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Cooking a 10-pound butt at 180 in my Traeger...now what?

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    Cooking a 10-pound butt at 180 in my Traeger...now what?

    Helllllooooo, pitmasters! I haven't posted here in ages, but I still love y'all! Shout out to my buddy Steve B!!! I have a weird one for you. I usually cook my pork butts at 225 in my Z-Grill (Traeger knockoff). (This is why I haven't posted in ages, this pellet smoker is a game changer -- so easy I barely have questions these days. That said, y'all have taught me SO MUCH).

    This time, I have a huge butt -- 10 pounds (my actual butt is pretty big, too, but that's a different topic). I have people coming at 4 pm., so I needed to make sure I had enough time and didn't want to wake up at the "butt crack" of dawn (see what I did there?), so I put it on 180 at 10 pm and went to sleep. Woke up at 8 and my big, beautiful butt was looking fine and holding steady at 165.

    Here's the dilemma -- it's 9 am. My butt is at 165 and definitely stalled, which is no problem. I have tons of time. Too much time, which is part of the problem/question. Should I:
    • Turn it up to 225 (it will cook more quickly and it's super early), wrap it and hold it? How long do you think it's ok to hold it (faux cambro or in my smoker, wrapped and turned down to "smoke" temp, which is like 135?
    • Leave it at 180 for longer and buy myself more time (or will it dry out?). And then, logic question -- can it rise above 180 when the smoker is at 180?
    Could I:
    • Let it finish, shred it early (so I don't have to do that when guests are here)? (This is going to be a serious workout -- that thing is so big!) Is pulling it so far in advance a mistake?
    It does feel like a luxury to be able to sleep while I smoke. I do NOT miss my days of charcoal smoking. For those of you who think pellet grills are "cheating," you're entitled to your opinion, but I respond "what-EVER," in my best Valley Girl tone.

    Thoughts? I've never done it like this before. Of course, I could turn it up and it could stay in this stall for a long time anyway.

    Posting a pic to show you the beauty...sending smoky hugs your way.

    Cheers, Briana

    UPDATE: Based on all your awesome advice (and FAST -- love you guys!), I just turned it up to 225, will finish, wrap, and hold at 130 in my smoker (I need my cooler for drinks!). YOU ROCK. Thank you!
    Attached Files
    Last edited by GirlpoweredBBQ; June 18, 2022, 10:42 AM. Reason: Edit for update.

    #2
    You're in great shape for a pork butt! I'd worry if this was a brisket. Anyway, me personally, I would turn her up to 225 to get a touch more bark. Plus you really want the meat to hit the 200+ range to really soften the tough fats and collagens. 180 won't do it.

    I don't see above if you mention that you are going to wrap or not? If wrapping, I'd wrap it at 180. If not, ignore that.

    However, once it hits ~200-208 or wherever in that range, what I would do is then wrap it in foil, tightly, turn your cooker down as low as it will go and let it ride out until you're ready to eat. I would not shred it early, and no there's no harm in holding it a long time. If anything an extra long hold will make it that much easier to shred later- not good for brisket, great for pulled beef or pulled pork!

    Comment


      #3
      If butt is 165° at 9 am I would turn it up to 225°. If IT not getting close to 203° by noon I would bump it to 275°, when it’s done I have faux cambro’d for 4 hours

      Comment


        #4
        I would turn it up and finish. Then hold and shed when it is time to eat.

        Comment


          #5
          I would turn it up to at least 225F maybe 275F. No, it will not go above or might not even reach 180F with the cooker set at 180.
          I don't wrap and I let my butt ride to probe tender then wrap in butcher paper and hold. I would pull it above an hour before guest arrive mixing in any juices .

          Comment


            #6

            good info above. Just to add a bit - when you shred early, you take a chance on it drying out, so the closer to serving time you shred it, the moister it will be.

            If you do shred it early, ya might want to add a bit of liquid of some type to help with moisture. I don't do that, so I will leave it up to others to suggest what to add.

            And finally, (for future cooks), with large butts, you can get more bark if ya cut 'em in half. They will cook a bit faster that way too.

            Comment


              #7
              If it gets done early, just hold it in the FB for as long as you want, then pull it at serving time. I have held meat for hours and hours in a warm oven and served much later. So I would not stress it at all. You are good to go.

              I cook everything at about 275 F, so it tends to power through the stall much faster. Then when it is done early, I simply wrap and hold it till I am ready.

              Looking forward to seeing your results! Good to hear from you again.

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                Thank you...what is "FB"?

              • Spinaker
                Spinaker commented
                Editing a comment
                Lo Siento...........Faux Cambro

              #8
              Hey Brianna. Great seeing you back in the pit.
              Missed you around here.

              Definitely bump it up to 225. If it gets probe tender early it’s not a problem. You can hold it in a cambro for 4-5hrs. Better it gets done early than later.

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                Thank you, my friend. Hope you and wifey are doing well...will PM you for details. XO

              #9
              If you have a stand mixer, it makes easy work of shredding meat. I chunk it up to softball ish sized pieces, then toss 2 or 3 pieces in the mixer. Be careful not to over do it.

              https://www.thekitchn.com/stand-mixe...ed-meat-265871
              Last edited by willxfmr; June 18, 2022, 10:47 AM.

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                THIS IS GENIUS! My jaw just hit the floor. WOW. Thank you so much for this idea! I was already anticipating sore arms. TOTALLY doing this, THANK YOU

              • pknj
                pknj commented
                Editing a comment
                wait...what?!?! How am I just finding out about this?!?!

              • willxfmr
                willxfmr commented
                Editing a comment
                pknj Someone posted that here a year or so ago, and I said the same thing! Didn't believe it until I tried it, but now it's the only way I shred big cuts.

              #10
              You already have the advice you need, I'll just say howdy, and I'm glad you broke your long spell of not posting... I like the cut of your jib Good luck with your cook!

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                Well, thanks for the compliment (even though I had to look up the meaning). Must be a sailing expression, right? :-)

              • DaveD
                DaveD commented
                Editing a comment
                Yep, initially, although it then became more generally used as a way of saying "I like your style" (which I could have easily done myself!). Of course, this was in the 1940s...

              #11
              Another thought. Ya don't have to shred the whole butt at once. If you know you have extra, you can freeze it whole for another time, or for something else like tacos.

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                I have 11 people coming, soooooo....

              #12
              My usual once it’s pulled is put the meat in a slow cooker with a can of root beer and a bottle of BBQ sauce and let it finish that way

              Comment


              • GirlpoweredBBQ
                GirlpoweredBBQ commented
                Editing a comment
                there's one I haven't heard before!

              • smokin fool
                smokin fool commented
                Editing a comment
                Works for us, not every ones cuppa tea

              #13
              Looks good, like everybody has said, turn up to 225 to finish then wrap and throw in cooler

              Comment


                #14
                How’s that butt doing Brianna? Any more pics?

                Comment


                • smokenoob
                  smokenoob commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Should be serving time in Capitola! Then sunset on the wharf or drinks at Shadowbrook!

                #15
                Pellets aren’t cheating. In fact, there is no such thing as cheating, including take out from your local bbq joint.

                The food doesn’t know how you got it. It either tastes good, or it doesn’t. Everything else is just method.

                Comment

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