Hey all. I'm doing a 4 lb pork butt in the Big Green Egg and I think I started it too early - probably because it took too long last couple of times. What's the best strategy to hold a few hours tip dinner? Just wrap in foil until time to shred?
-
-
Wrap in foil, if you have a small cooler put it in there, if not wrap it in a towel, should be good for a few hours that way. The stall may surprise you though and it could still take the full time. -
I agree with John. Wrap in foil, then in a couple of heavy towels and place in a small-ish cooler. Leave your temp probe in, if you have one. If temp goes below 160ºF, place in a warm (170ºF) oven for 1/2 hour then back in the cooler. You can hold it like this for hours.
DEWComment
-
Ummm... False alarm. But thanks. I'm now stuck in the stall!Comment
-
HermanGerman You can rip through that stall by wrapping. I usually try to push through it though. I like to let the smoke pound the shoulder to make more bark, then wrap at around 180-190 FComment
-
Wow. So can't believe I started this post with the "early" question. I'm still waiting. just under a 4 lb butt for 12 hours? For future reference, what did I do wrong? I've got the digital thermometer, been maintaining 225 the whole time, etc. etc. Any suggestions? (other than pizza!?!)Comment
-
Never fear, NOT uncommon!
Lol, this is the classic pork butt jitters. It rises to temp FAST, you think it will be done in 3 hrs. Then the stall happens, takes forever. Then sometimes a second stall happens, takes forever. All said the butt took so much longer than it looked like it was going to take.
I did a 4.3 lb or so last week. Unwrapped, at 235 avg temp, it took 16 hrs. Yep, sixteen. And then it only hit 193 or maybe 196. Once you hit anywhere from the upper 180s or lower 190s, if it's taken that long, you can probably yank it out and pull it.
Have you wrapped it yet? If so, crank the heat to 350. If not, wrap it or just wait it out until it gets to 185-195, then pull.
Last edited by Huskee; May 10, 2015, 06:10 PM.Comment
-
Misery loves company. So thanks! I'm at 181 after 12 hours... Just wrapped it and cranked to 300.
More importantly, I just started to boil the water for spaghetti...Comment
-
Figured that stall would get ya. I see an hour per pound a lot and that just isn't the case, it's all about thickness.Comment
-
Yeah... Still waiting... Good news was family took sympathy on me. Very much looking forward to the "leftovers" tomorrow night.
Seriously, though... It sounds like the lesson is that a 4 lb butt really doesn't take that much less time than a much bigger piece of pig?Comment
-
Yep, like John has mentioned, it's the thickness. If you have a 4" thick 4lber that's 6" x 6" square; or a 8lber that's 4" thick and 10x10" square it will probably take the same rough amount of time. (measurements are purely hypothetical for sake of conversation)
I like to encourage people to cut butts in half, since it will only shorten cook time if anything, but sometimes it doesn't.
Rule of thumb- always plan minimum of 12 hrs *cook time* and start early, whether it's 3lbs or 9lbs. If it's done early, wrap it and keep it in a faux cambro. If it's not done early, you'll be glad you started early. -
What gets you is the stalls, they say pork butt is the easiest, but to me it is easy to cook, but one of the hardest to time. I cooked 2 yesterday, they both shot up to 160 in about 3 hours, then 2 hours later they started to move again, and right around 180 one of them stopped while the other kept going. An hour later one was 181 and the other 192. Hour after that they were both the same, one had cooked a little slower, the other had a sort of second stall then raced ahead and they finished at the same time. Very unpredictable but they will hold a very long time and still be good, always go early. -
Thanks for the advice, all. Chalk this up to just a good excuse to try again next weekend.
-
-
This has happened to me several times so don't feel bad.
I put a 5 lb butt on my kettle yesterday at 7:30 pm. It took until 10:00 am to reach 203 but I double-wrapped in foil then rolled up in a towel and placed in a faux cambro. When I unwrapped it at 7:00 pm this evening to pull and eat, it was still hot enough to eat. I will definitely continue doing this in the future as these butts can be so unpredictable.Comment
-
Thanks, PenskeFile. That is officially going to be my new method. Good news is I had an AMAZING late night snack last night when it was finally done.
-
Comment