Cooking times for pork butts under 7lbs

[eclecticitguy]

Hey All,

I'm trying my first pork butt tomorrow / Sunday and had a couple questions.  The pork is brining right now in DM's brining recipe.  The pork butt I got is only 5 lbs (biggest I could find at either store I went to).  I have read that pork butts this small take up to 3 hours per pound.  As such, I was planning on putting it into my #2 around 10pm tomorrow night and am shooting for it to be done around 2pm on Sunday.  My concern is that it may take less time and the butt hits the 190-195 temp much earlier than 2pm, possibly while I'm not home.  Is this 3 hour per pound number still valid for 5 lb butts?

Thanks all.

 

[SuperDave]

It is valid but with smoking you can never bet the house on time.  Do you have an Auber?  The butt will easily stay hot for up to 4 hours in the cooler with towels if pulled at the correct temperature.  It could take 2/hrs per pound or 3.  Small butts are just unpredictable.

 

[eclecticitguy]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the help.  Unfortunately, I do not have an Auber yet.  I'm considering getting one and making the digital conversion but that doesn't help this smoke.  I hear what you're saying about the unpredictability of smoking, especially with smaller butts.  I was trying to find a bigger one but didn't want to drive all over town looking for one.

My concern is the butt getting done earlier than I think and not being around or home to take it out.  Is there any chance of over-cooking a butt?  What is the max temp I can go to without drying it all out?

By the way, are you fully retired now?  I saw in your signature that you were retiring June of 2016.  If so, congrats!!

 

[Glock_21]

Each chunk of meat seems to have its own "personality" so to speak.  Some take 1.25 hrs/lb some take almost 3 hrs/lb.  It's much easier to deal with something getting done early vs not getting done in time.  A butt or brisket can "rest" for several hours wrapped in an ice chest and still be served nice and hot.  I always second guess myself many times when deciding when to start a smoke.  Starting it earlier hasn't failed me yet.

 

[DivotMaker]

Will, you said "pork butts," but didn't say what cut.  There are two cuts that folks call pork shoulders/butts, but they are not the same.  The first is the bone-in Boston butt.  This is the one you want for pulled pork...Period.  The other "shoulder" cut is the picnic shoulder.  This is the lower part of the front leg, below the Boston.  When you said 5 lbs was as big as you could find, my guess is that you have a picnic.  The difference is the Boston butt has the blade bone, from the collar bone of the pig, whereas the picnic is more like a ham shank, with the round leg bone.  Always ask for a bone-in Boston butt; your butcher will know what you mean.  Hard to find a Boston butt under 7 lbs.

As for timing, the guys are dead-on.  You just can't predict the time, accurately!  But, the good thing is that you can hold the meat, indefinitely, in the smoker, if it's going to be more than 4-5 hours in the towel-insulated cooler.  Just set the box temp to 140, and keep the foiled butt in there until ready to pull!

 

[SuperDave]

Will, pork butts handle being re-warmed really, really well.  Can you start ASAP and get it done before you leave Sunday morning?

Yes, I'm officially retired now.  We moved from Sacramento to Ogden, Utah so most of the time so far has been spent setting up the new house.

 

[AlinMA]

Yes, I'm officially retired now. 

Dave, congratulations on your retirement.....hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

[AlinMA]

I have smoked butts that were around 3# for pulling and they took 10.5 hours.
+1 on  storing wrapped in a cooler if they are done sooner than expected.

 

[es1025]

It depends on the cut of meat and the smoker temp. I been setting the smoker at 250 for butts and its been taking about 9-10 hours for a 7# butt. If you rest for a bit its a 12 hour process.

 

[eclecticitguy]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the help on this one.  Here's the update on how things progressed:

First, I can confirm that I did purchase a Boston Butt.  My roast had a blade type of bone, not the round shank type of bone, as one would expect in a picnic type butt.  I'm not sure why it was smaller than 7#, but alas, this is what I purchased.  After brining the butt for almost 24 hours, I put the butt into the #2 around 11:30PM on Saturday night.  After waking up and checking on the butt around 7:00AM, the temperature was at 167 degrees.  I was expecting the temp to be somewhere between 160-170 at that time, so things were looking good. 

After going to church, my wife and I hurried back home so I could check on the butt.  I checked the temp again right at 12:00PM and my Thermoworks ThermaQ indicated the butt was 192 degrees.  Perfect!  I was hoping the temp be a little lower, as I was hoping to eat around 6:00PM that night, but I've learned this is all part of smoking.  I turned off the #2 but didn't open up the doors yet. 

My wife and I went to lunch and got back at 1:00PM.  The carry-over temp went up to a maximum of 195.2 and the butt had dropped to 190 at the point that I opened up the doors.  The butt was then double-wrapped in foil and went straight into the cooler with a towel over it.  I kept my ThermaQ probe inserted, so I could continually check on the meat temperature.  At 4:30PM that night, the meat had dropped to 140.  Fortunately, everyone who was coming over was already there, so 15 minutes later, I pulled the meat and served dinner at 5PM.  The meat got as low as 138 before pulling it, but I figured we were eating immediately anyway, so I wasn't worried about the temp being below 140.  I totally forgot to take any pictures because I was so blown away at how tasty the meat ended up.  The bark was awesome and chewy, and the meat was (mostly) still moist.  There were a couple drier spots, but overall, things were great.  The meat was served with a home-made Carolina-style hot sauce, as well as a Carolina style cole-slaw.  The entire 5# butt was devoured by 6 adults, so I guess things were tasty!  In doing the math, it looks like the butt took around 2.4 hours per lb, right inline with what you'd expect.

Couple of follow-up questions after all of this:  If I'm understanding things correctly, I could have put the wrapped butt back into the #2 set at 140 and left it there until dinner-time?  The meat wouldn't have been dried out?  I don't have an Auber yet, so I was concerned about having too hot of temps causing the meat to dry out.  I'm going to look around at other stores and see if I can find a bigger butt next time, especially since I was hoping for leftovers.  Haha.

Thanks again all for the feedback.

 

[NDKoze]

I wouldn't even wrap it if you are going to leave it in the smoker. Just make sure you open the door and let the smoker cool down to 140 quickly. If you just lower the temp to 140 without cooling it down the carry over may take the temp up too high as it will continue to cook.

You would still want to double wrap and rest for 1-2 hours prior to pulling though.

 

[DivotMaker]

Good to hear it turned out well, Will!  There are some stores that actually cut their good-size Boston butts in half!!  I guess they appeal to more people that are afraid of a big ol' 8-10 lb butt!  Crazy, but true.

If I rest/hold, in the smoker, here's how I do it:

1.  When desired IT is hit (190 for butts, for me), I remove the butt and double-wrap in foil.  Smoker is turned off, and door left open, while doing this.  I want the smoker to cool below 140.  After 10-15 minutes with the door open, it'll be OK.

2.  Place the wrapped butt in the smoker, and set to 140 for however long I want.

3.  When it's time to eat, unwrap and pull.  I don't rest, separately, after holding at 140.  Why?, you ask?  At 140, the meat will actually be cooling from its finished cooking temp (190), and no longer cooking.  So, you are essentially "resting" the meat during the hold!  I find it comes out just the same as resting in the cooler, wrapped in towels.  Moist and juicy!

The reason for the smoker hold is time.  If it's only going to be 3-4 hours, I just throw it in the cooler, insulated with towels.  Longer than that, it stays in the smoker. 

 

[eclecticitguy]

Good to hear it turned out well, Will!  There are some stores that actually cut their good-size Boston butts in half!!  I guess they appeal to more people that are afraid of a big ol' 8-10 lb butt!  Crazy, but true.

If I rest/hold, in the smoker, here's how I do it:

1.  When desired IT is hit (190 for butts, for me), I remove the butt and double-wrap in foil.  Smoker is turned off, and door left open, while doing this.  I want the smoker to cool below 140.  After 10-15 minutes with the door open, it'll be OK.

2.  Place the wrapped butt in the smoker, and set to 140 for however long I want.

3.  When it's time to eat, unwrap and pull.  I don't rest, separately, after holding at 140.  Why?, you ask?  At 140, the meat will actually be cooling from its finished cooking temp (190), and no longer cooking.  So, you are essentially "resting" the meat during the hold!  I find it comes out just the same as resting in the cooler, wrapped in towels.  Moist and juicy!

The reason for the smoker hold is time.  If it's only going to be 3-4 hours, I just throw it in the cooler, insulated with towels.  Longer than that, it stays in the smoker.

Awesome, this is good information.  Fortunately, I only was waiting for 4 hours before eating, so the cooler trick worked great as you indicated.  However, this will be helpful for the future in case the meat gets done even earlier than it did this round.

My wife is already requesting more pulled pork, so I guess I did something right!  However, all I've smoked since buying my #2 is pork, so I'm thinking it's time for something else.  Chicken or beef, maybe.

 

[NDKoze]

I would maybe give a whole chicken or turkey a try. They are cheap and taste awesome!

Here is a sticky post from DivotMaker (Tony) that will work for chicken or turkey:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2441.0

Typically most brine for 1 hour per pound. So, you'll want to adjust your brining time accordingly. Personally, I brine mine overnight and have not thought mine was too salty. But, I would start with the 1 hour per pound guide for your first bird.

Also, if you only do one chicken you can cut the brine from this thread in half. Or better yet, leave the brine amount as is and smoke two chickens. There is nothing better than leftover smoked chicken, and if you have enough it makes an awesome chicken salad.

 

[SconnieQ]

Good to hear it turned out well, Will!  There are some stores that actually cut their good-size Boston butts in half!!  I guess they appeal to more people that are afraid of a big ol' 8-10 lb butt!  Crazy, but true.

If I rest/hold, in the smoker, here's how I do it:

1.  When desired IT is hit (190 for butts, for me), I remove the butt and double-wrap in foil.  Smoker is turned off, and door left open, while doing this.  I want the smoker to cool below 140.  After 10-15 minutes with the door open, it'll be OK.

2.  Place the wrapped butt in the smoker, and set to 140 for however long I want.

3.  When it's time to eat, unwrap and pull.  I don't rest, separately, after holding at 140.  Why?, you ask?  At 140, the meat will actually be cooling from its finished cooking temp (190), and no longer cooking.  So, you are essentially "resting" the meat during the hold!  I find it comes out just the same as resting in the cooler, wrapped in towels.  Moist and juicy!

The reason for the smoker hold is time.  If it's only going to be 3-4 hours, I just throw it in the cooler, insulated with towels.  Longer than that, it stays in the smoker.

Will
DM Tony's advice above is spot on perfect. I do want to clarify one thing from your post about the concern about food safety, and the magic number of 140 degrees. Food stays safe above 140 degrees. Your food is still safe for 2 hours below 140. If food has been below 140 degrees for more than 2 hours, that's where the safety concern begins. So, just because your meat gets to 139 degrees, it is not instantly unsafe. You've got a couple hours after than before bacteria levels would get high enough to start to become a concern. When you place your double foiled meat in the cooler, leave the probe in. Set your alarm to go off when the meat reaches 140. If you've got more than 2 hours before you eat, then pop that thing back in the smoker at 140. No need to rest after that. You will be surprised how long a pork butt or brisket stays in the safe temp zone in the cooler! I've gone up to 6 hours safely in the cooler, and in some cases I could have gone longer if had needed to.

 

[DivotMaker]

Will
DM Tony's advice above is spot on perfect. I do want to clarify one thing from your post about the concern about food safety, and the magic number of 140 degrees. Food stays safe above 140 degrees. Your food is still safe for 2 hours below 140. If food has been below 140 degrees for more than 2 hours, that's where the safety concern begins. So, just because your meat gets to 139 degrees, it is not instantly unsafe. You've got a couple hours after than before bacteria levels would get high enough to start to become a concern. When you place your double foiled meat in the cooler, leave the probe in. Set your alarm to go off when the meat reaches 140. If you've got more than 2 hours before you eat, then pop that thing back in the smoker at 140. No need to rest after that. You will be surprised how long a pork butt or brisket stays in the safe temp zone in the cooler! I've gone up to 6 hours safely in the cooler, and in some cases I could have gone longer if had needed to.

Thanks for the addendum, Kari! Perfect!