Is there anything wrong with cooking pork butt at 225°

[smokin fool]

I will echo the above comments, you want to cook at 225, then by all means do it.
We're here to help not bust your chops.
In my case I am an instant gratification guy so cook 260-300 plus my BKK's wheelhouse is in the 260-300 range.
225-250ish would be extremely hard for me to pull off with both the Kegs and my limitations....

[Draznnl]

If you don't mind the cook taking longer, there is no reason not to cook a butt at 225F. When I'm doing a butt on my pellet cooker, I run it at 180F for the first hour to get smoke on it, 225F for at least three hours and then 275F until done. They come out great IMHO.

[surfdog]

That’s how I figured out how to use my father’s Traeger. 180° for 1-2 hours, then kick up the temp for another 2+ hours…then 250-275° to ride it out. I’ve also clicked it up one notch every hour-ish until I get to the 250-275° mark. Either way seems to work better than simply picking a temp and walking away.

[tamidw]

I think 225 is perfectly fine. I normally go about 250 for my overnight cooks, but will go anywhere from 225-275 generally.

[Texas Larry]

Yet another reason to stay out of FB. And welcome from south Texas!

[Rod]

Ditto on what everyone else has said. I don't do social media, but my wife does. She belongs to a F%#kbook BBQ group (maybe the same one you belong to) and has told me some of the things people say. Here you will not have to deal with that. The moderators here are fantastic. As soon as anything even remotely starts to get a little chippy, they handle it swiftly and fairly.

[jfmorris]

No - it’s just a time saver. And personally, if I have time and am not wrapping, I think the results I get at 225 are a wee bit better.

[Old Glory]

I tend to agree. But I'd eat Pulled Pork cooked at 275 no problemo.

[LA Pork Butt]

I agree with you on that, but it might be that I’ve always cooked at 225 and rarely cooked at higher temps. The few times I have cooked at higher temps they always seemed to be a tad dryer. Although I once cooked a turbo brisket at 300 and it might have been my best brisket ever. Go figure.

[surfdog]

LONG before I discovered this group…and indeed, probably long before it was even created…I "learned" that the correct temp for smoking was 225°. Well that seemed simple enough. So off I went.

I pretty much have been smoking meats for a couple decades right around, if not at, 225°.

Then of course I "discovered" temps that other people swear by…

But I’m old skool…and if it ain’t broke…you know the rest.

Even now, the only time I’ll go hotter is when I horked it up and will most likely miss my planned meal time going with tried & true. Then I’ll crank it up…but only then. Like I said, if it ain’t broke…

That said, do whatever works best for YOU.
If you, and the people you’re serving, are happy…then it really doesn’t matter.

I’ve only been asked twice, in three decades, what temp I was cooking at. Twice.

Once from another bonafide food geek, and another from a friend just starting out that had no idea where to even start. My food nerd brethren also smokes at 225-ish, though also embraces hot & fast, and the new guy just needed a temp to aim for.

After countless meals, nobody else has asked. People DO NOT care. They just want tasty food.

It’s a bit like music… ONLY other guitar players will ask about amps & pickups & strings & pedals & yada, yada, yada.
The audience generally only cares that it’s in tune and sounds reasonably close to what they expect. My wife never once asked which guitar/amp/whatever I used to record a song. She only cared that she liked it or not. "Oooh, what bit rate did you record that at?" Asked nobody ever.

Those that get their knickers in a twist over a cooking temp need to get out more…and get a life.

[texastweeter]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. I am a 225° guy too.

[shify]

It's funny, I would've assumed FB would be full of the 225 or die people.

There is nothing wrong with cooking at 225. Some prefer it and some prefer 275 and some prefer 325. Are the results any better at 225 vs. 275? That is subjective but even assuming it is true, some would give up the marginal impact to shave a few hours off the cook time.

At the end of the day, if it works for you, then it is clearly the right temp. Unless you feel like exploring other temps, if it ain't broke, don't fix it

[rickgregory]

OMG YOU COOK AT 225F??????

Yeah, that's cool. I don't bother since I find my kettle likes to be a bit higher but 225 is fine too. As others have said, it just takes longer.

NOW... I'm firmly in the camp of "225F is not the One True Temp" so I do push back against people who advocate that it is. But if you have the time and like your results, it's fine.

What is the One True Temp? To paraphrase the kid in The Matrix "There is no One True Temp".

[surfdog]

The One True Temp is the one that cooks it in your allotted time AND to your satisfaction.

[Old Glory]

I shoot for 225 then sometimes it goes to 300. Then I throttle back the vents and I'm at 180. I do that for 10 hours and it still tastes good...lol.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

This is part of the problem with most social media these days - no one wants to accept there is anything other than their opinion, and anyone else is stupid, anything else is stupid, any other opinion is stupid.

The hatred and vitriol on most social media is insane.

[klflowers]

What are you saying? That there is something other than my opinion? That counts? Forgedaboutit...

[WillTravelForFood]

if you ever get a stubborn butt that just doesn't want to finish

doesn't want to finish? Sounds like it just don't wanna quit.

---

but all seriousness -- 225, 250, 275.... anything below 300 should still qualify as "low and slow".

[Finster]

Don't think I've ever done one @225° (definitely not in my PBC).
I think I'm gonna do one on the kettle at that temp just for fun..
Need to break in the SnS on low cook anyway 🤷‍♂️
As for the naysayers on facialbook....eff em if they can't take a joke

[ecowper]

I just got done running a butt at 225F on the SnS kettle. Came out great! Took about the same amount of time as a butt on the WSM at 240F. These days, other than making sure that the temp is somewhere between 225 and 275, I don't worry about the number. I pay attention to whether it is stable and consistent and running smoke well.

[Alan Brice]

Welcome fr Cincy Ohio! Enjoy the Pit n support.