2nd time pork butt

[DadtoTheBone]

Hey fellas, I cooked up my 2nd pork butt last night. Mustard, good covering in rub, sat on counter for an hour and on the pitboss @ 190° for about 9 hours. Internal was at 165 when I woke up. Was expecting to see a nice bark cover butt but it looked pretty much the same as when I put it in. Not sure if not spritzing it was the cause but lookin for advice. Attached is just on the grill. Did I use too much rub?

 

[SmokinEdge]

A good coating of rub like that has should set a good bark. I would confirm temps if you can, or test the probes. If the probes are what comes with the cooker they are mostly always wrong. Looks to me like you need higher temps.

 

[DadtoTheBone]

A good coating of rub like that has should set a good bark. I would confirm temps if you can, or test the probes. If the probes are what comes with the cooker they are mostly always wrong. Looks to me like you need higher temps.

Higher pit temps?

 

[JLeonard]

Higher pit temps?

have you confirmed that your pit is actually running the temp it says? Like SE said, you should have a better looking bark at this time.

Jim

 

[normanaj]

190 for 9 hours and no bark. I think you may have answered your own question.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Higher pit temps?

Yes. But first you need to confirm the actual pit temp at the grate level with an independent thermometer.

The temp you were running, 190, should have made color change but there was none or very little. To go further you really should run the actual temp, not necessarily the set temp, closer to 250. This will solve a lot of problems.

 

[DadtoTheBone]

Yes. But first you need to confirm the actual pit temp at the grate level with an independent thermometer.

The temp you were running, 190, should have made color change but there was none or very little. To go further you really should run the actual temp, not necessarily the set temp, closer to 250. This will solve a lot of problems.

Thanks for the help, I'm going to fire it back up and compare with a separate thermometer.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks for the help, I'm going to fire it back up and compare with a separate thermometer.

Never trust the therm probes that are attached to the cooker that also includes the digital read out its self. You may have to run the pit at “250” to have an actual grate temp of 225, for example. And if that is off you can bet that the meat probes are as well. Get a good multiple probe independent therm like from ThermoPro, Thermoworks, or Ink Byrd.

 

[912smoker]

Sounds like your temps are off as others have said.

I don't have a pellet pooper but if I did I would run at 250-275 with a smoke tube.

Keith

 

[mr_whipple]

That is odd. Even running that low of a temp it should look quite different. I use the low smoke setting (160F and I think it's smoke setting 3) on mine and have seen nice changes in color on whatever I'm smoking. That said I run cherry pellets for darn near anything these days. Also, I don't do butts on my pellet below 250 anymore. Usually a little higher 260-265 depending on sugar levels in the rub to avoid burning. I would definitely check your temps.

As to the rub, even if you started off soupy and thick, after 9 hours it would have had to dry out and bark up.

 

[tallbm]

Hey fellas, I cooked up my 2nd pork butt last night. Mustard, good covering in rub, sat on counter for an hour and on the pitboss @ 190° for about 9 hours. Internal was at 165 when I woke up. Was expecting to see a nice bark cover butt but it looked pretty much the same as when I put it in. Not sure if not spritzing it was the cause but lookin for advice. Attached is just on the grill. Did I use too much rub?

Hi there and welcome!

Yep low smoker temp is going to be your issue. I also agree with getting a good multi prob (4 or more) remote digital thermometer. Why 4 probes or more? You can use 1-2 probes to measure left and right side of the temps at grate/rack level and then have 2 probes to stab into meat to measure meat Internal Temp (IT).

Pork Butts (pork ribs, briskets, chucks, and beef ribs) are one of the cuts that absolutely do not care what temp you are cooking/smoking it at, as long as you aren't burning it.
If you aren't using sugar in your rub then you can rock 275F smoker temp or even higher (again if not burning it).
If using sugar in your rub/seasoning then it's my understanding it may want to burn if you go over 250F smoker temp. I don't use sugar in my rub/seasoning.

Pork Butts (and those other cuts I mentioned) are also the same cuts that are only done when they are tender. Never by time or temp alone. The IT of the meat will let you know when to check for tenderness and when it is tender all over it is done and you remove it from the smoker.
I check for tenderness on these big cuts by stabbing all over with a wooden kabob skewer and when it goes in with little to no resistance (like stabbing in peanut butter people would say) then it is ready. If it is not tender all over, let the IT of the meat rise another 2 degrees and test again.

I hope this info helps :D

 

[DadtoTheBone]

Round 2. Confirmed pit temp was running low. Put another on last night at midnight at 260°.

 

[912smoker]

Off to a good start!

Keith

 

[sandyut]

There ya go! I run my butts and briskets at 275 And they turn out great and dont take a lifetime to cook. Your second looks more like it! Good work!

 

[Brokenhandle]

2nd one looks much better!

Ryan