Cookers:
Large Big Green Egg with a Ceramic Grill Store rack system, and the SnS setup.
Weber Genesis SA-E-330 LP INDIGO with SS Grates, Weber Crafted frame kit, baking stone, griddle (2/3), all from Ace Hardware.
For the first time in a long time I have no kettles as I gave them all away.
Everything Else:
SnS #3 with certificate. I was their first customer.
Sous Vide equipment.
SnS and Thermoworks instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates for BGE.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church Holy Cow.
Rubs without salt: Home-mixed versions of previously sold SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef using their recipe. SPOG.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
In my BGE, I cook pork butts at ~250, unwrapped and no water. I don't open the lid until they are ~195 IT to check for tenderness. I used to cook at ~225 but the only difference I found is 4-6 less hours of cooking.
In my 22" Kettle + SnS, I cook them at ~225, unwrapped and 1 fill of water in the SnS.
Both cooks average 12-14 hours for ~7-8 lb butts. I always have cooked 2 at a time.
I wrap for my faux cambro 2 hour hold. The bark is softened by the hold. Family is very happy which is what matters. With that said, eventually I will try wrapping during the cook.
fuzzydaddy - I've never wrapped butts, brisket, ribs, etc. when cooked in my kamados and that's 20+ years of BBQ. I never wrapped before that and that was another 20+ years on stick burners. I've never gotten so much as a single complaint.
First off I agree it doesn't look like a good piece of pork to start with. In my opinion it is fine to cook for 16 hours as long as the meat has enough fat to go the distance, And there is enough moisture to thru the entire cook.
When I do pork butts, I like them with a good amount of fat. 225 for 16 to 18 hours with lots of moisture. Smoke up until the stall. Keep it simple. Just my opinion sir.
Pitmaster Brian.
One other thing. If this is happening to you wrapped or unwrapped (dry), could it be your thermometer? Pork butts are usually forgiving (as you can tell from all the various techniques out there), but over cooking one will definitely go south. Need calibration?
Just throwing that out there.
First off I agree it doesn't look like a good piece of pork to start with. In my opinion it is fine to cook for 16 hours as long as the meat has enough fat to go the distance, And there is enough moisture to thru the entire cook.
When I do pork butts, I like them with a good amount of fat. 225 for 16 to 18 hours with lots of moisture. Smoke up until the stall. Keep it simple. Just my opinion sir.
Pitmaster Brian.
Doesn't look good how? Do you mean not enough fat or something else?
Voodoo I used two thermometers, thanks for sharing your thought anyway.
Everyone seem to ignore my comment about the reverse flow plate being to close to the food rack. I think this could the problem. Too much heat radiation upwards into the meat, even though you would think the temp at the grates is the temp at the grates with the RF plate positioned where it is.
I am currently building a new smoker and I can't wait to try it out. It should let me know me know if I was right or not.
I had a similar issue this past weekend. I bought what was labeled as Boston Butt to throw onto the KBQ, but ended up being a picnic I believe. The bone had a big ball socket end and there was very little fat inside. Flavor was good, but real dry. I whipped up some "pulled pork finishing sauce" and let is soak over night. Next day it was really good. Ended up using it to make enchiladas with later in the week. Those were really good as well.
I love all the input. What we know about "the stall" is that it is created by moisture on the outside of the protein. The more we spritz and open the cooker the longer the final product is going to take. LOW and SLOW means patience and maturity (two things I struggle with). Whether you inject or brine I still believe in wrapping either just before or during the stall (somewhere between 155-165 degrees) as was stated, making clean up easier, collect your drippings, prevents over smoking. However, if you do take any of the above suggestions please take them one at a time and document (journal results). I would always use a drip pan under proteins and depending on cooker I find water pans useful in correcting hot spots as density of water keeps temp flux to a minimum.
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