Pulled pork with BONELESS butts

[fracmeister]

OK, I just asked for the Boston Butt at Costco and they pulled me two 13-lb packages labeled pork shoulder. But in fact, on careful inspection each package contains two identical BONED boston butts. That seems fine and at $2.39 a pound they look beautiful with most of the excess fat already trimmed. Unfortunately in the process of deboning they need a LOT of tying up to make them look like a "roast" rather than a car wreck. I have salted them and stuck them in the fridge with the intention of taking them out tomorrow night. My experience with bone in butt is that a 6-7 pounder takes about 13 hours at 225 in the Yoder. SO I am assuming all four won't take much longer but I plan to put them in long enough to get 14 before they have to get in the faux cambro for a 2 hour trip to the pot luck and subsequent bear claw destruction.

So... do they take longer or shorter without the bone? Anything else to worry about? I plan to put the meat dust on the exposed surfaces rather than every nook and cranny (unless told otherwise.... there isnt going to be bark there inside...

thanks in advance for the advice. You have 24 hours before they go in so helpful advice after about 7 pm friday night wont be so helpful...

[Jon Solberg]

thanks in advance for the advice. You have 24 hours before they go in so helpful advice after about 7 pm friday night wont be so helpful...

What time zone we talking Doc? Your post was at 8:14 pm EDT Friday

I think I'm out of time but what the heck.

IMHO No diff on time bone in or out. At least not enough to be concerned with, its done when its done.

Just outside is fine.

Hope I'm not too late...

[Powersmoke_80]

IMO since you cut the bone out they could be cut in halves as i believe Huskee has mentioned before takes less time. Extra bark to mix in for extra goodness

[The Burn]

I did a single 13-pound Costco package, i.e., 2 boneless butts, 2 weeks ago on my Performer with the Smokinator. Temps generally ranged between 225-250, with a few outlying drops and spikes because it started to rain. Brief stall at 170, then hit 190 at 8 hours and wouldn't budge. Had to leave, so put them in a 200 degree oven and left them there for 3 hours and then pulled them and they were great. [My post & pics are here]

And, yes, they aren't pretty and my amateur hogtying skills didn't help much. Luckily, they get pulled so it doesn't matter.

[mgaretz]

That's what I use for pulled pork all the time. I cut them in half so each butt/shoulder is about 5lbs trimmed. They take about 12 hours to hit an IT of 203F.

[fracmeister]

I lost track of time. I am putting them in SATURDAY night so this is all helpful. These butts are about 6-7 pounds each but they need a LOT of trussing. "The Burn" and I bought more or less the same but I bought two of those packages --- both a touch over 13 lbs. I used a little more string but I plan on leaving them overnight... put them in around 8 pm and expect them to be done by 8-10 am. My Yoder holds 225 like a champ... I am going to 203 which I assume you didn't reach in a 200F oven! But I am feeling pretty good seeing your results. Pics to follow.

[Jon Solberg]

Looking forward to the pics and progress reports.
; )

[bep35]

I also purchased 2 Boston Butts at Costco except I thought they were bone in. Got home and the butcher really had to hack away at those butts to get the bones out. There was no way I was going to be able to hang them on my PBC. I coated them with rub, rolled them up, and tied the mess together with string. Then cooked them in the PBC on the grate. That is the beauty of the PBC, being able to hang the big pieces of meat while still being able to cook smaller cuts on the grate. They came out with a wonderful flavor as is the norm on the PBC. Won't buy bone out again, at least not intentionally.

[fracmeister]

(snip) Won't buy bone out again, at least not intentionally.

Amen, brother!

[fracmeister]

OK, they are in. Sorry about the ugly string!

[fracmeister]

That is a cooked piece of bacon for scale.

[fracmeister]

Three hours and thirty minutes. Internal up to 150 so I am backing it down to 210 (going to sleep after almost all of my teams lost today, but yea for Georgia Tech!) They smell AWESOME.

[fracmeister]

(6 AM)
Twelve hours of cooking and still stalled. Fortunately I dont have to pull them for another 3 hours. I will look hard after another 2 hours and may crank the temps a bit. They are going to sit in the "fc" for 2.5 hours before shredding so I imagine they will soften up a bit further there anyway. Ripping off a corner bit says they certainly aren't ready now. But my house smells ready as the wind has blown roasted pig fumes in.

(update at 7:15 AM)

thirteen hours and the temps are increasing again...finally. but they are still in the 180 range with two hours left to pull them. Yoder holds 225 but I am considering bumping it up.

(update at 8 AM) Well, I planned for 14 hours and they aren't done so I will bump the Yoder to 250F. The good news is I can go another hour and a half and there is a 2.5 hour rest in the faux cambro ahead. I swapped the sides as the right side was a little hotter. They sort of look like this now.

[fracmeister]

I like it when it is time to take them off. Even if they are going to be wrapped up for a couple hours....

[Jon Solberg]

That is Saweeeet!