"5 at 5" Butt Smokin’

[FishTalesNC]

Up at 5:30am to get started and it was 5F outside. My only other pork butt smoking was with a 2.5lb boneless one from Fresh Market that was netted. Netting sucked, took too much bark off when I removed it. That was on my 22” kettle using the snake method. So this is my first attempt with a full (but small - 5.6lb) butt, and on my 26” with SNS. Trimmed it (no knife skills, ugh) and started dry brining it yesterday at 11am. Made my first batch of MMD after that. Lit my starter coals at 5:30am this morning, Weber briquettes this time, I do believe they burn longer and they were on sale. I then decided to cut it in half. Poorly. Thought it’d be easier to handle and maybe get a little more bark due to more surface area. Got the rub on, coals were ready, filled up the SNS and topped it with some applewood chunks. Given the freezing temps, pulled the SNS about 1” away from the side of the kettle - tip from Huskee. Put the meat on the grate at 6am. Got my probes in, pretty sure that could’ve been done better as well but I didn’t feel bone and it was dark and I was cold and I think they’re in the center of the thickest parts. Set up the iGrill 2 ambient for a range of 270-300F hoping to shorten up the smoke (will shoot for 275F), and the 2 meat probes for 203F. Snapped a couple pics and closed it up with the dome vents opposite the SNS at 6:10am. Going to enjoy the rest of this hot coffee (Pete’s holiday blend) and adjust my dampers and vents when it gets to around 260F. Will post more pics of the results tonight... fingers crossed. As always, looking for constructive criticism, tips, etc.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Looks like you will be good

[scottranda]

Golden

[fuzzydaddy]

Dinner is going to be good!

[Danjohnston949]

Are You Using Water In Your S 'n S❓ Pulled Pork Tonight For Sure‼️
Eat Well and Prosper❗️ From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[FishTalesNC]

Yessir, so far I find using a watering can with a long thin spout works ok, no spills (yet). Filled it up ~1” from the top.

[Steve B]

Excellent so far. I don’t see any room for criticism here. Looks like you got this down pat.

[FishTalesNC]

Coolness! My ambient temp is pretty stable, relative to my handful of other kettle smokes anyway. The bone in piece has stalled, but not the other one. Not planning on doing a crutch. I guess there’s a possibility I’ll need to hold one piece while the other finishes, didn’t think about that. Or maybe we just tear into whichever one finishes first!

[Pirate Scott]

Steve B yep, makes sense.

[FishTalesNC]

Pirate Scott and Steve B thanks for the info, Weber got me sorted out. Just removing the batteries and repairing it worked - no false reads on non-existance probes any more. I can also finally see the battery level indicator after they had me delete and re-download the app. Happy camper now!

[HouseHomey]

Pirate Scott Steve B CheckEngine

[Dadof3Illinois]

Looks like you’re well on the way to a very successful cook!! That pork has a lot of forgiveness and takes the hotter temps pretty darn good IMO. So just relax and enjoy more coffee for a few more hours.
I had to thaw my 26” weber our this morning, it was frozen solid....Ha.

[HouseHomey]

Personally for me if you have bark you like I would wrap it. I have found that thinner pork can dry out a little. In my opinion anyway. Though still very good. Looking good my friend.

[FishTalesNC]

Thanks for the info HouseHomey. I thought about it, and want to try that in the future. Being that this is my first full butt, and my wife and I loving a really significant bark, I thought I’d let this one ride. Hoping the long dry brine will help it stay moist. If not we have a VERY promising Lexington style sauce that should help matters! 👍🏻

[Huskee]

I agree with HouseHomey. The massive butts are the best ones to go unwrapped with. Preference only. But I prefer to use the smaller 3-5lb ones myself, 'bout like what you got there. Wrapping will save you time and jus! But experimenting is the only way to know what you like best!

[DWCowles]

5 degrees? Nope! Enjoy your cook.

[FishTalesNC]

Peaked quickly because my temp was dropping a bit and glad I did, had about 10% fuel left in the SNS. Just filled it up and opened my vents. There’s a pellet smoker in my future... maybe not in 2018, but it’s gonna happen. 😂

[RonB]

You might try sticking the probes in from the side. It may be easier to hit the center that way. At any rate, I suggest moving the probe around a bit to find the lowest temp - that should be the center of the thickest part. Don't do this until the temp has risen a bit - maybe around 100* - 150*. That will make it easier to find the lowest temp.

[FishTalesNC]

Thanks RonB I’m definitely going to adjust and see if I get a different reading. I’ve been pretty solid around 285F but the boneless one is reading 197 and the other 188. 🤔 The stalls appeared fairly short, but I don’t have much experience so not sure...

[FishTalesNC]

Adjusted the thermometer placement, they went in like a hot knife thru butter. Think I have better readings, 193 and 190 respectively. Is this really a 6 hour smoke at 285? Maybe I was too scurred about a 12 hour cook and should have gone lower.

[RonB]

They are lookin' real good. If the probe is going in like a knife in warm butter, they are done. I'd go ahead and cambro them. Leave the probe in the smaller one to monitor temps. If it drops below ~ 150* I'd throw them in a warm oven - as low as possible. 170* seems to be about as low as most ovens go. They should almost fall apart when you are ready to pull. And don't forget to save all the juices to add back once pulled. You might want to strain the fat though. Some here do, and some don't.

[FishTalesNC]

Awesome, thank you for the timely help RonB, much appreciated!