My plan for my first PBC pork butt

[Michael_in_TX]

And another update. This is fun! Okay, so, I hit 203 and I went to check it with the Thermapen. At this point, after six hours and forty minutes of cooking, the bark looked perfect, so I didn't wrap at all during the cook. Most places were butter-tender and 207-210ish. One thicker part of the butt....maybe 1/6th of it was not quite so tender, but it 207to 210. My hope is that as this thing rests that will be more tender.

Right now it is double-wrapped in foil, wrapped in a towel, and sitting in a cooler. I'll start shredding it after 45 minutes to an hour.

One thing that I found really interesting is that near the end of the cook I could hear fat dripping off and hitting the coals. The temperature also dropped down to 268. I had something similar when I did a pork-butt tacos al pastor a few weeks ago, but it wasn't this dramatic of a temp drop. (With meat off, there is plenty of charcoal left -- I think I'll toast the sandwich buns -- and my temps are now hitting 330.

[Michael_in_TX]

Right before I pulled it. You can still see a little bit of moisture pooling on top. (Also, it is ridiculously hard to operate an iPhone while wearing cotton glove liners and nitrile gloves!)

[Michael_in_TX]

Wow. Nailed it. So, so, good. Only thing I would change is to flip the roast halfway during the cook. The bark that faced the fire the entire time got a little crispy.

Things I have learned:

• I can keep the PBC within my desired range (250-300) by easily using foil plugs.
• Cooking in this range means things will cook a bit faster (I was expecting at least an eight hour cook, but it finished in 6.5 hours).
• It is not going to get cold in a faux cambro. It was in there for 90 minutes and was still quite hot!
• That Killer Hogs Hot Rub is quite good. Good balance of heat and sweet.
• With my temps below 300, I did not need to wrap or spritz.
• The temps will drop as the meat renders out fat onto the fire.

This went so well, I am almost tempted to try a brisket (or at least a brisket flat) during Spring Break that is coming up.

[Red Man]

Looks great, go for the brisket!!

[jfmorris]

Great looking cook! Looks like you nailed it!

[fzxdoc]

Congrats! I heart PBC PBs. Yours looks great.

Kathryn

[Green Caribou]

Since I am stuck at home with the family for an indeterminate amount of time, I am hoping to use the PBC more, and I got a shoulder the other day. The one I got is boneless. Am I still OK to hang it? Or should I just do it on the grate?

[pkadare]

I'd hang it myself. The bone doesn't help much. Once it gets to 180 or so internal, you might want to consider moving it to the grate. It also depends a lot on how heavy it is. :-)

[au4stree]

Yep. I buy the boneless from costco all the time. I split my butts in half and hang both hunks (with 2 hooks, like a daisy chain). Then around 150-160F int. temp, I wrap both and finish on the grate. Did some this weekend and they were perfect.

NOTE: Sometimes I let the butts go longer out of foil if bark isn't set, but will move to grate regardless at 150-160F. As fzxdoc said, the PBC gods have claimed many of my proteins.....