pork butt temp and smoking time

[Dick Green]

Hi. New to the forum. Great info here. I've had my WSM 14.5" for about a month and really like it (though sort of regretting not getting the 18.5"!)

Now I have a question about temperature and smoking time for a 7 lb pork butt:

On Super Bowl Sunday I smoked a 7 lb pork butt on the lower grate and a rack of St Louis Ribs on the top grate (added after about 5 hours, cut in half and set vertical in a rib rack.). I ran the smoker at 225 and the pork butt took about 12 hours to reach 188 F. At that point, to have it ready in time for the party, I had to take it out of the smoker and wrap it for a rest in an ice chest. I would have preferred to go to 200 F, or maybe even a little higher, but there wasn't time. After about an hour rest, when I pulled out the bone it came out relatively easily. Most of the butt shredded easily, but there was a small section near one end that seemed a little tough. I think this indicates that I should have turned the butt at least once during cooking. Most of the meat was delicious, but some parts seemed a little dry -- not terribly so, but not particularly moist.

Now I'm going to try again. This time I'll cook just the pork butt, on the top grate. I'd like to try Chris Lilly's recipe for Peach Pork Butt from the Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book. The part that confuses me is that he recommends a temperature of 250 F, and says the cooking time should run 7-10 hours. That's quite a bit shorter than the 12 hours it took to smoke my first butt. I guess this is because Chris's recommended temperature is higher, but this confuses me too because he recommends 225 F for a full shoulder (different recipe) and says it should take 14-16 hours. I guess that's because the full shoulder is a lot bigger and the temperature is lower.

I realize that whether I run the smoker at 225 or 250 I should go by the meat temperature to tell when it's done, but I'm trying to get a handle on the approximate time so that I can plan when to start the process to target a certain meal time (I know I can fudge a little by resting the meat in an ice chest for up to 3 hours, but would still like to get a better idea on about when the meat should be done.)

So two questions:

1. Is it better to cook a pork butt (not a shoulder) at 225 F or 250 F, or does it really make any difference? Will a higher temperature result in moister or drier meat?

2. About how many hours per pound should I figure at either temperature?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

1 IMHO, It doesn't matter. I go 250*F +/- 25*F measured at the grate. (Dome temp will vary.) I trim all the fat cap off prior to cooking, and get a great moist butt.

2. If I have an exact time to make, I plan 1.5 hrs per lb and add 2 hrs as a fudge factor. It never takes that long so I wrap and hold. That 2 hrs is nice to have to make sauce, finish sides, drink a beer, etc.

 

[Dave Russell]

For butts that are the THICKNESS of an 8 lb. pork butt, I figure 1.5 hr./ lb at 250 and 2 hr/lb at 225, and I said "8lbs" because butts any smaller can take a little longer per pound, while larger butts will start to take less per pound. It's the thickness of an average butt though....BUT it's done when it's done. Be prepared for some long cooks if cooking much under 250*...but I consider 250 a great temp because like Dwaine wrote, you can get great results 25* either way. Some cook even faster than 275, but I wouldn't cook at 225 on purpose with a dry pan. I find that that bark can start drying out before the fat starts weeping if you go too slow without the added humidity.

You can use the dome gauge, but be aware that it's in a dead zone of the circulation and will read low for the first stage of the cook while the meat is cold. It's also greatly affected by the sun or wind, and so grate temp is much more accurate in giving actual cooking temp. Just don't put the probe tip too close to the cooker wall or too close to the cold meat; somewhere in between close to the edge of the pan.

You'll get more answers to your BBQ questions in the Barbecuing forum.