Brined Pork Butt for Pulled Pork

[NDKoze]

Every piece of meat is a little different and cooks differently. Since the bone was a little tougher than normal to pull out, I am guessing you could have gone a little further. I take mine to a minimum of 190, but usually end up in the 192-193 range.

I start mine at mindnight too which puts me closer in line to my right meal time. I have let them rest up to 4 hours double-foiled in the cooler, but I think that would probably be the max. Your idea of pulling and then reheating later is probably a good idea.

If vacuum packed, I usually just reheat by simmering the bag in a simmering pot of water. Or reheating in a crockpot with a little apple juice on the bottom is a good idea too.

 

[icebob]

i'm game enough all set up for a late saturday night smoke...

 

[DivotMaker]

Way to go, Bob!  Bring it!  Let me know what you think - good or bad!

 

[icebob]

Struggling with this one, temps really drops outside, (in the 10s right now) 12hrs in right now and IT stuck at 170, just cranked up the regular oven and will finish that way....

 

[DivotMaker]

Struggling with this one, temps really drops outside, (in the 10s right now) 12hrs in right now and IT stuck at 170, just cranked up the regular oven and will finish that way....

I know it's too late now, but sounds like you were in the "stall," which has nothing to do with the outside temp.  As long as your smoker was the right temp (and I suspect it was), you could have just let it ride.  Stalls, on large cuts, can last several hours!

 

[icebob]

Yeah, I know about the stall, I even try to wrap it to get it up.... but my belly was setup to eat some pulled pork for dinner.... I started the thing at 5:30 AM and end up getting to temp at 9:45pm.... not used to have a stall that last that long...

 

[DivotMaker]

I usually average 1 - 1.5 hours/lb, Bob, but have had butts go almost 2 hrs/lb!  Funny thing about meat....it has it's own agenda, depending on how it was raised!  That's one of the things I love, and hate, about this hobby of ours - unpredictability!  We can plan all we want, but BBQ isn't like baking a cake.  There's a bit of "black art" that comes into play, and keeps us guessing!  All that to say, allow 2 hrs/lb on butts.  If it's done early, a wrap/rest in the cooler is in order.

 

[NDKoze]

I always start mine at midnight the night before and never eat late. If it gets done early, double-wrap in foil and rest up to 4 hours. If it gets done earlier than that, turn your temp down to 140 when the internal temp hits 188-190 and hold in the smoker (do not open the door) until to get to the four hour mark before the meal. The residual heat will take it the rest of the way to 190+.

 

[GarthMN]

Howdy folks,

Long time reader, first time poster.  I'm 12 hours in on a brined 7 lb bone-in boston butt and the smoke stopped coming out of the hole in my SI1.  A little more detail if it helps:

10:00PM:  Started the smoke (6 oz of hickory and cherry chunks from Maine Grilling Woods)
6:00AM: Kids run into our room and jump on the bed, so I check the temp - 180.  I clean the undermount drip pan, which is fairly empty.
7:00AM: Check again - 177 - figuring temp hasn't moved because it's in the stall
8:00AM: Temp is now at 166.  Check the drip pan and it's full of gelatenous rendered fat (usual at this outside temp).  May have been clogging the hole, so cleaned it out.
9:00AM: Temp is at 171.
10:00AM: Temp is at 172 and no smoke coming out the smoke hole.

Any cause for concern here?  Any action I need to take?

Thanks fou your help!
-Garth from Minneapolis

 

[DivotMaker]

Welcome Garth!  No cause for concern, whatsoever.  You should not have smoke going after that length of time.  Assuming you started with 5-6 oz of wood, that would be used up after around 5-6 hours.  The smoke is absorbed best when the meat is below 140.  After that, it tends to build up on the surface and gives an over-smoked taste.  You should be good to go!

 

[GarthMN]

Thanks a million!

 

[Joe Rinaldi]

Trying this today. I'm glad I started my 2 9lb butts at 1130 last night.  I'm 16 hours in and the meat is at 188 IT.  I was cooking at 225 up until an hour ago then I bumped it up to 235.  Smells awesome but I hope I'm not drying it out with this long time.

 

[DivotMaker]

If you're at 188, you're there.  I'd double-wrap in HD foil and rest it in the cooler for an hour or 2 and call it "dinner time!"  No need to go higher on a Boston butt.

 

[Joe Rinaldi]

Thanks Tony.  They're at 191 now and I'm heading out to pull them off and foil for the rest period. 

 

[SmokinSusie-Q]

Garth, this sounds like my first Butt experience yesterday.  I put my 5 1/2 lb Boston Butt on at 8:15 am Sat. and by 7:15 pm. the internal temp. was 179.  It stalled around 170 and was going up approximately 1 degree ever 20 min.  I'll post the entire process as soon as I can.

 

[GarthMN]

Good deal Suzie!  I've made butts before, but never had any go down over 10 degrees during the 'stall.'  My best guess is that this was a pretty fatty cut, even for a pork butt, and that caused the temp drop.  Who knows.  All that matters is that it turned out tasty - pictures next time.  Hope yours was delicious!

 

[Bradlee]

Tried the brined pork butt yesterday and it came out great. Used a stock pot for the overnight brine with a 5.5 lb butt and fresh oak chunks my dad cut for me (nice to have a woodworker in the family.) A 6.5 hour cook and another 1.5 hours in foil produced the goods. Will definitely do again. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Great to hear, Brad!  One thing I would recommend, though, is to use a non-reactive vessel for the brine (plastic, glass or porcelain-coated stock pot).  The vinegar will react with aluminum or stainless steel.

 

[40 caliber]

Do people use a water pan with the pork butt when you brine? or is the brine enough moisture?
I would like a good bark

 

[DivotMaker]

Do people use a water pan with the pork butt when you brine? or is the brine enough moisture?
I would like a good bark

I always use a water pan on butts.  I use apple juice in it; not for flavoring the meat, but because it smells SO good while it's cooking!