absolutely delicious! Matter of fact, we had pulled pork sandwiches this evening, ourselves. The pulled pork was taken from the freezer, heated and served with home made sauce. It was only wonderful.

The "Force":wsm: is with you!!

Dale53
 
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