Pulled Pork - Pork Shoulder Butt

[MarkB1]

My local Weis Market had Swift pork shoulder butt on sale for only $0.99/pound. I picked up five of the butts. Four are in the freezer and one I cooked. I rubbed with Memphis Dust and left it outside in my truck overnight (temps in the low 30's). I started the cook at 6:45 AM at 230 degrees in my GMC Daniel Boone pellet grill. The grill has two meat probes so I put one in each end of the butt. I put the but in a roasting pan on a rack in the grill. I knew that this would be a long cook. The total time was 14 hours and 15 minutes (in at 6:45 AM and out at 9:00 PM). The pellet grill made it very easy to keep the cook temperature constant for the full 14 hours. About 8 hours in I decided to raise the cook temperature to 240 degrees and I covered the butt with the roaster pan lid (the two leads for the probes were at one end of the pan). I monitored the internal temperature on my smart phone and kept the pellet hopper full. I needed a final internal temperature of 200 to 203 degrees for complete doneness. The result was amazing. The butt just fell apart, shredded very easily and the bone came out cleanly with no holdup. I noticed that this shoulder butt shredded very easily while the other port I was using for pulled pork did not shred easily (Swift Petite Pork Shoulder Roast). I need to use dinner forks to shred the smaller roast while my Bear Claws easily shredded the larger butt roast. This may just be due to the time cooked. The larger butt roast took 14 hours while the smaller roast was at temperature (203 degrees) in only 5 hours. The photos show the uncooked roasts (butt and petite), the final result, the pulled pork and the pulled pork with the clean bone. One person said the pulled pork (with Sweet Baby Ray's Brown Sugar/Hickory sauce) was the best pulled pork he has had in years! Nuff said.

[BFlynn]

Looks like it came out really well!

I like to cut my butt into thirds to cut down on the smoking time, and increase the bark.
I also like to hold in a cooler for an hour or so. If the bone pulls clean, you can throw it in the stand mixer, with a paddle or dough hook to pull.

Just some ideas on things to try. On the other hand..... if it ain't broke.......

[RickyBobby]

Stand mixer to pull the pork?!?!?!!!!!!! 🤯🤯🤯

I never even considered that. I feel like I need to smoke a butt JUST to try that now!!!!!

[BFlynn]

RickyBobby.

Here ya go.

https://youtu.be/lTr3hPvYVTQ

[RickyBobby]

Thanks BFlynn ! That’s awesome!

[zzdocxx]

That's beautiful man.

Funny about such dramatically different cook times, 6lb vs 8.5?

[DavidNorcross]

Looks great!

[smokenoob]

was the first eight hours smoked in the uncovered pan in your picture?
and the last 6 covered?

[MarkB1]

was the first eight hours smoked in the uncovered pan in your picture?
and the last 6 covered?

Yes, It stayed in the pellet grill the entire time. I raised the cook temperature 10 degrees at the end of the eight hours when I covered the butt.

[smokenoob]

interesting! that would be an easy way to crutch and clean!

[LA Pork Butt]

That’s one of my favorite cooks.

[ecowper]

I never would have guessed ....

[Jared49]

I’m thinking that the "smaller" butt roast might have been from the shoulder end of the "picnic" seeing as it was a bit tougher to shred.

[RonB]

Good job.

[MarkB1]

I’m thinking that the "smaller" butt roast might have been from the shoulder end of the "picnic" seeing as it was a bit tougher to shred.

Sounds good. I know that the internal temperature was 203 for the smaller roast. I wonder if a longer time at the 203 temp might make it easier to shred? The small roast reached an internal 203 in about 5 hours while it took the 14 hours for the larger one.

[zzdocxx]

I learned that my Traeger tends to run around 25 degrees lower than what its own thermostat/thermometer says it is at.

I wonder if you have checked the temp inside your pellet grill vs what it is set at?

[MarkB1]

I learned that my Traeger tends to run around 25 degrees lower than what its own thermostat/thermometer says it is at.

I wonder if you have checked the temp inside your pellet grill vs what it is set at?

I've used a Meatstick wireless temperature probe that also measures the ambient temp. Initially the grill temp is a little low but it does stabilize more or less on the setting. I should probably let the grill heat for awhile before putting the food in. I've waited about 10 to 15 minutes.

[bbqLuv]

You done good! 🍺🍻