first but the good and bad

[somethinfishy]

It was a small one at 3.5lbs, dry brined 24 hrs patted dry light coat of veggie oil and a healthy rub with mhmd. Kettle ran hot at 270-280 with minion method starting with 12 lit Kingsford blue and 2 chunks of applewood. Took off heat 6 hours later at it of 195, faux Cambro for 1 hour then "pulled".

The setup


Well the good. Either end had great tenderness and we're both very moist. Overall was tasty and made for a great change of pace from our normal meal. Got to try it with lexington dip, east carolina vinegar and mh kc recipe. All 3 were a nice addition.

The bad.


The middle did not attain any kind of bark top or bottom and was tough internally even though it temper correctly and my probe was not near the bone.

Speaking of the bone


It didn't pull cleanly, my thought is that this particular butt needed a higher IT.

Thanks to the great end pieces mixed in the tougher center pieces weren't intolerable, just a little chewy.

[Dr ROK]

Many use 203 as their sweet spot for butt temps. Sounds like for this particular cook it would have been better for you to go a bit higher. For me 195 is usually plenty tender and pulls very easily. Regardless, the final product still looks pretty good to me!!!

[richinlbrg]

Looks pretty great to me, esp. For a first run.

I usually keep mine on the heat until 203 AND probe tender throughout.

Did you trim off all the fat cap?

[somethinfishy]

richinlbrg next one will be taken over 200. I should have tugged the bone before removal.

There wasn't much of a fat cap on this piece, I did trim all the excess fat from the sides and removed any silver skin I found

[DeusDingo]

195 is a temp that you can take it off at only if it has taken a long time to cook, i believe. like if it took 14+ hours you are likely safe to take off at 195

[_John_]

What are you using for monitoring temps? Center doesn't look done at all. That is actually just a side of a pork shoulder, if you get a whole one it will be flipped up and down from how you have it shown. It is possible that juice pooled there and kept it from getting a bark, but if it was hard to pull it was def under done. But you kept a fire going good and long, and that is a very good start. For me, to get 225 I have to close the bottom vent and open the top just barely, any more than that, or any opening at the bottom and I am at 250. In all honesty you should just cook at whatever temp you can maintain consistently, there is no problem cooking a pork shoulder at 300, you just need to pick a temp you can maintain and get used to the process. Fighting to achieve a certain temp every time is a losing battle unless you have a fan controller on there.

Edit: I'll add an extra good job, this isn't always as easy as it seems, my first ever pork shoulder went straight to the trash.

[somethinfishy]

@john

I'm using a maverick 733. I thought I had it on its side, but it wouldn't stand up the other way...now I know! The first cook I did with the maverick I has no problem maintaining 235-250 under similar weather and humidity with the same fuel. Not sure why she wanted to run so hot. There was definitely moisture pooling up in the spot with no bark especially when temp got around 130ish. Figured it was the meat starting to sweat. I was wrong I guess, I'll try it all again asap

[chudzikb]

Practice makes the pork perfect, at least that has been my experience. The more you do it, the more you will see what works and what does not. They say keep a log, I don't, but, should...