Pork butt help. HELP HELP HELP


 
T

Trevor Smith

New member
I have a 9lb pork butt un trimmed that I will be cooking for a function at work on Saturday. I would like it to be off the smoker at about 8-830 Saturday morning. So my question is when should I put it on Friday night and at what temp should I keep it at. Any info would help.
 
Trevor, 1st Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for answers. The answers however may require a bit more info. 1st how hot do you want to cook the butt, 2nd do you want to hold after it is off the smoker, 3rd do you want to stay up all night, get some sleep, get up early to start the cook.

If you want to cook low and slow you might want to allow 1.5-2 hrs/lb of trimmed meat. Butts however tend top have a mind of their own and I have read here of folks who cooked for 3hrs/lb.
You can also go the HH route and cut the cook time to around 4-5 hrs, of course you would have to start about 3:30am. Either way butts are pretty forgiving in regards to time and temp, just cook it till its done, hold at least an hour and you are ready to go.

Mark
 
Yes I would like to hold it for about an hour. I would like to cook it at about 250. Am thinking about throwing it on at about 5-6pm Friday night till it's done then hold it for a couple hours but not past 1030.
 
I'd think getting it on about 5:00 PM would put you in line for 7-8:00 the next morning. That said, as mentioned, each butt has a mind all its own, so if you're up early and think you'll be cutting it close, don't be afraid to up the charcoal ante and bring the temp up for the last 2-3 hours. You can hold it for a good 4 hours wrapped in foil and towels in a cooler, so better to have it off the smoker earlier rather than run late and go past deadline.
 
More info please. Assuming ...
~ you have a WSM
~ you have to work Thu, Fri, Sat
~ you can't take Fri afternoon off
~ you need it off by 8:30am so you can take it with you and serve it for lunch
~ no help at home
~ no oven at work

Hmmmm ...

I'd go higher heat, about 275º~300º, starting about 8am on FRI targeting about 8pm finish time. This will give you a buffer in case it finishes early or late.

Let it rest an hour, pull it, pan it, sauce it with a thin finishing sauce, cover with foil, and refrigerate.

SAT morning, warm in a 250º oven about an hour to at least 165º. Then double-foil it, wrap in hot towels, then into a cooler lined with newspaper.


Oh, and Welcome!
 
Travis- yes i have a wsm or i would not be on this website. my plan is to have my pork but done by 1030 on saturday morning. my wife is willing to take the pork butt off the smoker and wrap it in foil and a towel and put it in a cooler and bring it to my work. i am going to put the pork butt on at about 530 600 friday night.
 
Trevor, it's a matter of counting backwards from when you want it done by. Say for example that it would take 12-14 hours to cook the butt. You have to add on the time it takes to fire your coals up(say 15 minutes), get the smoker up to temp(say 1/2 hour after coals put on) then the cooking time plus about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to sit wrapped in a cooler. That's not even counting time to pull the pork. Allow your self some slop time because this "ain't" an exact science.Add up all this time and subtract it from when you want it don. This will give you your approximate start time. Also, the temp you cook at would play into the smoking time. Higher temp -quicker cooking time.
 
With respect to the question and the tips provided, putting yourself on a tight timeline without a few cooks under your belt is tough. The answers above can help but many factors will influence the final result. It has been said to cliche here but "It's done when it's done." You may not want to put the final product in the hands of someone not intimate (yes, intimate) with the process.
My 3 cents.

James
 
thanks for the advice guys. i have done a pork butt before just not one one this big mostly 3-5 lbs. my cook has started i put it on at 5pm today and it has been steady at 230-235 since but the pork butt itself has been at about 65 since. i am very nervous to let the cooker overnight what should i do to make sure the temp doesnt sky rocket.
 
On an overnighter ,once the temp settles down just monitor it on occasion. I check the coals before I go to bed. If it looks low I add some unlit.
 
Trevor, you are doing fine. After an hr a meat temp of 65 is normal. The meat probably started at around 40. Just watch the smoker temp, it will stabilize after an hour or so. it should hold pretty constant for 8-10hrs. Check before you sleep. All should be well. If you are like me yo will wake up often and re check, that's ok. Do you have a remote temp?
 
Originally posted by mk evenson:
Trevor, you are doing fine. After an hr a meat temp of 65 is normal. The meat probably started at around 40. Just watch the smoker temp, it will stabilize after an hour or so. it should hold pretty constant for 8-10hrs. Check before you sleep. All should be well. If you are like me yo will wake up often and re check, that's ok. Do you have a remote temp?
Click to expand...

Yes i have a probe in the pork butt and one that is hanging in the top vent.i just checked it and the meat is at 111 and the smoker is at 264!!!!! but all thee vents are closed so i added about 21/2 cups of water to the wateer pan so hopefully that will help bring the heat down a bit. i am shooting for it to reach 190 around 830 then foil it till about 1030 then pull and serve. hope it doesnt get done sooner.
 
Originally posted by mk evenson:
Butts however tend top have a mind of their own and I have read here of folks who cooked for 3hrs/lb.

Mark
Click to expand...

3hrs/lb?????!
icon_eek.gif


....and I thought I cooked lown-n-slow.

Unless the cooker is overpacked (more than four in an 18" wsm or 8 in a 22" WSM), my limited research and experience leads me to believe that 2hrs/lb. is plenty time to allot for whole pork butts. This is assuming decent weather or windbreak precautions, cooking 225-250, measured at the vent.

I like to go to bed with the temp near 225 and it'll usually be near 250 the next morning, as the meat has gotten hot and the water has evaporated a bunch. I use Stubbs, though. If you use K, the temps might drop from ash suffocation. (Tap the legs good before hitting the sack.)
 
Originally posted by Dave Russell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mk evenson:
Butts however tend top have a mind of their own and I have read here of folks who cooked for 3hrs/lb.
Click to expand...
3hrs/lb?????!
icon_eek.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sure, I've had a couple do that.

True, usually it's about 2hr/lb. But, every once in awhile, one will get stubborn and drag it out to 3hr/lb. I guess its just got a lot more rendering to do.

Now, when one seems like it's taking a bit too long at plateau, I'll kick it up to 275º
 
Trevor, I just found this thread so couldn't contribute. How did the butt turn out? I suspect it was done by 5am and you found yourself holding, holding, holding... I'm sure there are many of us who have only done a few of these who would like to know your outcome -- we'd appreciate the help.

Oh, and btw, in one post you seemed a tad miffed that someone asked if you were using a WSM. A lot of us have more than one Weber cooker -- and some of us "smoke" using other than a WSM. It really was a reasonable question.

Rich
 
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