Frustrating pork butt HELP

[Chaseplane]

Ok. A week ago I smoked a five pound, bone in pork butt.  I set the smoker to 225 and 14 hours later it was still at about 170.  I pulled it from the smoker and put it in the oven in the house.  Night before last  I put on two seven pound butts at midnight at 225 degrees.  12 hours later they were at 160.  I turned up the smoker at 17 hours in to 240, but it wouldn’t increase the temp.  At any rate 19.5 hours from when I started the smoker, we finally got to 185 and I called it good enough.  The recipe chart on the website says 1-2 hours per pound for pork butt.  But I’m seeing more like 3-4.  What am I doing wrong?  Everyone on this forum seems very happy with their purchase, but I’m starting to wonder if I should have purchased a pellet grill.  Please educate me. 

 

[lcdearman]

I've not done a lot of pork butts, but mine have come in at 1.6 hrs/lb up to 3 hrs/lb. That is on a #2 analog. After the first one I started using 235* instead of 225*.

I have done some small brisket flats and points that take just as long as a full packer (2.2lb flat took 9 hrs), so weight is not the only factor. Thickness matters too I believe.

Also, each piece of meat has its own personality...

 

[swthorpe]

I have heard that small pork butts can take quite a bit longer, but the times you are experiencing seem extreme to me.  Are you monitoring the temp inside the smoker?  I am just thinking out loud here that your setting of 225 may not be what is happening inside the smoker.  If you are monitoring the smoker temp, what kind of temp swings have you experienced (ie, normally my box temp will swing +/- 20* or so of the set temperature).  I have also been setting my box temp a little higher in the 235-240* range.

 

[barelfly]

Like the others have mentioned, pork butts seem to be all over the place. And smaller butts take forever in my. Experience as well.

What model smoker are you using? I don’t smoke at 225 any longer for this exact reason. 250* is really my smoke temp these days as it speeds up the cook. So you could try that as well as get larger pork butts and vac seal the leftovers for another day.

 

[old sarge]

I hope this helps and it is from what I have experienced.  Small can take longer than large. Regardless of size, because butts are very fatty, it is possible that the meat probe was  initially placed in a firm fat pocket and as time goes on, the fat melts/renders enough to create a void where nothing is left in contact with the probe, and the internal temp sort of gets stuck and is not associated with the stall which may happen simultaneously.  Thus, an accurate instant read thermometer is essential.

 

[Chaseplane]

Many thanks to everyone who replied.  I’m new to this and just learning.  The meat tastes heavenly, I’m just trying to figure out the equipment and what to expect when I cook.  Thanks again for helping a newb. 

 

[old sarge]

FORGOT MY MANNERS!
Welcome to the forum from SE Arizona.

 

[mike1910]

As mentioned Next smoke I’d check your box temp to make sure it’s actually 225 like you’ve set. I’m with Jeremy, I usually run my smoker at 250 or so for butts. They’re pretty forgiving and seem to tolerate a higher temp in my experience. Good luck!