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First time cooking pork butt on WSM


 
J

JohnTex

New member
Hi guys,

This upcoming weekend is looking good. No wind and 35-40 degrees. Cold, I know. But thats how it is in Scandinavia!

I intend to follow the pork butt slathered mustard rub recipe found in the cooking topics.

Since I only will be cooking one and with a weight of 4,2 pounds (trimmed) I was wondering how long you guys think the cook will take (approximately)?

All the best from Denmark
Jonathan
 
I’m guessing you are speaking about Celsius not Fahrenheit?
i suppose it doesn’t REALLY matter that much with little wind, once you get to a stable temperature, (250-275 F) you can find yourself rolling along just fine and then hit a stall, that will send things sideways if you don’t think about it. I’ve been surprised more than once. “Normally” I’d figure an hour to an hour and a half a pound but, (that could be a big but but, not a big Butt sorry, bad butt humor) start earlier than you even hope it will take, I’ve become a serious fan of the LONG rest on the back side of the cook, up to four hours wrapped in a towel and tucked away in a cooler while everything else is prepared, arranged, made pretty and guests get plenty of cocktails?
OK, not back to your simple question, start with at least 5 hours cooking time and a couple of hours resting time.
At least that’s what I would do.
Enjoy the cook!
 
JohnTex said:
I intend to follow the pork butt slathered mustard rub recipe found in the cooking topics.
Click to expand...
That states 225-250.
JohnTex said:
Since I only will be cooking one and with a weight of 4,2 pounds (trimmed) I was wondering how long you guys think the cook will take (approximately)?
Click to expand...
Hard to be right on, but usually 1.5 to 2 hrs per Lb at those temps.
Raise the temps, lower the cook time, easy peasy.
OBTW welcome to the board!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I’m guessing you are speaking about Celsius not Fahrenheit?
i suppose it doesn’t REALLY matter that much with little wind, once you get to a stable temperature, (250-275 F) you can find yourself rolling along just fine and then hit a stall, that will send things sideways if you don’t think about it. I’ve been surprised more than once. “Normally” I’d figure an hour to an hour and a half a pound but, (that could be a big but but, not a big Butt sorry, bad butt humor) start earlier than you even hope it will take, I’ve become a serious fan of the LONG rest on the back side of the cook, up to four hours wrapped in a towel and tucked away in a cooler while everything else is prepared, arranged, made pretty and guests get plenty of cocktails?
OK, not back to your simple question, start with at least 5 hours cooking time and a couple of hours resting time.
At least that’s what I would do.
Enjoy the cook!
Click to expand...
Hi Timothy,

Thanks for the reply. I actually mean fahrenheit! :-)

Sounds like a plan with the 5 hour cook and resting time.

All the best
Jonathan
 
If I were cooking that pork butt again from the Cooking Topics article, I'd do it at 275*F. I pretty much do all of my low & slow barbecue at that temp these days.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Pork Butt - Slathered With Mustard & Rub - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Pork butt slathered with yellow mustard, then rubbed and smoked to tender perfection in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Serve as a sandwich or slider.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
Chris Allingham said:
If I were cooking that pork butt again from the Cooking Topics article, I'd do it at 275*F. I pretty much do all of my low & slow barbecue at that temp these days.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Pork Butt - Slathered With Mustard & Rub - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Pork butt slathered with yellow mustard, then rubbed and smoked to tender perfection in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Serve as a sandwich or slider.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
Click to expand...
Hi Chris,
Thank you. I will try it at 275*F. What would your guess be on cooking time when total weight is 4 lbs?

All the best
Jonathan
 
OK, thanks for that clarification on CvF scale. I’d still plan on 6+ hours cooking plus another hour minimum rest. Like I said, I’ve become a huge fan of the longer rest and have started striving for the three to four hour rest and am very pleased when I can get that. At that ambient temperature I agree with Chris, go 275. Better to have the butt reach internal temp early rather than late.
I suppose that’s the long way of saying set aside nine to ten hours.
 
JohnTex said:
I will try it at 275*F. What would your guess be on cooking time when total weight is 4 lbs?
Click to expand...
I've never smoked one that small. Usually 8 hours for an 8 pound one at 275*F. Not sure it's half the time for half the weight, but I guess I'd plan on 4 hours and see how the internal temp goes.
 
I've done many that small around 240-260F. I put it in by 8 am. At around 1:00-2:00 in the afternoon It's normally 160-165 internal. I wrap mine when 165F so I take if off about 1.5-2 hrs later when it's 205F or tender. I let rest for 1 hour still in foil in a towel and immediately pull it for dinner.

Depending on the initial internal temperature it may get to 160 a bit earlier but I like to let it sit at the stall for a bit. Mine are usually frozen and put in the fridge to thaw out a couple days in advance. Sometimes it's still pretty icy when I start.

When they are this small I'll usually cook two. On my 14.5 WSM I put one on each rack.
 
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Good luck on your cook.
Our area gets chilly too.
When it recently hit the low 50’s we considered that balmy weather.
 
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