Question about the stall.

[RDSBandit]

When cooking a pork shoulder, I have read in multiple places that, for cooking time, I should assume 1.5 hrs per pound of pork @ 225.

Does this factor in the stall?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Yes and no, generally at 225 8-10lbs shoulders have taken me 14-20 hours. It depends on thickness, it depends on grill accuracy, and then it depends on the meat. I've had a 25 hour pork butt! I've had ones that stalled twice. I've had ones that barely stalled, I've had ones that stall for 8 hours.

Plan your cook on the 1.5 hour thing but at 2-3 hours before you want it to be done, if it's not even close, just wrap it and bump the temp to 275-325. You still ideally wanna rest the meat wrapped for an hour or so before shredding it to let the fats render.

[Waster]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs - Well said Sir .. exactly what I have experienced. Also as LA Pork Butt said - outside temp and wind have a massive impact. I've had a 26 hour butt on my home built ugly drum smoker and had to refill with charcoal many times through the night due to a surprisingly cold autumnal night.

[LA Pork Butt]

Waster that was an endurance Butt! Dinner was a little late or was it breakfast? LOL

[Waster]

LA Pork Butt - LOL! I can't say that all of it survived!

[smokin fool]

What the man said.
Just watch your inside temp, my butts usually stall in the 160-180 range for a few hours if they stall at all.
Personally I run my smoker 280 plus because that’s it’s wheelhouse.
I don’t know how long you’ve had your smoker but it’s about learning the smokers strengths and weaknesses as well.
You got this.

[rickgregory]

There's nothing special about 225. I know some pellet heads use that temp because their rigs give more smoke there than 275 but I run a kettle at 275 or so (my kettle is doing some ribs right now and the temp is 287, has been around 280). The higher temp is fine the quality is great and the cook is shorter.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

yep 225 mainly for smoke output and pellet usage. I will go 245 or higher if I'm in a pinch for time though.

[radiodome21]

I put a 6 pound butt on at midnight last night and just turned the power off my Grilla about an hour ago. I did it @ 200 until 170, then wrapped it and kept at 200 for the fun of it. After a few hours and and temp not really moving up I bumped it up to 225, and then 250. I like to work backwards when trying to time my smokes and figuring out what time to get her on the smoker. Wind is really the only factor I keep an eye on.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

I am also in camp 275.

The guideline is rough as others have said but you also need to add a few hours to rest.

That said, a Joule and sous vide would allow you to have the meat ready whenever you want, completely removing it uncertainties over time.

[DavidNorcross]

Just did 2 butts yesterday. 15 hours and that included the stall. Cooked at 250 and they were great.

[clb239]

I cook mine at an avg temp between 250 and 275 and butts are usually done in around 8 hours...i usually place them in a foil pan and wrapped when the bark looks good and they are around 160 - 170 degrees...

[HawkerXP]

+1

[Greygoose]

Like I was just gonna say,,,

[Loren]

I cook everything worth cooking (ahem...not chicken - blech!) at a 250 degree average plus or minus 30 degrees with a margin of +20 degrees positive. I've found this helps alleviate any potential anxiety from holding consistent temps and maximize my enjoyment of refreshing beverages while half tending a smoker.

Now, with pork butts - which are a versatile hunk o' meat - I largely ignore time equations. The butts (double per cyro pack for life!) get done when they get done and I'll make a day and evening of it if I need to.

IME/IMO/YMMV of course

[mrteddyprincess]

275-325 F for me. A pork butt cook takes 5-8 hours depending on size. 48 inch offset. Also, I never wrap. And I don't pay attention to any stall. I cook that puppy until it is fall apart tender.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I did a pair of butts this weekend, 8-9lb each, boneless.

Wrapped about 160 or so, ended up done in about 11 hours.

[dubob]

I put the pork shoulder in the CC Woodwind at about 10 PM with the dial set on High Smoke (220*F) and go to bed. When I get up 7-8 hours later, the temp is at the normal stall temp of 160 to 165*F. I double wrap in foil and bump the temp up to 250*F. When the meat internal temp hits 205*F, I pull it off the grill, wrap it in a very thick towell, and place it in a cooler for 3 to 4 hours before pulling. Melt in your mouth tender and done to perfection. I make up a couple of sandwiches laced with Blues Hog Smokey Mountain BBQ Sauce for my bride and me and zip-lock the rest in 8 ounce portions for the freezer. They will last the two of us about a month, so no need to vacuum seal. Life is good and that's my story.

[bbqLuv]

You Done PBR good.

[jfmorris]

I think that the 1.5 hours per pound is a rough approximation, but that doesn't tell the whole story. While I've finished 8 pound butts in 12 hours (1.5 hours per pound), I've also had them take 14 hours, or 10 hours. And a 5 pound butt almost certainly takes about as long as an 8 or 10 pound butt at a given temperature. It's all about thickness of the piece of meat. If that 8 pound butt is 5 inches thick, and the 6 pound butt is also 5 inches thick, just shorter in one dimension, they will take about the same time for the center to reach temp.

What I do if I want to cook on a schedule is assume that it will take 10-12 hours for something like a butt, but I use temperature and things like the Texas crutch, or even a cambro hold, to make things work out for when dinner is. I.e. start the smoke at 225F or 250F at 6AM, and if things are not where I want them by say 1-2PM, I crank the heat to 275F or even 300F. And if its not close to done by 3-4pm, I wrap in foil to speed things along (I rarely ever need to foil a butt). My goal with a butt that I want for dinner that same day is to be off the smoker, wrapped in foil, and held in cambro an hour or more before dinner, and 15 to 30 minutes before dinner, I go ahead and start pulling the pork. If I am taking the pork elsewhere, I pull it in advance, and hold it warm in a foil covered pan, or in a crockpot on low/warm.

[ecowper]

It is kind of alluded to throughout, but one thing you have to take into account is that some cuts of meat are plain ornery. That means that your 8 lb pork butt will generally take about 12 hours. But some of them just don't want to get done that fast. I've had a pork butt take me 16 hours to cook when I planned for 12. Since I factored in a 2 hour hold, I was only 2 hours late for dinner that night and ended up pulling out frozen burger patties and cooking them on the grill. Oooops.

So, just bear in mind that the darn thing will get done when it wants to and add in extra time. I now plan my pork butt cooks to have a 4 hour buffer because of that Old Beastly that took so long. :-)

[HawkerXP]

I'd rather have a long hold than a long wait to eat.