Dear Fellow Pitmasters,
I'm still very new to grilling (only 6 months in). I decided that last weekend was going to be my first pork butt. I purchased the beautiful hunk-o-meat from the butcher, and weighed her in at 7 lbs. I trimmed (final weight 6 lbs 9 oz) and dry brined the butt for 24 hours exactly, followed by rubbing her down with a healthy coat of Meathead's Memphis dust. I fired up the Big Green Egg to 225 F, controlled the temperature with the Flame Boss, and placed on the water pan. The butt was placed on the grill at about 1:30 AM, and I thought I was going to have some Perfect Pulled Pork for lunch! When I woke up in the morning, the meat was in the stall at about 151 F (see attached graph of the temperatures). Because I was doing this run for myself as a learning experience, and because I had no one to entertain, I did not wrap the meat and wanted to experience the un-foiled butt. I pressed on. At about 10:30 AM, with an internal meat temperature of about 160 F, the grill gave up, and I had to reload it with another load of charcoal. The water pan was removed for the rest of the cook. For the next 8 hours, the internal temperature only rose another 24 degrees to 184 F (with another stall at 179 F for 1 hour and 45 minutes). This butt was definitely putting up a fight! The grill had to be reloaded a second time. I found the courage to push through a third stall at 188 F. This one lasted a full 2 hours! I pressed on. At around 1:00 AM, the meat finally gave in. The internal meat temperature reached 200 F. I could not muster the courage to reload the charcoal a 3rd time to push the meat to 203 F. The butt came off, and the scapula bone pulled out with essentially zero effort. After ~23 hours of total cook time, this meat was DONE! It was the pulled with the bear claws.
This was an absolutely incredible learning experience! I thank all of the moderators at Amazingribs.com for making this cook possible. Here is what I liked about the cook and what I hope to improve for my next pork butt:
What I enjoyed:
-This meat was very delicious and flavorful. It had a beautiful smoke ring, and the bark was superb.
What I would like to improve:
-Right below the bark, the meat was slightly more dry than I would have liked. It was still tasty, but I wish it to be a bit more moist in the future. Perhaps the long, un-foiled cook was the culprit.
Plan for the future:
Crutch the butt with foil at the first stall in hopes to shorten the cook. Maybe this will make the meat a bit more moist overall. I think a softer bark may be worth the improved cook time, but then again, I'm still a bit naive. I learn something new with every cook!
For you experienced pitmasters, please share any suggestions you might have. There is no need for me to reinvent the wheel. As Isaac Newton once said: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
For reference, I attached pictures from the cook, as well as a graph of the pit and meat temperatures versus time.
Regards,
wiltfore
I'm still very new to grilling (only 6 months in). I decided that last weekend was going to be my first pork butt. I purchased the beautiful hunk-o-meat from the butcher, and weighed her in at 7 lbs. I trimmed (final weight 6 lbs 9 oz) and dry brined the butt for 24 hours exactly, followed by rubbing her down with a healthy coat of Meathead's Memphis dust. I fired up the Big Green Egg to 225 F, controlled the temperature with the Flame Boss, and placed on the water pan. The butt was placed on the grill at about 1:30 AM, and I thought I was going to have some Perfect Pulled Pork for lunch! When I woke up in the morning, the meat was in the stall at about 151 F (see attached graph of the temperatures). Because I was doing this run for myself as a learning experience, and because I had no one to entertain, I did not wrap the meat and wanted to experience the un-foiled butt. I pressed on. At about 10:30 AM, with an internal meat temperature of about 160 F, the grill gave up, and I had to reload it with another load of charcoal. The water pan was removed for the rest of the cook. For the next 8 hours, the internal temperature only rose another 24 degrees to 184 F (with another stall at 179 F for 1 hour and 45 minutes). This butt was definitely putting up a fight! The grill had to be reloaded a second time. I found the courage to push through a third stall at 188 F. This one lasted a full 2 hours! I pressed on. At around 1:00 AM, the meat finally gave in. The internal meat temperature reached 200 F. I could not muster the courage to reload the charcoal a 3rd time to push the meat to 203 F. The butt came off, and the scapula bone pulled out with essentially zero effort. After ~23 hours of total cook time, this meat was DONE! It was the pulled with the bear claws.
This was an absolutely incredible learning experience! I thank all of the moderators at Amazingribs.com for making this cook possible. Here is what I liked about the cook and what I hope to improve for my next pork butt:
What I enjoyed:
-This meat was very delicious and flavorful. It had a beautiful smoke ring, and the bark was superb.
What I would like to improve:
-Right below the bark, the meat was slightly more dry than I would have liked. It was still tasty, but I wish it to be a bit more moist in the future. Perhaps the long, un-foiled cook was the culprit.
Plan for the future:
Crutch the butt with foil at the first stall in hopes to shorten the cook. Maybe this will make the meat a bit more moist overall. I think a softer bark may be worth the improved cook time, but then again, I'm still a bit naive. I learn something new with every cook!
For you experienced pitmasters, please share any suggestions you might have. There is no need for me to reinvent the wheel. As Isaac Newton once said: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
For reference, I attached pictures from the cook, as well as a graph of the pit and meat temperatures versus time.
Regards,
wiltfore
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