Doing first pork butt smoke on my weber 22" this Saturday

[Red Man]

Smoking on my kettle, I like to put the meat on when the grate temp is around 200. I let it slowly rise throughout the cook up to 275 or so. I feel like lower temps are better in the beginning and higher temps are better at the end. Either way, don’t stress too much about temps. Keep it below 350 and you’ll be fine.

[Huskee]

Low temps (cooker and meat) at the start are great for a deeper smoke ring too. When I'm doing brisket or beef ribs I like to put the meat in the freezer for 20-30 mins then place it on a barely warm smoker, just after lighting the fire.

[jasonwilliams14]

Just wanted to say thank you again for all the fantastic and amazing help this group has given. I feel much more confident with the wisdom that has been shared. I really do appreciate it.

I had one last thought I had this morning as I started to think about prep (salting the butt this afternoon, so it will sit in the fridge for about 36 hours before going on the grill).

My question is how long should I let it rest?
I have a feeling, I am going to wrap at some point, based on look and temp (probably temp until I get the experience to identify color and bark). Lets say I wrap around 155-160 (good range?). I put the butt in a double foil boat to save the liquid gold, then back on the grill until it hits 200 or 203 range.

Ok. At the point, I pull the butt off the grill and let it rest.
How long should I let it rest? Should I let it rest inside the foil? outside the foil? I have seen some folks put it in a cooler.

I think that is the only thing I thought of this morning.

Thank you again!

Jason

[bmillin]

Lots of good info here but you need to relax a bit. Personally I don’t wrap butts. Season well, low and slow till they probe tender. Temp can be 225 to 275 Have fun

[Huskee]

Yes, you certainly do not have to wrap 'em, but caution- they may take you 16, 18, 20 hrs if you do not wrap.

[Steve R.]

I wrap more often than not. When I do it's always done in the interest of time management. I want to be sure it gets done well before time to eat.

[bbqLuv]

Cooks seem to turn out better when I "plan the cook and cook the plan."
And I cook to temp, internal Temp.
There are a number of Pork Butt recipes on the free side.

[Huskee]

The number is 2.

[bbqLuv]

1--An Easy BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe With Mouthwatering Results
2--Schweinebraten Recipe: Pork Butt With German Flair

I like to watch videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Deqzu2pqvEk&t=3s

[jasonwilliams14]

Just thoughtI would give a small update and ask a quick question.
I woke up early this morning and got everything ready. Did prep the night before (dry brine, kettle setup)
I put the butt on around 645am PST

Everything seems to be good. Smoke is telling me the grill temp is between 273 and about 281. I think the damps are in good spot.

My one question. This is my first time using a leave in meat probe (thermoworks smoke).
I am not famliar with the states of where temps should be.

As of now, the butt has been on about 90mins and the internal temp says it is about 105.
Does that sound right? I was not sure if i put the probe in correctly.


I have pics and will post!

Thank you!

[jasonwilliams14]

I readjusted the meat probe. Seems the first time I did something was not right. A quick youtube watching and reading. That seems to be better. Sitting at 118 about 2 hours and 30mins in.
It has been fun so far! Learning a lot!

[Smoker_Boy]

I started to write:

"You want the business end of your probe in the middle of your butt".

I figured that would get me banned permanently.

[jasonwilliams14]

O man!! THis made me spit out my coffee!...
Good to know. Learning a lot today
Having a lot of fun.
Smells great too! (Memphis dust!)

[Spinaker]

Juuuuuust under the radar!

[Draznnl]

Your doing fine. You want the probe in the middle of the thickest part. BTW, as folks said previously, nothing is as forgiving as a pork butt. Relax. Enjoy the cook.

[jasonwilliams14]

Thank you. Yes, I am loving this. It is fun and rewarding. I am learning a lot.
about 5 hours in and internal temp is at 171. I think i might be at the point where I need to wrap.
Overall, the temps have been pretty good. Between 265-278.....smell is amazing ( I hope the whole neighborhood smells it!)

Think might be a good point to wrap, speed up the cook.
Really appreciate all the help!

[jasonwilliams14]

Thought I would share an update (pics later)
Pulled pork turned out amazing! SUPER delicious.

Really appreciate everyone's wisdom and suggestions on this thread. Was very very helpful.

I basically did my prep as I stated in my original post.
Everything went very well.
I opted to cook at about 275.
At roughly 6 hours into the cook the IT was170 and I could sense a bit of a stall.
Due to time, I decided to do a double wrap to speed up the process.
I wrapped the butt, put it back on the kettle and then it went for couple hours. That did the trick.
I took the IT all the way to 202, then just probed for tenderness and it felt like butter. Perfect.

I then dialed my kettle temps down between 150-180 (took some practice but was able to get it steady) and let it rest for another 2 hours.

I pulled off the butt, put it in a dish for shredding.
The bone come out perfectly clean (I have a pic!). I was happy to see that.
I shredded the pork and pour the liquid gold over the top. It was amazing! Served up some coleslaw, backed beans and sweet potato fries. It was super delicious. Very tender and juicy.

Overall cook time was roughly 9.5 hours.

It was a great time. I learned a lot of different things. Every cook I do, I learn.

Just wanted to share and say thank you to everyone!!

Cheers!

Jason

[fzxdoc]

Congrats on what sounds like a perfect PB cook!

[RichardK]

Wow. You did awesome. My first Butt on my Weber Kettle was just under 6 lbs, started at 11 AM, finished at mid-night, 13 hours. After the second on the kettle I purchase a Weber Smokey Mountain.
Congratulations!

[Draznnl]

Congrats on a successful cook.

[Sid P]

Congrats Jason, it sounds great! I gave you a “Like”, but we’re gonna need some pics. Don’t make me take it back 😉!

[jasonwilliams14]

Here we go. A couple of pics. Some of the ones I took while on the grill did not turn out sadly.

Dry brining the new before:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BHvLmGa3zk2DrPwM6

Before and after. The bone was very clean when I took it out. The pork shredded super easy.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uRdVTKo9QYNGCekSA

[Sid P]

Can anyone see them?

[Finster]

Congrats on a successful cook.
keep learning 👍

[Soonerpop]

Good job. Keep on keepin’ on!

[jfmorris]

Good job! You done good, and that timing sounds about like what I do when cooking hotter and faster for butts. I usually rest in a cooler, wrapped in a towel though, and just shut the cooker down.

[jasonwilliams14]

Thank you. Feels good. Learned a ton and it was easier than I thought. I am looking forward to the next one and I think I am going to try the cooler method. Seems nice way to do it. Really appreciate it!