Finishing in the oven?

[billg71]

I'm defrosting an 8.5 lb Boston Butt that I want to cook Sunday. It's cold and windy so I'm thinking of smoking it on the WSM to 150-160F internal, wrapping it in foil and finishing it inside in a 300 oven until it reaches 195-200 internal.

Am I nuts? Will I be stoned to death by true BBQ aficionados? Or would it maybe turn out to be something decent the family could eat before midnight?

I realize I'm talking BBQ heresy here but I'd really like to put this butt in somewhere around 7:00-8:00 AM or later(later is warmer outside, that would be good) and have something to eat around 5:00-6:00 PM.

Any thoughts as to smoking/oven time? Or should I just beat my head on the brick wall until I fall over and die ridiculed as a BBQ faker?

Thanks,
Bill

P.S. This is my first attempt at a pork butt so if you could find it in your heart to be gentle in your replies it would be appreciated.

[Jerod Broussard]

My first few butts finished in the oven unwrapped. Cheap offset smoking days.

Most my briskets finish in the oven wrapped.

[billg71]

Thanks Jerod, I feel a little less uncomfortable now. At least you won't be in the lynching party.

[Jerod Broussard]

Never was good at lynching anyways.

[Ericm]

I've done this a few times with good results. I have a pellet grill and I figure, why waste pellets on wrapped meat?

[IrondeQuer]

I finish in the oven all the time, in an aluminum pan with foil cover. About 3 hours on the smoker and 2 - 2-1/2 hours in the oven and at least an hour rest. That's how I learned, from a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and it has never failed me.

[Jon Solberg]

P.S. This is my first attempt at a pork butt so if you could find it in your heart to be gentle in your replies it would be appreciated.

Bill,

Relax bro : ) No ones going to attack you here. You could do the whole thing in the oven and we wont attack you. Heck you could even boil that baby in a bag and we want to hear about it.


Nothing wrong with an oven finish. It always seems to make my kitchen smell real smokey too.

billg71 ,

[CeramicChef]

billg71 - it's your pork butt, your cook, and for my money, you can do it anyway you want.

Let's say you want to go from Houston to Chicago. You can drive, fly, take a bus, the train, heck, you can even hitchhike! There are lots of ways to get the job done.

So too with your cook! There are lots of different ways to put really fine BBQ on the table.

As long as you, your family, and guests like the BBQ, what else really matters?

Here's to a great cook and even better memories with family and friends!

[HorseDoctor]

Once anything is wrapped, it makes little difference where it is finished. If the smoker is already rolling, you can stay there. If the oven is easier &/or handier. Go for it. Enjoy!

[Huskee]

My only advice is take it up to 170-180, then finish in the oven, or at whichever point thereafter your charcoal begins dying. Better bark with a higher initial pre-wrap temp, but that's just my opinion.

[IrondeQuer]

I want to try this approach, Huskee. I used to cook my butts solely based on time but I'm getting better with a thermometer. Can't go wrong with better bark.

[billg71]

Thanks, Huskee. I think I'll try that if it doesn't stall before charcoal burns out.

[fracmeister]

... You could do the whole thing in the oven and we wont attack you. Heck you could even boil that baby in a bag and we want to hear about it.


.....

billg71 ,

OK, maybe we wouldn't attack you but there would be some snickering....

[lemayp]

I've had several friends switch over the last couple years to smoking for the first half and then finishing in the oven. Finished product always tastes great. I did this with Texas sized beef short ribs this week so that we could eat at a somewhat normal hour. One chimney full in the SNS brought them up to 180 in six hours, then wrapped and finished in the oven for two more hours.

[Huskee]

Did your charcoal die out after 6hrs?

[lemayp]

No, I probably could have wrapped and left on the kettle with the remaining coals. I had to get my daughter from school and run a few errands with her. I wasn't sure how long I would be gone and felt more confident moving them to the oven.

[Nate]

billg71 , I have finished off pork butts in the oven on more than one occasion. I usually put them in a foil pan and then tightly cover the top in foil. I usually leave the meat probe in so I can monitor the temp of the meat. I own a Thermoworks DOT and ChefAlarm that I have purchased extra probes for so it is easy to just unplug the dot and take it inside and plug in the probe in the oven then unplug and go back outside with it. I run my oven 250-300 if i remember right and it takes about the same amount of time it would on the smoker.

The perk here is you aren't wasting any of your fuel source which is great if you are smoking using wood only.

The reason I most often have done this is because I need the space in my smoker for other meats like chicken that don't take as long to cook but i'm trying to finish everything off about the same time for a party.... not going to lie though... i have also done this a couple of times so i could get a few hours of shut eye before a long day.

Since this if your first go at a pork butt i will give you one of my cheats that I like to do as well. If you wrap the pork butt or put it in a foil pan then you are going to get a pool of juice when you open it up. I let it rest in there a bit but then I like to pour that juice into a fat separator/gravy strainer and save it. Once I have shredded/pulled the pork I will pour some of that back over it and sprinkle just a little more rub in with the meat and mix it up some more. Then I will keep the juice and use it some more if i have to reheat the pulled pork or some people just prefer a spoon full of that over their meat instead of bbq sauce.

best of luck!

[Yno]

My first pork butt on the PBC went unwrapped for twelve hours, and the pit temp dropped to 197 while the meat was only 174. I pulled it and finished it in the oven wrapped in foil. It was late when it hit 203 so it didn't get much of a rest, but we tore into it anyway. The butt I did on the XL BGE hit 161 in eight hours and I wrapped it, but still had plenty of coals, so I left it in for four more hours. I wouldn't hesitate to do one either way, depending on time and when you want to eat. Those were both great!

[MikeVoss]

billg71, I use a "Nessco". I'm a BBQ caterer and find these to be a great convenience in my business. After all, once the meat is smoked and wrapped your really done barbequeing, the rest is just cooking. Oven works great too so don't worry.

Good luck!​

[Baker Dan]

I finish my ribs there all the time wrapped then use the broiler to set the glaze especially in the winter.

[BigBear]

Good luck with your first PB billg71 . As you can tell from the posts: there is no disgrace in BBQ, there is more than one way to arrive at a desired result and you can always count on your friends in The Pit for support!