Pork shoulder temp

[gbt01]

I've smoked probably a couple dozen pork shoulders now on my BGE, and I feel the need to put this question out there:
Rarely, does the meat rise to the 195-203 range. It seems to stall in the low/middish 190's, and I have even seen it drop 3-4 degrees from there and never rise again (I eventually take if off thinking it might be drying out). Smoker temp is steady so I don't think that's the issue.
Regardless, it's always easily pulled, tender and delicious.
Set up: BGE, lump charcoal (Rockwood), Maverick wireless, Thermapen, 225 anywhere from 14 to 18+ hours.

So what's the official word from you gurus around this pork temp thing?

P.S. I do not have this "problem" with brisket!

[martybartram]

That is very interesting. I look forward to reading the responses.

[SoonerBQuer]

That's interesting. I have a Kamado and use a maverick. if it pulls easily and is tasty, it probably doesn't matter. I tend to get my butts to 205 regularly. Butts take a lot of punishment and still come out great. I have however pulled pork at 195 and it's good too.

Could try wrapping and tossing in a couple ounces of OJ or apple cider vinegar and honey. I'm sure that would push the temp up.

I usually cook at 230 for about an hour a lb (sometimes a bit more) on mine so i rarely see 10+ hrs. I still say if it tastes good and look good, you aren't doing it wrong.

[fuzzydaddy]

Since you've cooked ~24 and have a Maverick (I'm assuming you use the Mav meat probe) and also check with a Thermapen, I would rule out probe issues or having a probe less than 1" from a bone. So, I looked back at my Boston Butt cooks and I found that I have had some that only went to ~194-195 IT and were just as good as those that went to 203. Since thermometers are not perfectly accurate, a couple or three degrees difference from our peak temps could be accounted for. I always cook two at a time so when I encounter the ~194-195 IT on one, the other is ~200-203, so I pull both if they are probe tender.

Edit to add: All my butts get a ~2 hour faux cambro when they come off my BGE or Kettle. I heat up my cooler with some hot water, dump it and add towels warmed up in the clothes dryer.

[Breadhead]

"Probe tender" ... Enough said.👍

[PBCDad]

My understanding from this site is that temps above 180* help to turn the connective tissue and collagen into gelatin. My guess is that the time it takes most pork butts to go from 180 to 203 is a good amount of time to melt most of that and make it easy to pull. If you are getting an extra stall or the meat is hanging out for a long time at 190-195, you are probably getting the same benefit.

I can't speak to why you aren't getting the temp up in that range, my PBC cooks hotter and I haven't seen a problem with it pushing the meat up to higher temps.

A question for others to support or disprove my theory is, has anyone done SV on a pork butt holding it in the 190* range? An experiment would be to hold one at 190 and one at 203. I don't have a SV, so not sure if that is even possible what with being so close to water boiling temp.

[Breadhead]

I've done SV pork butts. I take temp passed the normal stall point, 160°, in the bath tub. Then I put them in the fridge overnight. I want them to be cold going on the BGE. Cold, wet meat takes on smoke nicely.

Shoot for 203° but pull it whenever it's probe tender.👍

[HorseDoctor]

I have not done that experiment with butts but I do know that you can SV a chuck roast at 135 for 48-72 hours before searing and it ends up as tender as a piece of prime rib and still med-rare. Collagen starts to break down (slowly) around 130 F so the long time is needed. The higher the temp, the faster it melt so time is needed as temps rise. Nothing magical about 203 or 205, as long as it's been close to that (190 or so) for sufficient time.

[CeramicChef]

gbt01 - I"m with fuzzydaddy here on this one. Ya know, some butts just didn't get that memo about needing to get to 200 - 205F. I've had a few, not many, that just stopped dead in the 195 range. They probed tender and I'd pull them and eat them. No big deal. You know your Egg and its proclivities, so you just do what you think is right.

Hey, I notice that you're an Egghead! That was my first kamado and I loved both my Eggs. I see you're relatively new, so I'd like to invite you over to the Kamado section of The Pit. You can find it from the Front Page of The Pit > Grills and Smokers > Charcoal > Kamados. We're having a series of discussions on kamados, their strengths, weaknesses, and best practices. Please join us. WE'd love to have your experience.

[Ribber]

I am doing a butt Saturday. Only my second one since getting my Weber Smokey Mountain. My first time I was not aware of The Stall. I kept telling my wife how frustrated I was that I could not get the temp over about 165, if my memory serves me right. I gave up and took it off. The next day I of course came to this site looking for an answer and there it was. After many months I am taking another shot at it. So I am glad I saw this post, in case I run into another stall at 195. Lots of experienced smokers here. My wife and I were just talking about it and I am expecting a 12 hour cook, so cranking the WSM up no later than 6 a.m. It's beautiful that time in the morning anyway here in Central Florida!

[richinlbrg]

Ribber , don't forget that two stalls is not unheard of. I usually have my first around 145-150, then the second at the higher temp.

Good luck with your cook!

[LA Pork Butt]

gbt01 First question - are you cooking Boston Butts or shoulder picnics? I can't count the number of Boston Butts I have cooked on my BGE at 225 and can't remember being unable to get them to an internal temp of 225. I have because of time constanints pulled some at 190 and 195 and they pulled just fine, but 200 has been the magic number for me. I only remember doing one picnic and can't remember anything about the internal temperature.

[Huskee]

internal temp of 225? Did you mean 205?

[LA Pork Butt]

Oops 200

[BGWolf]

Your shoulders are likely stalling when they reach the 190 range. you can either wait it out or raise the pit temp and attempt to push thru the stall. Don't hesitate to raise the temp to 300 or even 350.

A lot of folks on the BGE forum cook their pork butts at 350 or so for the entire cook with good results. In general if the butt probes like butter, it's done.

[vandy]

I usually pull my Boston Butts at 195 and cambro them and they will go to around 203 to 205 after pulling them and wraping them in foil then in towels and then putting them in my cooler. The only thing I have not done is warm the cooler with hot water or warm the towels in the dryer, that is a really great idea from fuzzydaddy thanks for that tip!

[AdamJG]

I agree there doesn't seem to be a magic number...for me the goal is to bring the temp close to 200 and do it slowly. This ensures that the meat is kept hot for a good long time to breakdown connective tissues. Sometimes I tend to worry too much over details and I have to remind myself that barbecue shouldn't be worrisome or complicated.

[gbt01]

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. As I ultimately suspected, "butt science" isn't exact and it's good to know everyone has experienced this, at least occasionally. And it appears the "probe tender" measure is the consensus common sense "tell".
I did smoke a butt last weekend and that cook went exactly by the book - 203 internal - Go Figure!