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My First Pork Butt

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    My First Pork Butt

    Well, I finally got the courage to try a long cook.

    It's a ten pound pork butt, defrosted for roughly four days. Cooking it on a Weber Kettle with SnS, with their light-12-coals-and-put-in-a-full-chimney-next-to-it method Three chunks of Applewood. Water reservoir filled.

    I probably didn't prep the meat as well as I should have (got in a rush this morning and started late). I trimmed it a little and very liberally patted in Malcom Reed's The BBQ Rub all over it.

    Pit is holding between 260 and 270. (A little hotter when in direct sunlight, a little less when the clouds move in. Interesting.) Meat internal temp is 120 degrees about three hours in.

    I'm in Texas so I like bark. When it hits the stall....I guess around 150 or 160 or so, I'll wrap it in unlined pink butcher paper. If I can continue to control my temps like this, I may finish it on the grill. I originally planned to finish it in the oven as I thought I'd be chasing my temps all afternoon.

    I get better at controlling my temps each time I cook. After just a few adjustments early on....I haven't touched the thing. I think I might be finally getting it.

    #2
    That is going to be so good. If you have the time I wouldn't wrap it. I think you get a better bark. Enjoy.

    Comment


      #3
      Congrats on taking the plunge and look forward to the results. Sounding good.

      Comment


        #4
        Not wrapping is a possibility......I'll see where I am at the 5 hour mark.

        Comment


          #5
          I wouldn't wrap it. Read Meathead's recipe on Pulled Pork in the free section. He also does not recommend wrapping if you read all the way down he has it highlighted in yellow, it is way down after How the Champions Do It.

          This easy pulled pork recipe skips the slow cooker to create authentic low-and-slow smoked pulled pork on a smoker or grill. With smoke woven through the moist meat, bits of seasoned crust, and a gentle splash of BBQ sauce, pulled pork is perfect for your next backyard cookout.


          I have found a 10lb butt will take you 14-16hrs. Depending on the butt. If you are in a stall now at 120 that is a little unusual but each piece of meat is different. Your pit temp sounds good. If you have an instant read thermometer take the temps in several places. You might have the probe in a place that didn't get defrosted totally. I don't know but it is worth checking.

          Comment


            #6
            So far so good. (I keep leaving my cell phone upstairs, so no pics yet, but it looks lovely. Beautiful mahogany color.) One thing I was really worried about is moisture. It looks plenty moist! (I haven't been spritzing or mopping.)

            My coals gave out about 3.5 hours in. I didn't quite think this through....I didn't have a plan for how to add more coals. So what I did was put some foil over the meat and knock some ash off -- gently -- on the existing coals and added about 3/4 of a chimney of coals.

            I'm back up to 260-270.

            So far, I haven't wrapped. It's 4:40 pm. I could go as long as another two hours. Internal temp is still rising. (155 right now.)

            Comment


              #7
              Well, I guess I verified that the 1 hour per pound rule of thumb is generally correct. The butt never did seem to stall....it kept creeping up in temp, so I elected to not wrap. It's 8 pm at night and I'm at 180. I'm getting roughly ten degrees an hour. This is going to be a long two hours.

              Comment


              • Sweaty Paul
                Sweaty Paul commented
                Editing a comment
                Patience pays!

              #8
              WOOHOO! Patience does indeed pay!

              Amazing! I was so certain I messed this up. This turned out fantastic! I was getting really concerned towards the end that the bark was looking meteoritic, but it turned out really well.

              Click image for larger version

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              And look at that smoke ring!

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              Shredded (Wow that is a lot of meat...)

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              Not only does it taste amazing, I learned a lot. I learned that I can do a prolonged cook (10 hours) between 250 and 290. I'm quite proud of that, especially compared to when I first got my grill back in December and my temps looked like a crazy sine wave.

              Absolutely, without question, I will do this again. I'll do some things differently. One, sheepishly, I'll plan for a ~1 hr per pound cook time. I'll also try to get my temps a little lower towards 250 (brisket practice more than anything). I also need to come up with a way of getting additional coals in there without being so haphazard about it. I refilled my coals three times and was essentially did 3/4 of a chimney atop the existing coals. Probably should do 1/2 or so. And take the meat out to avoid getting ash on it.

              I may also try the traditional Meathead method of dry brining a day ahead of time.

              The pork isn't perfect. While the bark is great, the first two inches or so is a little dry. (Below that....oh so moist. Yum!) I wonder, did my higher temps cause the dryness near the surface or is it because I didn't wrap? (My temps did creep up to around 290 for about two hours.) Should I have spritzed/mopped? I purposely didn't spritz/mop as I was afraid of washing off the bark and/or making it really muggy.

              I'm beyond delighted with how well this turned out....my first "real" low and slow smoke.

              Comment


              • JoeSousa
                JoeSousa commented
                Editing a comment
                When I have to add coals or knock the ash down in my SNS I will take a piece of foil and throw it over the meat. Not wrap it but just cover the meat. That will help keep the ash off. Much easier than trying to move the meat off and on the grill.

              • Razor
                Razor commented
                Editing a comment
                To back up Huskee, I highly recommend something like this; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

              • Sweaty Paul
                Sweaty Paul commented
                Editing a comment
                Outstanding! Love saying ‘I told you so!’

              #9
              Oh, I pulled (pun intended) at 198 degrees. My thermopop went through it like butter essentially all over.

              Comment


                #10
                And I only let it rest for 20 minutes. Was hungry.

                Comment


                  #11
                  Looks great, congrats! I have a hinged grate, which makes adding coals pretty easy. I use a large piece of foil I slip under, and fold over the meat. I push any remaining coals to one side of the SnS and then fill the rest of the SnS up with unlit coals.

                  Comment


                    #12
                    Congratulations on your maiden voyage. You will learn something with almost every cook.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      Grats man, wasn’t THAT fun! Did my first long cook just last summer, and it kind of set the hook. You’ll learn and tweak each one. Thanks for sharing - love the photos - I’m drooling over here!

                      Comment


                        #14
                        Looks wonderful. Congrats on that cook!

                        Kathryn

                        Comment


                          #15
                          Good work. Pork butts are generally pretty unforgiving. As mentioned above, try wrapping next time. I'm an ardent pink butcher paper guy, keeps the bark in tact and helps prevent moisture loss that may have contributed to your surface dryness. You're now officially a pulled pork guy !!!

                          Start thinking of ways to use that pulled magic, anything from sandwiches, to tacos, in a pasta sauce; the sky's the limit !! Show us how you do it !!!

                          Comment


                          • AverageJoe
                            AverageJoe commented
                            Editing a comment
                            OH OH put some in poppers omnomnomnom

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