Live Blogging (mostly) My First Pork Butt on WSM

[Anton32828]

Last night: trimmed & dry-brined the 5 lb bone-in pork shoulder.

This morning @ 8:00. Start the charcoal & rub the meat with Memphis Dust. Wood chunks are buried on the bottom of the charcoal per Harry Soo technique.

8:20: Dumped lit charcoal and loaded water pan with water. Bottom vents are 1/2, top vent is open.

9:00 Still lots of white smoke. Temp climbed rapidly to 300 so I closed bottom vents to 1/4 each and top vent to 1/2.

9:20: Temps are around 270 and smoke is still white but the volume is less & it smells OK. Waiting for "blue smoke" & lower temps is harder than I thought it would be, lol.

[Anton32828]

9:30. The pork is in the smoker. I repeat, the pork is in the smoker. This is not a drill.

[Mr. Bones]

Smoke on, mon sha! We got yer six!
Since ya got a long time to wait, might snap us some pics, as well...

[Anton32828]

11:20. The pit has been stable around 270. Meat is @ 126. I’m reluctant to close off the vents much more because the smoke smells good & I don’t want to choke the fire and turn the smoke bitter. Bottom vents are 1/4 and top vent is 1/2. I’m thinking about the Cajun Bandit door & gasket upgrade to solve air leaks right about now. It’s an 18 inch WSM — I should have said that in the title.

it’s now time to trust Weber’s design and go do some chores around the house. My wireless thermometer display will help me keep an eye on things.

[JeffJ]

270 is totally fine for pork butt. The WSM is a little unpredictable out of the gate but once it settles in it’s usually rock solid. Let it roll and have fun watching it do its thing.

[Razor]

While I've been getting better at it, the start is the hardest part. Patience is the key.

[Anton32828]

It’s a beautiful day in Central Florida, Mr Bones. I hope things are good for you out there in Tornado Alley!

[klflowers]

That is a beautiful sight.

[Anton32828]

It occurs to me that BBQ is a lot like one of my other culinary obsessions, espresso. Both have Internet forums where you can confer, converse, and otherwise hobnob with your fellow wizards. Said forums obsess over temperature, equipment, and technique just like BBQ. The difference is I have picked up just a little bit of Italian language by necessity on the espresso forums. Lol.

[Mr. Bones]

perfavore mostraci qualche foto, paisano...

There, now gots ya some culture, right here, in BBQ Land lol!

(first place I ever lived overseas was Sicily.)

[Mr. Bones]

Thanks, Brother!

No tornadoes, so far, today...rain even slacked off, a bit, which is kinda novel...

270° will be jus fine fer that pork butt, an I wouldn't fiddle with th vents at all, at this point...

I typically shoot fer 275°~300°, most times, when I'm runnin one of my smokers...

[Anton32828]

I’m glad to hear you are safe! The news has been scary the last few days. I know how to deal with hurricanes. Twisters are just mean — they sneak up on you!

[klflowers]

Glad everything is going good, Bonsey. Enjoy the day!

[Anton32828]

12:30 pm. Smoker is 250 (no vent adjustment), pork is 152. I think this is stall territory.

It’s time to start prepping for the rest of this feast — Louisiana red beans using some of that Tasso I made last week. The beans have been soaking overnight as needed. I think I’ll post those over on the "What Are You Cooking" thread.

[Mr. Bones]

Always up fer some beans, lookin forward to yer post...

If ya wanna write it up, in more detail, ya can always post em here... then, put some finished shots in SUWYC

[klflowers]

I got 3 racks of ribs and a turkey leg just for kicks going on the wsm right now. Put them on at 11:30. Rolling at about 230.

[JPGators17]

I'm sweating at epcot today. Thanks for giving me something to follow while standing in lines all day!

[Anton32828]

5:00 pm. Pit is 255. Meat is 174. We’re pulling it or slicing it in an hour.

[Mr. Bones]

Lookin good, Brother!
Let's us wait, an see what ya got fer IT, in another hour...

[klflowers]

Brings a tear to my eye - tear of joy

[RonB]

Nothin' wrong with a little sliced butt.

[Troutman]

Slicing is the way I used to go, went back to pulled because of demand and versatility. As a suggestion next time, have your butcher slice it into steaks. Cook them like you would ribs, they turn out awesome.

Thanks for for the walk through, let us know the outcome.

[texastweeter]

or season the pork steaks with your favorite steak seasoning and reverse sear to medium rare

[Anton32828]

So...I realize this is not correct procedure, but here goes. I opened up all the vents to stoke the pit. Grate temp slowly climbed to 280ish. I took the butt off the grill at 185 temp around 6:30pm. We pulled it and it came apart with some convincing. It was really tasty! Though I know it would have been more tender & juicy if I had allowed myself time to let it ride slowly to 195.

The main thing is the smoke taste was perfect and very clean. Thanks to all who gave me advice previously on fire management, it worked great for good smoke!

I hope you enjoyed this thread! I’ll post the red bean recipe tomorrow. It’s post-dinner cocktail time. Please join me in raising one in memory of those who bought us this specific weekend with their service and sacrifice, BBQ brothers and sisters.

[Santamarina]

Thanks for the full write up. Pork shoulder is pretty forgiving...if you find yourself short on time crank up the heat. As you discovered, it’s a little hard to pull at that temp. Give yourself more time and ramp up the heat to hit 200+°F IT for easy to pull pork.

I recommend starting 2-3 hours earlier. If it’s done early it’ll be fine to rest for several hours (just keep it above 140°F internal). A warm oven in your house works great if the hold is really long.