New to Smoking: Pulled Pork Question


 
R

Rich Petroske

New member
So, I was given an 18" WSM a few weeks ago and I've been having a lot of fun with it. The first weekend, I did 3 racks of ribs and they turned out great! Last weekend, I did 2 whole chickens and they turned out great as well. This weekend, I'm jumping into a longer smoke and going to attempt to do pulled pork.

I'm a little nervous about it because I'm new to charcoal cooking and with the longer cook time I fear there is more time to make mistakes.

First question is when do I put it on? It's a 3.5 lb Boston Butt and I'm looking to eat around 5. The reading that I have done leads me to believe that I need to put it on in the middle of the night (about 3am). Which then leads into the next question of: How long will it need to cook?

Any other advice that you can offer is greatly appreciated. I am really excited about getting into barbecue as a hobby, but I'm still so "green" that it's quite overwhelming.
 
Any chance you can go get a larger one (6-8lbs) ? One that small is going to cook quick and won't be a good as a full size one. What you have is a piece of a butt, much like a big country style rib.
 
With a roast that small, you're only looking at a 5-6 hour cook.

Most full-sized butts I get are in the 10-11# range but my butcher sells halved, bone-in butts and they cook up just fine, so I'm not sure if I share Glenn's concerns about it not turning out well. What I think is more likely is that you'll be upset with yourself for not cooking more!
 
I’m new myself I did my first pp last Sunday 5.6 lbs… it went on at 5am took it off at 4 wrapped it and let it rest an hour.. came out great so that’s right in the range of 1.5 – 2 hours per pound so 3am for you might be a bit early.
 
so I'm not sure if I share Glenn's concerns about it not turning out well.
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Not that it wouldn't be good, just that I don't think one that small will have alot to render and what makes a full size better is the combo of different muscles to mix together once pulled.

I think if you braised it after a couple hrs in smoke, it would be a better finished product
 
Originally posted by Glenn W:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">so I'm not sure if I share Glenn's concerns about it not turning out well.
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Not that it wouldn't be good, just that I don't think one that small will have alot to render and what makes a full size better is the combo of different muscles to mix together once pulled.

I think if you braised it after a couple hrs in smoke, it would be a better finished product </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's fair.
 
You know us good ole boys are always "fair" unless your talking football or racing
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Agree with the above. 3.5lbs is a pretty small butt (barely a cheek). You don't need anywhere near the time you planned. It will be done when it's done but I would expect 7 hours at the absolute most at a temp around 225F. I share the concern over the lack of internal fat. I would check it for doneness after 4hrs and then every 30-45 minutes after. Do you plan on using a finishing sauce?
 
Thanks for the replies.

The wifey picked this up "because it was on sale" and she "figured I'd enjoy cooking it." While not ideal, it's what I have and the advice so far is helpful.

As far as a finishing sauce, I tend to not use one though the wife does.
 
Rich,
Good luck with your cook. I'm sure it'll turn out fine with a WSM.

After you've done several Butts, consider this from someone who's been q'ing a VERY LONG time.

Cook at 275° with an empty, foiled pan, to an internal temp of 195°, wrap in HD foil, then shut down vents on WSM and rest for 1 hour on cooking grate.

Just try it once, OK?
 
The wifey picked this up "because it was on sale" and she "figured I'd enjoy cooking it." While not ideal, it's what I have and the advice so far is helpful.
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If she picked it then it's ideal for her.
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When you turn it into pork heaven just tell her there would be more leftovers with a bigger one.

You'll find that a pork butt is the easiest thing you've cooked. Longer cook means more time to get it right.
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2 hours per pound max at 225°.
 
Well, I followed (most) the advice given. Thanks!

I apologize first because I didn't think to take pics until the end.

I prepped the meat last night and wrapped it in plastic wrap. I pretty much followed the Mr. Brown recipe except that I added the Chris Lily Pork Injection.

I put the butt (cheek as it was lovingly referred to) on around 9am. I forgot to put water in the pan and then couldn't understand why I couldn't get the temp below 300 (reached 350 at one point). After realizing my mistake, I was able to stabilize the temp around 240 at the grate. I checked the grate temp every 30 minutes and the meat around 2 and the temp was 180. Checked again in a half hour and was 195 so I took it off wrapped it tightly in foil and put it in a cooler.

Let it rest for about an hour (fell asleep) then pulled and ate. The end result was great (oh and I got a pic before we ate it)

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