Smokin' Pork Butt on a Thursday

[imoldgregg]

I'm fairly new to the site so I figured I share my next smoke.

This is my second attempt at pulled pork. The first attempt didn't go so well.  It was edible.....but barely. Pulled pork is something I want to perfect. So I bought a 2 pack of pork butt from Sams. 20lbs total for $33.

I got them all lathered up in plain yellow mustard, rubbed them down in my own rub mix. Then injected them with an injection I found here and now they are sitting overnight in the fridge. Ill fire up the smoker around 7am tomorrow using Hickory for smoke. Wish me luck!

Mustard 1.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 18, 2013

Rub 1.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 18, 2013

Finish Prep.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 18, 2013

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Nice Prep. We are looking forward to the Q-view

 of the cook , Meat Smoker and all the steps . . .

 .

Have fun and as always . . .

 

[geerock]

Just curious..... what was the issue with the first attempt?

 

[bigr314]

I am going to do the same Saturday. Bought a twin pack from RD Monday. Going to prep them Friday and on the UDS Saturday morning when I get home from working all night.


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[smoke jenson]

I'm smoking one on Sunday. I love pork butt. Thats the 1st thing I learned to smoke. I am also curious on what went wrong the 1st time.

 

[imoldgregg]

Fixed the pic's (I think). 

The first pork butt I smoked,  I had a hard time getting the internal temp over 160. Im not sure if my thermometer was not working right or what but I sat at 160 IT for about 5 hours with a pit temp of 225-250. For the last 2 hours I brought the pit temp  up to 325 (which I suspect was the cause of the outer charred layer). After almost 12 hours on the pit, I quit. I pulled the butts off and to my surprise they were fully cooked, a little dry however.   I also never wrapped them and ended up with this thick outer charred layer (not the bark) that I had to carve off as it was unedible.

 

[smoke jenson]

Fixed the pic's (I think). 

geerock, The first pork butt I smoked,  I had a hard time getting the internal temp over 160. Im not sure if my thermometer was not working right or what but I sat at 160 IT for about 5 hours with a pit temp of 225-250. For the last 2 hours I brought the pit temp  up to 325 (which I suspect was the cause of the outer charred layer). After almost 12 hours on the pit, I quit. I pulled the butts off and to my surprise they were fully cooked, a little dry however.   I also never wrapped them and ended up with this thick outer charred layer (not the bark) that I had to carve off as it was unedible.
[/q

I would defeinately wrap it. I wrap mine at 165 until 200. I would say that if it was fully cooked and dry that your therm is not working properly. If its digital replace the batteries, and the probe. That did happen to me and I had to use an instant read until I replaced it.

 

[geerock]

Yeah, pretty sure you overcooked. What are you cooking on? If you are depending on a dial therm, don't. Get a maverick or similar to verify your temps. A few cooking tools in your bag of tricks will make life easier for you. As for wrapping....... some do, some don't. I never wrap until finish temp is reached and then I wrap but leave a corner of the foil open to let it cool down slowly and keep the bark from getting too soft. But plenty of folks like to wrap part way thru. Try both and see what you like and what works for you. But get a hold of your temps first or you are flying blind right from takeoff. Best of luck.

 

[imoldgregg]

So it came out ok. I cant complain too much. I got the IT to 160 by noon (5 hours on). I wrapped them and finished cooking in my oven at 250 for 5 more hours. Very moist and decent smoke penetration. The bark was ok but it didn't cover the whole butt as much as I would have liked, something Ive had trouble with overall, 

It was very windy yesterday and my pit temps were all over the place. It was challenging keeping the temp around 225.  I definitely envy those using a "set it and forget it" smoker.

As far as tools go.  I'm smoking on a Char Griller Smokin Pro Model #1224. I've been smoking on it for less than a year and I already see its inadequacies. It does the job but I already am wanting to upgrade it. I have this cheap digital probe thermometer I bought from Lowes, I probably should upgrade it as well. 

Cook_Finish 1.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 20, 2013

Shred 1.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 20, 2013

Brisket Taco 1.jpg

• imoldgregg
• Dec 20, 2013

 

[smoke jenson]

Looks pretty dang good. Smoke ring looks good. If you want more bark trim some of the fat off of it. It wont hurt the tenderness of it. All in all pretty good job. Thumbs Up You definately need to get a dual probe therm. If your using the temp guage that is on the smoker most of them are off.