1st pork butt

[es1025]

Here is what I did:
1-Purchased a 7.92 lb. bone-in pork butt from BJ's. (They do sell individual butts)
2-Trimmed the excess fat off the butt.
3-Applied a light coating of worcestershire sauce and then applied the rub.
4-Let the butt sweat in the refrigerator for almost 3 hours
5-Foiled the smoker and smoke box and added 6 oz of wood (2 oz hickory and 4 oz cherry)
6-Placed butt in smoker and set temperature at 225. (midnight)
7-Initial internal temp of the butt was 46 degrees.
8-Woke up at 645, put on the coffee and checked the maverick. Butt 160.
9-Placed the butt in a foil tray and double wrapped. (The butt had a nice bark (Mr Brown) on it)
10-Internal temperature of the butt at 730am is 165, its nice to have the dual probe dual transmitter 732 maverick.
11-Plan is to smoke to 203 and let rest for at least 2 hours in a cooler wrapped with towels.
12-After breakfast will be making a sauce.  Will be trying two sauces, a molasses based and vinegar based sauce today, on some potato rolls.

Once completed I will attempt to post some pictures (After trimming and with the rub on, and of course the finished product.

Stay tuned!

Enjoy!

 

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like it's going according to plan!  I usually pull mine out of the heat at 195 and foil them for resting.  The butt's internal temp will rise to 200+ wrapped in the cooler.  Good 4th!

 

[afratki]

Looks like you got it going on! Definitely post some pics and let us know how it comes out.

I've only smoked one butt to date and pulled it @190 with a one hour rest (I was aiming for 200 but was pressed for time). It was really good but I'm going to do a little better planning next time to hit 200 and see if I notice a difference. I also might try foiling.

 

[es1025]

Update:
It's 10am and the IT is 192.  I have dropped the temp a bit to slow down the cooking process.  The smoker even though set at 225 was hovering around 235-250 range.  It could be because of the heat 85+ and very humid.  Put the smoker under an umbrella to stop the sunlight.  So far so good.

 

[UWFSAE]

A solid process you've got lined up ... hopefully you slept through the worst of the dreaded stall.  A word to the wise:  Divot is correct about removing the butt about 10 degrees before your final desired temp if you plan to foil and hold it; while 215 is a temp that will still yield a VERY tender product, you'll notice a drop in overall moistness in my experience. 

The potato rolls are a really good choice for either sauce you've got lined up, as is garlic Texas Toast ... but just for fun, next time you smoke a butt grab some King's Hawaiian Rolls and a little Teriyaki for the pulled pork.  Hell, use it on some leftovers this time (though I doubt you'll have any  ;D).

Happy 4th, Ed!

 

[es1025]

After the 10am update, I lower the temperature on the smoker to 200, I let it sit until noon (people we coming over between 3-4), it slow the cooking process down nicely, at noon I put the temperature back to 225 to finish the cooking and reach 205 IT. (Took about an hour). The cooking process would have been 11.5-12 hours if not for the temp adjustment.
Opened a corner of the foil to removed 95% of the natural juices and let rest in a cooler wrapped with a towel for 2-3 hours. My cooler smells real nice right now..

Verdict: The butt had a real nice bark and the meat was moist and and had a nice smoke flavor. I will definitely follow this recipe but I will keep the temperature a bit below 225 it the weather is warm.  The smoker did a fantastic job, I may have sold two yesterday.  Once I get the pictures downloaded, I will post.

Joe may area does not sell the King's buns, I would have to order on-line.

 

[afratki]

Congratulations on a successful smoke Ed.

IMO I don't think turning down the temp slowed it down that much if any. My 8# butt took 13 hours and that was after turning up the temp the last few hours. My new rule of thumb for butt will be 1.5 hour/lb plus two hours plus an hour to rest.

 

[DivotMaker]

Congrats on your first butt, Ed!  You probably learned a lot on this one about how your unit handles a big hunk of meat like that.  Many happy smokes ahead!

 

[es1025]

Great learning experience, I documented the process and want to try again very soon. I actually took three to four different techniques to come up with my recipe.

 

[DivotMaker]

That's the cool thing about this hobby, Ed!  A little here, a little there... I don't think I've ever cooked anything (smoker, grill or kitchen) without "making it my own" in some way.  Seems like every recipe or technique has things certain people like or dislike.  I've always tried to pull from many sources and find what works for me!  Might not always be as "technically correct" as some would prefer, but as long as the results taste good, who cares? ;D  The journey is half the fun!