Another Pork Butt Post

Influencer said:

I've smoked some, but usually under the supervision of my dad, so I'm not really sure on this and fully expect to be eating McDonalds my first time.

I have an offset smoker but the old smoke box was destroyed and I haven't gotten a new one put on yet. So I'm going to "offset" the main grill section and have the coals/wood on one side and meat on the other. I'm thinking about extending the chimney down to grate level so the smoke has to come back down to grate level to exit(saw this mod on here I believe).

I'll be using mesquite chips and can either user lump or Kingsford charcoal, I have both so whichever you think will work best.Go with which ever you have the most experience with.

Ok, so the butt is a bone-in 9.3 lb. I'm wanting to slice the butt when finished so I *think* I want to achieve a IT of 180 before pulling off, and I want to smoke for roughly half the cooking time. Should this be the first or second half of the cooking time? Always smoke from Raw.And just a handful of chips? If you like Mesquite, it is pretty strong, put a Cup or two of chips in a double wrapped foil pouch and poke a half dozen holes the size of a pencil. Place it on the coals. This will generate some good smoke without burning up too quickly. With Fruit Wood I add smoke the whole cook but I am afraid too many hours of Mesquite will be too much. I would suggest 4 hours smoke tops. Or Find some Apple Chunks at the local BBQ store or wherever you by Charcoal from.

The main question I have, as I know for sliced pork butt people usually use a boneless cut, so I was wondering if at 180 if it will be tender enough I can pull the bone out prior to slicing. You can slice a Butt that is Bone-in but you may wish to take it to an IT of 185-190*F with a rest. Use a very sharp knife as the edges may start to shred.

I'll be shooting for a 6 o'clock dinner time so I figure I'll need the butt on at around 4 am, giving it 13 hours cooking time and a 45 minute rest. Shoot for a smoker temp of 250-275*F and figure on 1.5 hours per Pound plus a 2 hr CYA/Rest time in case some thing goes wrong. 

I see people saying wrapping in foil and towels and putting in a cooler, I'm assuming the cooler is empty and not put on ice. Sounds like a really dumb question to me but as they say, the only dumb question is the one not asked. That is not a dumb question because most folks use Coolers to cool not keep meat hot. So you foil and towel then go in the cooler. This will rest the meat and will keep it hot for up to 5 hours. I would plan on starting early and rest in the cooler rather than have hungry people staring you down at 7 PM...Good Luck...JJ

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