Shoulders not hitting 190 degrees


 
G

Greg W

New member
I'm relative new to the WSM, but both times I've done pork shoulders, I've never gotten the temperatures up to 190. The highest I've gotten is about 170, and that's after smoking for over 15 hours between 225-250.

Both times the pork's been delicious, but am I missing something, or am I just not patient enough? It wasn't apparent the pork was dry due to the gelatin not "melting".

Please help...thanks in advance!
 
way I see it, two things could be happening.

First, are you sure your thermometers are working well? do the boiling water test to make sure.

If your therms are working well, they just wait a little longer. They will get there. I promise. My 6-8 pounders take about 15-18 hours to get to 195. Most of the time it is sitting at the same temperature (in the 160s or low 170s) for 5-6 hours. Then once it gets through that, it pretty quickly moves up to 190s.

What temp are you smoking them at? If you are getting really impatient, bumping up the temp 25 degrees is not going to hurt the butts. I try to cook mine in the 230s, but often go up to 250+ if I want to speed the process.
 
If, in fact, they're not getting to 190 to 195, then when you do get there, you'll see what you've been missing. If your therm is accurate and probe placement is not the issue, then just be patient and the butt will finally give it up.

Paul
 
I did two 6.5 pounders last weekend, they took 18 1/2 hours or so to reach 195. They were stuck around 175-177 from hour 14 to about hour 17. I'm guessing that was the "plateau".
 
Thanks all for the info and encouragement. I guess I'll have to double check the therms are working properly, but more importantly, just give them more time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top