Maintaining Moisture

Jeff, evening and welcome to the forum....   If the meat had been previously frozen, the cell walls might have ruptured causing it to dry out...   Brining will help keep the meat moist.....   I smoke mine at 210 deg F.... below the boiling point of water....  Usually, not always, they are moist.... I think the meat has a lot to do with how moist they are....   Dave

First off welcome to the SMF. Drop into the Roll Call  section and introduce yourself. Let us know what equipment and experience you have and get a warm welcome from the other members.

I see in your other post you have a vertical ECB. I'm not terribly familiar with those but I'll give it a shot.

Are you using a water pan at all while smoking?

Are you using the minion method with the coals or starting off with all the charcoal lit?

Those temp spikes are just fine, in fact you can go the whole smoke at those temps and it won't hurt a thing. Adding liquid to the foiling stage may help a little but butts are often done without foiling at all. 

How long did you rest it after smoking? When it gets to temp, get that thing wrapped in another layer of foil and wrap a towell or two around it. Let it set for at least 30 minutes but an hour will be better. Pull and enjoy.

Jeff,

I'm a propane smoker myself, but I have done enough shoulder/butts to know that they are very forgiving pieces of meat to cook and a brief temp spike of even 40 or 50 degrees should not harm the butt. (One time the sun came out from behind a tree and spiked my smoker temp to 290 for a half hour with no harm) That said, 250 is not really a "Spike" because for shoulder, your smoker cooking temp should normally range from 225 to 250.    

The basic cook time guideline for pork shoulder is 1.5 hrs per pound, which means your 4.5 butt should have gone for around 7 hours to hit a meat temp of 205degrees, (which is a good "pulling" temp. If you want to slice the shoulder 190 degrees is good.) Since you wrote that it cooked for 13 hours before hitting 190 degrees, there's a good chance it just plain dried out due to too much time spent in not enough heat.

For the third shoulder this weekend;

- Try to keep the smoker temp between 225 to 250 degrees, (even falling out of those ranges temporarily won't hurt, so don't freak if it happens)

- Weigh the shoulder and crunch the numbers for a approx finish time. (1.5 hours per pound). An hour give or take won't kill ya, but if it starts to run long, just foil it and finish in the oven. (then have your smoker thermometer calibrated...) And rest it in a cooler for an hour before pulling it apart.

Holler with any other questions.

jd..... Read up on the "minion method" for maintaining heat..... this should help....  Dave

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/minion-method-explained-with-tutorial

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/minion-method

Deffinately look into the minion method. It helps a lot. I have a side fire box and use it and it has made things better. My biggest issue is added air. I am not putting anymore money towards the smoker I have due to trying to build a RF trailer rig.

So here is a link to one of my cooks and you can see I have had issues with cook chamber control as well. I don't sweat it as long as my meat temps and color are good. I only open my cook chamber after the first couple hours to make sure I am not sitting on a hot spot. My temp spikes usually happen when I check the charcole and add wood. They spike for about 20-30 min then settle down. But I usually shoot for a higher cook temp then traditional Chefs. My range is 250-275 and they shoot for 225. So not much higher, but enough that for me I don't see much of a stall on the smoker I use. I don't foil until I am letting the meat rest. I figure that if low and slow is 5-6 hr in smoke then another 5-6 hr wrapped to get to 205. Must note there are several low and slow that do not wrap. Why not cook a bit hotter and do 7-8hr in smoke and only foil for the rest time. More smoke and less time to dry out is my thought process.


http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/128542/shoulders-and-brisket

jdrouin, welcome. It is (IMHO) the Butt was in too long and dehydrated some . A 4.5 lb. Butt should cook in 8hrs. or so... you said it was in for 13  . I do a lot of Butt and have found that @ 225° the Butt will be bone pulling , fall-apart good when left in for(appox.)1.5hrs. to 2 hrs./lb. of meat .

Have you calibrated your Therms.? It could be you're off temp. ,and as you said , improper placement of the probe ( against a bone ) , although IMHO , isn't the prob.

Do a 'boiling water test' to insure your therms. are correct...having a "SPARE" thermometer that can be "TRUSTED" is an extra level of protection. A Thermopen or a good "pocket" therm that is adjustable helps.

I have the Maverick 732 and cal. before each cook, along with the Pocket Therm. and from time to time i check my Smoker therms.(screw them out and boil test them too).

Seems like a lot of extra work, but I am Disabled/Retired and have a lot of time on my hands.  So I get into the little stuff a lot. That's my .02 worth......

Have fun and...

This is how I do most of my butts,

     I put them in a pan to catch all the great juice from the Butt. Or on the grate with a pan under the butt.

Take it to 200+ IT. Then after pulling it apart  defat the juice.( just put the juice in a bowl and in the frig to cool the

fat will go to the top and then just scope it out. Then pour the juice back in the Pulled Pork. It will be moist and

it will taste great !!!!

I have smoke mine at 225 and even up to 375. So don't worry about the temp to much.