10 pound butt for pulled pork (Q-view)

[krzdimond]

First of all, a disclaimer:

I had 25 pounds of pork, but only had room for 10 so....... 2 butts went to the neighbor's wood smoker (good to have neighbors like this..) I also do not instinctively tale pictures of my dinner in the preparation phases

Problem/questions: Set my MES 30 to 220 and both the internal and probe both read 224, but my ET733 read 178. Upped the temp to 250 and the MES reads 247 and the 733 reads 198 (see pics). What is more important, the set temp, or the 733's temp? I also have an aluminum pan in there that I think is messing with the reading..... is this heat sink figured into the set temp, or is it interfereing?

2015-05-03 08.39.22.jpg

• krzdimond
• May 3, 2015

2015-05-03 09.08.18.jpg

• krzdimond
• May 3, 2015

 

[Bearcarver]

Going by your pictures,

Assuming you tested your ET-733 probes in boiling water, I would move the end 2" of that probe into an open area a few inches from the meat. 

Then adjust your MES controls until your ET-733 reads what you want it to.

I would ignore the reading you get from the Digital MES, because it's probably way off, and it's not anywhere near the meat.

Bear

 

[themule69]

What Bear said plus your pan is large enough it is probably blocking heat from rising. Ether way you want to be cooking at the temp you are wanting. If 225° is what you want your going to have to crank it up untill you get the 225° your after.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[gary s]

Good advice from the watt burners

Gary

 

[Bearcarver]

 
What Bear said plus your pan is large enough it is probably blocking heat from rising. Ether way you want to be cooking at the temp you are wanting. If 225° is what you want your going to have to crank it up untill you get the 225° your after.

Happy smoken.

David

David made a good catch!!

I don't know how I missed that, because it happened to me a long time ago. I had two 9 X 12 pans on the same rack, blocking heat flow.

Everything below the pans was hot & the element wasn't running often, because it was basically only heating the bottom half of the smoker.

Everything above the pans was a much lower temperature, and inconsistent. I smashed the sides of the pans in, and it got better quickly.

Bear

 

[krzdimond]

Update...

I did not have enough ingredients to make Jeff's rub, so I improvised and used the BEST stuff EVAH for pork ribs.... Weber Chicago Rub. Welp, seems that I have made 25 pounds of HAM!!! This stuff was so salty, it was ruined for what I wanted (will still use it as ham, so not a total loss) but it is definately NOT pulled pork.

2015-05-03 18.03.05.jpg

• krzdimond
• May 3, 2015

As for the pan..... I placed the probe BELOW the pan and guess what? Yup, 298* and the temp above was 212* crushed the sides and it was a little better.

The 2 butts from the neighbor's wood smoker were only slightly better, and not nearly as juicy as mine....

Lessons learned:

DO NOT USE A SALT BASED RUB (and let it marinade for 36 hours).

Use a smaller drip pan

Remove the fat cap (Better bark coverage) because you're going to skim off the fat from the au jus anyway..

Slice the meat to the bone, then remove bone with vice grips before pulling the meat. Makes for easier pulling.

 

[rmmurray]

That's an expensive lesson to learn, but trial and error is how we learn. You made a great attempt and the best part is, you've got lunch meat now.
- Ryan

 

[krzdimond]

That's an expensive lesson to learn, but trial and error is how we learn. You made a great attempt and the best part is, you've got lunch meat now.
- Ryan

Yeah, about $33 worth of the best damn tasting ham EVER!!! I'll have it gone by the end of the week.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Update...

I did not have enough ingredients to make Jeff's rub, so I improvised and used the BEST stuff EVAH for pork ribs.... Weber Chicago Rub. Welp, seems that I have made 25 pounds of HAM!!! This stuff was so salty, it was ruined for what I wanted (will still use it as ham, so not a total loss) but it is definately NOT pulled pork.

As for the pan..... I placed the probe BELOW the pan and guess what? Yup, 298* and the temp above was 212* crushed the sides and it was a little better.

The 2 butts from the neighbor's wood smoker were only slightly better, and not nearly as juicy as mine....

Lessons learned:

DO NOT USE A SALT BASED RUB (and let it marinade for 36 hours).

Use a smaller drip pan

Remove the fat cap (Better bark coverage) because you're going to skim off the fat from the au jus anyway..

Slice the meat to the bone, then remove bone with vice grips before pulling the meat. Makes for easier pulling.

Oh Well----Ham is good !!

At least you don't have to toss it.

Something I learned a long time ago----All a Butt needs is a little Rub. It has plenty of fat within, so it doesn't need marinating & definitely doesn't need any salt water injected into it. IMHO

Just keep it simple & let the natural flavor of the Butt come out & greet the taste buds. No Added Salinity needed whatsoever. If you want to add a little flavor & spices, throw any decent rub on it for a few hours, like Jeff's Rub, or one of the many sold in stores. It doesn't need to be overloaded.

Things like Pork Loin & Chicken Breasts can benefit through the use of a brine, but a Butt is better off left to it's own juices.

In case you never saw one of my Butt smokes, here is one:

Pulled Boston Pork Butt  

Bear

 

[gary s]

Keep in mind you can always wrap it in foil, back on the smoker, or oven till you hit the 205 for pulled. One thing about Pork Butts really hard to mess up

Gary

 

[krzdimond]

Bear, it was that thread where this thred was referenced....

Gary, It was brought to 208*, it pulled just fine, it was just salty to the bone, tasting like ham (salt cured). My son LOVES it. Put it in a taco bun (corn tortilla) tonight with cheese, tomato, and lettuce and 4 minutes in the George Foreman.

I swear he ate 3 pounds of the stuff.......

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Bear, it was that thread where this thred was referenced....

OK-----The rub I used in that Step by Step wasn't heavy on salt----More Paprika & Heat than salt. And I try not to coat it too heavily. Some people inject a salt solution, and marinate in same---Don't know why they would want to make it salty, unless they're making Ham. 

Bear

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Keep playing with the MES and start a Log Book of your Smokes . Enter all the info. of how . what , why , where of the cook and all prameters so you

can refer to it on the next smoke.

I have several Therms. to check my temps. , If I find my readings are screwy and not as I figured , I try another way.

All commercial Rubs have a lot of Salt . Be careful .

Thanks for sharing your cook with us.

Have fun and . . .

 

[gary s]

Yep sitting in a salt brine and using more salt, I see why it was salty.  Were these fresh pork butts ?  Not hams ?  Reason I brought that up is hams you buy in the store are injected and are already salty (to me) so you don't want to add any more

Gary

 

[krzdimond]

Bear, I used a commercial rub... (Webers Chicago Rub). I won't do that again....

Oldschoolbbq, Damn good idea!! I'll get a small notebook in the morning (I smoke about once every month or two) so I can remmeber what I did(n't) do.

Gary, I bought fresh pork butt. The Chicago Rub was HEAVY and left on for 36 hours before I started smoking.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Bear, I used a commercial rub... (Webers Chicago Rub). I won't do that again....

Oldschoolbbq, Damn good idea!! I'll get a small notebook in the morning (I smoke about once every month or two) so I can remmeber what I did(n't) do.

Gary, I bought fresh pork butt. The Chicago Rub was HEAVY and left on for 36 hours before I started smoking.

Yup---Use less Rub & leave it on for a shorter time. I leave mine on for 4 to 12 hours, and I don't put it on tool heavily.

Get a big notebook----I use a big spiral notebook, and I'm on my 6th book. You gotta take a lot of notes to make a Step by Step.

Bear

 

[sota d]

Great advice here on all fronts. I would like to 3rd the importance of a log book. I started one when I started smoking and it has helped me immensely! Include all details,like, weight of meat, rub, wood, brine, marinade, temp smoked at and IT's along the way, and what you would do differently next time..Great way to refer to past smokes to see what worked or didn't work.

 

[gary s]

Good advice, 

Gary