I've finally joined the smokers club. I purchased a Bradley 6 rack smoker last Saturday (8/5/23). I attempted a small (what I thought might be simple) first smoke. I smoked chicken breast. The recipe I found indicated it would take approximately 60 minutes to reach temp at 250 degrees. 2 hours and 15 minutes later, my probe indicated we had reached our target temp. I thought the flavor was very good, but the breasts were dry.
This weekend, I'm going to attempt to smoke my 1st Pork butt / shoulder. I just wanted to reach out to see if I get any feedback / recommendations / tips for my 1st pork smoke. I appreciate your interest and comments.
Welcome to the pit! A pork butt is an excellent choice for a first attempt smoking something large. It’s fairly simple, some butts need some fat trimmed off in places, but there’s normally not a lot of trimming to do. I like to rub the ones I do with Meatheads Memphis dust. Get your smoker up and running at somewhere around 275 F with some mild wood chunks for smoke. I like to use apple wood on mine. Get the butt on to smoke and don’t fret any small temp changes, just try to stay between 250 and 325. When you get the internal temp to 185 wrap the butt in aluminum foil and either put it back on the smoker or take it in to the oven to bring the internal temp 203 to 205. At that point I like to take it out of the smoker or oven and let it rest for a hour, but it’s not at all necessary. There’s going to be some wonderful liquid inside the foil when you open it, save that to put back on the pork after you pull or slice it. You are at this point ready to amaze your friends and neighbors. Good luck.
I don’t know your smoker, but I frequently do Butts. It is about the safest piece of meat you can cook. I usually do 8-10# bon in Butts overnight for 12-14 hours at 225 which would be my recommendation if your cooker can accommodate that long of a cook. Otherwise cook at cook it at 275 and wrap it in two layers of foil when it hits 160 internal temp. I would trim almost all fat cap off and put the fat cap side down. I like to hold the finished Butt for 2 hours in an ice chest before pulling.
Lots of great feedback. Thank you all. For my 1st smoke, I don't think I will attempt an overnight smoke. There are references to cook at anywhere from 225 to 275. Other than overall cook time, are there advantages for the different temps?
tbill87 Along with wrapping the only difference the temperatures make is how long the cook takes. I cook overnight
at 225 because the timing of the cook works out well to serve at noon. Cooking at 275 without wrapping should take 9-11 hours. Wrapping should cut 2-3 hours off of the cook.
The first time I did my first butt, I didn't know about the stall. I hit about 160f and stayed there for at least more then an hour. So don't be surprised and just let it ride. Welcome to the pit.
Hey Brian, doing fine me and mama sitting and watching TV. She likes western, we're watch Gunsmoker now. I'm leaving next Friday for Honduras on a mission trip for a week. How about your self?
Welcome!! Pork butt is a great way to get some early success. One thing I learned quickly is that chicken just isn't amenable to low and slow. Cook it at least at 300, even 325 or 350, and live with the lesser amount of smoke you get from the shorter exposure from the faster cooking time.
And do embrace the stall! Lots of good things happen during that time. Go by feel as well as temperature. When inserting your temp probe feels like warm butter, with little to no resistance, it's done, even if that internal temp is below the canonical 203F.
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As others have mentioned, Pork Butt is a great first smoke (or second, or third, or...). I generally use an offset, but the principles are the same.
Trim if needed.
Dry brine at least overnight, preferably 24 hours. (Don't underestimate this step. The salt penetrates the meat and adds a lot of flavor.)
Smoke at 225-250 until you get great bark. You are looking for the right bark more than an internal temp. A lot of times, the pork butt will need to go through a portion of the stall to achieve great bark. Internal temp will probably be between 165 and 180 before you see the right bark. This may take 10 hours, give or take, depending on size and fat content of your pork butt.
At this point, you can wrap or leave on. If you leave it on the smoker, just keep smoking until you hit 203. If you wrap, which is my preference, wrap it tightly in two layers of heavy duty foil. My purpose for wrapping it is to catch the juices so I can pour them over the pork after its been pulled. (Wrapping can speed up the cook, but that usually happens if you wrap early, before you get a great bark.) If you want to save the juices, be sure to insert your temp probe high enough so that the juices won't leak out.
If you wrapped, I recommend finishing it in the oven at 225. At this point, all you need is heat. No reason to waste wood or charcoal or have to monitor the smoker.
Once you hit the magical 203 temp, pull it out, leave it wrapped, and let it cool down. Depending on how soon you need it, you can leave it on the counter (quicker) or put it in a cooler (slower). I usually let is cool a couple hours before I pull it.
A quick word on cooking temps. Many people like to cook at higher temps (275-350). As you smoke more and more, I recommend you experiment with different temps. Pork butts are extremely forgiving and therefore you probably won't ruin one. I've experimented with both briskets and pork butts and personally prefer the results of lower temps, but you may be different and would rather save an hour or two.
Good luck. Make sure to post pix and let us know how it goes.
JLR, in my (not very extensive) experience, the juices don't even evaporate. They pool very nicely in the bottom of the boat. Not a ton of surface area of that liquid to evaporate from, and ostensibly the liquid is being replenished from continued production out of the cut. I've always had a lot of juice in the boat when all is said and done. Do give it a try, would love to hear your experience.
JLR, FWIW I’ll second DaveD ‘s experience. Several pork butts ago I changed from wrapping to the foil boat method, and will never go back. It’s a good bit easier, less mess, and still produces juices in the bottom of the pan while preserving the bark. I pour the juices into a fat separator to mix back in the luscious water based flavors while eliminating the extra fat (gotta watch my cholesterol). If you don’t have that problem just use all the juices, even better. Cheers! 🍷
I'll add that I cut the butt in half. More bark and possibly quicker cooking time. I also use a drip pan to catch the drippings to be separated and added back when pulling. Have fun! Let us know the results!
Last edited by HawkerXP; August 17, 2023, 09:38 AM.
I've finally joined the smokers club. I purchased a Bradley 6 rack smoker last Saturday (8/5/23). I attempted a small (what I thought might be simple) first smoke. I smoked chicken breast. The recipe I found indicated it would take approximately 60 minutes to reach temp at 250 degrees. 2 hours and 15 minutes later, my probe indicated we had reached our target temp. I thought the flavor was very good, but the breasts were dry.
This weekend, I'm going to attempt to smoke my 1st Pork butt / shoulder. I just wanted to reach out to see if I get any feedback / recommendations / tips for my 1st pork smoke. I appreciate your interest and comments.
You are guaranteed to do better than I did the first time on my ECB. Forgot to rub, forgot to burn off the unit before the cook, used an entire hickory log. Result? Shoe leather that tasted like creosote and left the Mrs. reeling.
Salutations from Hays, Kansas! Enjoy the pork butt cook. Lots of great advice above. I’m a big believer in letting the butt rest for AT LEAST an hour (I try to get closer to 1.5-2 hours) after it comes off the smoker. I often times put it in a cooler lined with a towel and then cover with another towel (faux cambro). Another option would be to put the butt in an oven at 160 or so.
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