Pork Shoulder ala Tony

[AirCav]

I decided to make Tony's (DivotMakers) pulled pork yesterday. Delicious! The Pork Butt weighed about 9.3 LBS untrimmed and i did not have to trim much so it was about 9 pounds when it went in. Internal temp at the time I put it in was 45 and box temp was 75 at 6:30AM. I brined it as he did (I used two (one inside the other) big (2.5 Gal) Ziploc bags

However I had one glitch when I made it.

After 11.5 hours it was at 174 (Internal meat temperature). I started the smoke at 6:30AM on Monday, set the box temp to 235 and let it go. After smoking for 9.5 hours at 235 the meat temp was 165 and the box temp had stayed at 235 for 8.5 hours (it took about an hour to get up to 235). I turned the box temp up to 250 and after two more hours the internal meat temp hit 174. I finally had to pull it out. I checked the internal temp with my instant read thermometer and it was 175 so I am pretty sure the meat temp was accurate, just too low.

Yesterday the ambient outdoor temp was warm so I don't believe that had an impact that had an impact.

The pork tasted great, just not tender enough as it never had a chance to get to 190 or greater.

Any thoughts?

 

[Grampy]

Mike, you pulled it too soon. It is not unusual for pork butts to take anywhere from 1.5-2 hours per lb to get up to the internal temperature of 195 degrees. At 9 lbs you are looking at anywhere from 13 1/2 to 18 hours to cook. You pulled it on the lower end. Always plan ahead and allow for that much time for it reach the desired internal temp. Trust me, IT WILL GET THERE. If it finishes early you can double wrap it in foil and hold in a cooler with towels packed around it or lower your SI to 140 and let it hold in there until you are ready to serve it. I think you did everything right except stopping it to soon. I always start mine the night before when I go to bed and let it cook over night. They almost always finish around noon or early afternoon and I double wrap in foil and hold using one of the methods I described above.

 

[DivotMaker]

Mike, Jimmy's dead-on (as usual)... A butt that big should probably have been put in no later than midnight on Sunday, if you wanted it done by dinner time Monday.  I would have allowed 18 hours, plus at least an hour to rest.  At 11.5 hours, you were just over an hour per pound, and were deep in the "stall."  The stall is where the real magic happens, and it can't be rushed.  Sometimes, it's over in a few hours, but I've had it last 5 or 6 hours, too!  I've even seen "double stalls!"  It starts climbing, then Bam, the temp stalls again for awhile!

Next time, allow 2 hours per pound, and if it gets done early, it's a bonus!  It will hold for a long time, double-wrapped and packed in towels in the cooler.

 

[AirCav]

Tony, the reason i posted this was based on reading your report (now a sticky) where you wrote it took 10.5 hours for a piece of meat that was very close in size

 

[jcboxlot]

Just trust the temp gauge internal and let it go. 

I've cooked a lot of these and they are all different beasts as far as cook time.


Give PLENTY of time and even more time to rest in a cooler.

Pork butts cannot be rushed at any stage.

 

[Big Red Home Smoker]

Hey guys - quick question....

I've been experiencing very long smoke times with butts.  My last 8 lb. butt was a 25 hour smoke to obtain an IT of 197 degrees.

I'm curious as to what rack you are smoking your butts on?  Maybe part of my long smoke times is being to far away from the heat source??  I have a model 3 and have been smoking my butts on the second rack from the top. 

Which rack are you using  and how close to the fire box is it?

Thanks,

 

[AirCav]

I used one rack and it was set one up from the bottom, I wanted to have clearance around the meat and not interfere with the temp probe

 

[ibbones]

Hey guys - quick question....

I've been experiencing very long smoke times with butts.  My last 8 lb. butt was a 25 hour smoke to obtain an IT of 197 degrees.

I'm curious as to what rack you are smoking your butts on?  Maybe part of my long smoke times is being to far away from the heat source??  I have a model 3 and have been smoking my butts on the second rack from the top. 

Which rack are you using  and how close to the fire box is it?

Thanks,

Terry, I am no expert but I use the second from the top.  I want my meat as close to the top of the smoker as I can get it.  I just leave room for any temp probe to not scrape the top.

 

[ibbones]

I started the smoke at 6:30AM on Monday,

Mike, I love smoking pork butts.  I usually throw mine on between 10:00pm-midnight and set the smoker to 225* and in bed around 1:00-1:30am.  The last one I did(this past Friday) was ready about 1:00pm and I let it sit in the smoker for about an hour, then double wrapped in foil and towels and into a small cooler.  I pulled the meat about 7:00pm and it was still pretty warm, almost too hot to pull by hand.

 

[NDKoze]

I started the smoke at 6:30AM on Monday,

Mike, I love smoking pork butts.  I usually throw mine on between 10:00pm-midnight and set the smoker to 225* and in bed around 1:00-1:30am.  The last one I did(this past Friday) was ready about 1:00pm and I let it sit in the smoker for about an hour, then double wrapped in foil and towels and into a small cooler.  I pulled the meat about 7:00pm and it was still pretty warm, almost too hot to pull by hand.

+1

This is exactly what I do. Works every time.

I also put my butt on the highest shelf I can while still maintaining enough room for my meat probe. The temps at the top of the smoker are a lot more stable than the bottom. This stands to reason when you consider the area closest to the element will surely have larger temp swings than the area further away from the element.

 

[Big Red Home Smoker]

Ok, thanks guys.  Looks like my using the second rack from the top is pretty much what everyone else does.  Can't figure out why my butt smokes are taking so long. 

Have tested the IT meat probe temps with both the Auber/PID and a Maverick.  Have also tested the box temp with the Auber/PID and Maverick......everything good there.

I don't seem to have this long smoke time issue smoking other types of meat as my times are in line with what I see from others in this forum.

Puzzling............

 

[AlinMA]

Hi Mike....
"I don't seem to have this long smoke time issue smoking other types of meat as my times are in line with what I see from others in this forum.

Puzzling............"
At times Pork Butts seem to have a mind of their own!
The smoking guides are just that...guides. I usually smoke smaller butts for the wife and I. they are usually in the 2.5 to 3.0 pound range. The last butt took 12 hours to reach 195 degrees. Additionally the time can vary based on the characteristics of of different Butts.
To reinforce what Jimmy, Tony and others have.... said plan on the long side. It's better to finish the cook early and hold it than to wind up with less than stellar results. 

 

[dibiase]

Butt's do have a mind of their own for sure.  I have smoked 4 of them this summer and I always do them the same way.  Tony's brine over over night, and then my rub.  All of them were 9-10 pound range and 3 of them took about 15-16 hours and the last one went 20 hours.  I do the second from the top shelf as well.  I just trust the probe and they are always awesome. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Tony, the reason i posted this was based on reading your report (now a sticky) where you wrote it took 10.5 hours for a piece of meat that was very close in size

Mike, if you spend much time here, you'll see that most folks take 1.5 - 2 hours/lb, on butts.  I have modified the post to reflect that.  Every piece of meat has it's own timetable!  Unfortunately, you just can't accurately predict exactly how long it will take.  That's one of the mysteries of BBQ, and what makes it different from baking a cake.

It's much better to allow 2 hours/lb, and hope it gets done early.  If it does, double-wrap in HD foil, and pack in towels in a cooler to hold it.  If you are going to hold for more than 4-5 hours, put the wrapped butt in the smoker, set to 140, and hold it almost indefinitely!  Better to get done early, and hold, than to go through what you went through!

My apologies for making you thing a 9 1/2 lb butt would always take 10 1/2 hours!  That post was simply reporting my results, for that cook.

Remember:  Meat is made by animals, and sometimes their Quality Control sucks!

 

[Grampy]

Remember:  Meat is made by animals, and sometimes their Quality Control sucks!

Lol, Good one Tony! ;D

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks Jimmy!