OldeSmoker
New member
I smoked my first Pork Butt yesterday in my 3DW. I talked my self out of starting it late the night before. You know the conversation, "it's only seven pounds that will easily be ready in 10 hours." Ok, lesson learned. I brined it in DivotMakers brine for 24 hours which was a very good decision. I took it out yesterday morning about an hour before the smoke, rinsed it and liberally applied my rub. Then I let it rest for about an hour on the counter to let the temp rise. I used a 3 ounce chunk of hickory and a 2.5 ounce chunk of apple with a few cherry chips mixed in. The wood was placed in a foil tray and placed in the front of the smoker box. Previously I had problems with bitter smoke taste and took the advice of some of the fine members of this forum to use a barrier between the wood and the bottom of the smoker box. It worked great. I got it in the smoker at 8:30 am, started at 150 and after about 45 minutes ramped up to 225, also, on the advice of forum members. After about seven hours the butt was in the stall at 167 degrees. The stall is very real! After about an hour the IT fluctuated between 167 and 165 and back to 167. At this point I realized there was no way I was going to hit 192 degrees before 7 pm. So I did what I know not to do and increased the smoker temp to 275. After another hour the IT was still only 176 degrees. So I said what the heck and increased the smoker temp to 300 degrees. At 6:50 PM the IT hit 192 degrees. After shutting off the smoker and pulling the Pork Butt out I had a pork butt that looked moist and had a great looking bark. I wanted to tear right into it but managed enough self control to let it rest for 20 minutes. After cutting a thick piece off of the end and pulling it apart my wife got the first bite. She is very picky so i thought if she likes it, its going to be good. Well, she did and even said it was the best thing she has had since we got the smoker 2 months ago. We have had some really good Spare Ribs and Brisket so I was pleased she liked it so well. I dove in and had some of the bark first, which tasted great and had absolutely no bitter taste. The meat was super tender, juicy and flavorful all the way through. (thanks to the brine) The moral of this smoking story is that the next smoke I do, of a larger cut i.e. Pork Butt, Brisket etc. to allow several more hours. But in a pinch, cranking the temperature up the last couple of hours to hit the correct IT seemed to do it no harm. Plus, thanks to the curing salt in the brine the Butt had a nice faux smoke ring. (see pics below) Thanks for all the great advice I have received on this forum!
