Boston butt question

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Last night at midnight I started a 9.7 butt. I plan on eating at 4:00 this afternoon. It now 7:00 am and both of my probes are saying 160. Do I just let it go or foil it ? I know that there's going to be a stall. Did I start to early ? I was figuring 1.5 hr per lb.
Sorry but this is my first one. I'm using a mes 40 bt smoker and I have my temp at 220.

icyhot · Jul 26, 2015

I don't foil mine.I would let it ride and when done wrap in foil,and put in cooler covered with towels.it will stay hot for a couple of hours that way.

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Well it's kinda stopped at 170. I'll give a couple of hrs and see what happens. If it doesn't budge I'll guess I'll foil it ? Only 8:30 still have 6hrs to I hope it's done.

smokinadam · Jul 26, 2015

I think you will be alright. Let it ride if you need to you can always wrap and bump the temp up to get it finished but you shouldn't need too.

lemans · Jul 26, 2015

You r fine. Pork is very forgiving. Let it go til like 175 foil til 200 then put in cooler until dinner. You r golden

krooz · Jul 26, 2015

mori55 said:
Well it's kinda stopped at 170. I'll give a couple of hrs and see what happens. If it doesn't budge I'll guess I'll foil it ? Only 8:30 still have 6hrs to I hope it's done.

Yeah, it's probably plateaued. Sits there 2 or 3 hours and you think it'll never change then all of a sudden she starts creeping up to your desired temp....

thegreatmc · Jul 26, 2015

I did two picnics last weekend that were about the same size and never wrapped. Took 12 hours to get to 205* IT and they were extremely juicy. Knowing that you want to eat at 4, you want the meat to finish by 2 to rest. I assume you are on the east coast so it is currently 9:30. You have 4.5 hours for it to go 30 degrees. That's perfect. If by 11:30 the stall isn't over, I'd bump up the temp to 250*. If by 12:30 you aren't to 180*, then I'd wrap. I really don't like wrapping unless I have to and I think you've got the time to wait things out.

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Well I've been driving myself crazy reading the foil or not to foil threads ! Right now it looks pretty crusty , real dark do I assume that's the bark ? Does the bark taste burn or is it all flavor ? I used mcormicks pork rub and their sweet and smokey rub and spritz it every couple of hrs with apple juice and sons some rub mixed in it. I'm using the Amnps with hickory.

thegreatmc · Jul 26, 2015

Yes, the crust is the bark. If you eat strictly the bark, it can be a little overpowering in flavor. When you pull the pork and mix the bark in with the rest, it is amazing.

Here's the best advice I can give you. RELAX!!! Foil or no foil, spray or no spray, 220* or 250*, it is all personal preference and in the end it all produces great food with subtle differences that can be quibbled over but the truth is it's all good. Go with the way you want to try, and just relax. I go no foil, no spray, and 250* until the bone pulls out because to me that's the easiest and I am lazy so I want easy.

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Me wife's concerned that the barks gonna to crunchy , but I assume when u wrap it and put it the cooler it softens up ?

thegreatmc · Jul 26, 2015

It mixes in and gives the smoke flavor. It's a "crucial" part of smoking. I put crucial in quotes because the only crucial part is that you enjoy the end product. The best way to explain it is that the bark is only 1/4" thick. It accounts for maybe 5% of the total meat, max. Once mixed in, it adds a little texture and a lot of flavor.

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

It's 11 o'clock and I'm at 179. This is nerve wracking. How do I know if I'm out of the plateau ?

jaxrmrjmr · Jul 26, 2015

You should be through "the stall" at 179. I've never had a stall that lasted past 175 - usually low/mid 160s to around 170. Looks like you are on schedule as you have 3-4 hours to pick up the next 20 degrees.

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Someone suggested bumping the temp up to 275 on my mes.

jaxrmrjmr · Jul 26, 2015

There are lots of things you could do, but nothing that you have to do at this point. I think you are pretty much on track.

7:00 = 160

8:30 = 170 and stalled

11:00 = 179

So, in 4 hours, you have gained 20 degrees and overcome a stall. At 11:00 that gives you 3-4 hours to gain the next 20 degrees. You'll be fine. If you just feel like you have to tweak something (and I completely understand) just bump the temp up some. The biggest thing at this point is to keep the door shut and don't start checking it constantly. If you're lookin', then you ain't cookin' !

Bearcarver · Jul 26, 2015

You've been getting good advice already.

The only thing I'll add is that you're getting close enough that you won't be done too early to hold it in the cooler, so if you're still at 220°, I would think about bumping it up to 250°.

This would be because 220° isn't all that much above your target Meat Temp of about 205°, and when the meat temp gets close to the Smoker temp, things really slow down.

Bear

mori55 · Jul 26, 2015

Well it's up to 198 and I put in a tin foil pan and double wrapped it. I'll let go to 203 , then turn the smoker down to 100 and let it rest

vwaldoguy · Jul 26, 2015

Nicely done, hope it tastes great.

jaxrmrjmr · Jul 26, 2015

Post some pics and let us know how it turned out......

Bearcarver · Jul 26, 2015

mori55 said:
Well it's up to 198 and I put in a tin foil pan and double wrapped it. I'll let go to 203 , then turn the smoker down to 100 and let it rest

Sounds like the Timing ended up pretty good !!

I'll be back for the Money Shots!!

Bear

Boston butt question

Fire Starter

Smoking Fanatic

Fire Starter

Smoking Fanatic

Master of the Pit

Meat Mopper

Meat Mopper

Fire Starter

Meat Mopper

Fire Starter

Meat Mopper

Fire Starter

Smoking Fanatic

Fire Starter

Smoking Fanatic

Gone but not forgotten RIP

Fire Starter

Smoke Blower

Smoking Fanatic

Gone but not forgotten RIP

Similar threads

Hot Threads

Featured A couple thick strips please!