Consistently L-O-N-G cook times on pork shoulders - cooking @ 250+ (MES 30)

[plume-o-smoke]

Hey guys. And gals. ​I've done ~20 or more pork shoulders on my MES and get cook times up to 30 hours. I have adjusted the chamber temp upward from 225 to ~260-265 and no longer get the 30-hour marathons, but 22-25 hours is the norm on an 8-lb shoulder. Never less than 19 hours. I set the MES to 260-270, shooting for a chamber temp of 250 when I'm asleep, 260-265 when I'm up and making adjustments isn't such a big deal. I measure chamber temp w/ my *calibrated* Maverick probes, one below, one above the shoulder. Generally the temp is 210-220 below the shoulder, 265 above for several hours. But often both read right at 250 the morning after an overnight cook. For what it's worth, I cut off the fat cap (more bark), I pull it at 203 and I run sand in the water pan, and an AMNPS w/ the chip loader and tray removed.

​

I am in no hurry for shorter times and ​I love bark on my shoulders, so I am resistant to the Texas Crutch (foil). But the bark dries out a lot. Almost like a layer of tough beef jerky texture-wise. I can't help but to think I could get great tasting bark w/ better texture if I could cut the cook times down to what is commonly reported here (1.5 hrs/lb, w/ occasional slower times). I'm approaching the upper end of how hot an MES can run. Maybe the 1.5 hour/lb thing is for foil-wrapped shoulders? Maybe this is just the way it is? Maybe I just need to keep cooking hotter and hotter until I get the times where I want them?

I did search the forum and the long cook posts seem to be one-offs or newbies cooking at 225, often with water in the pan.​ My problem is consistent and I'm cooking at and over 250 degrees. Any thoughts?

 

[noboundaries]

Butts just take a long time.  You're not doing anything wrong.  I learned long ago that those "1.5 hrs/lb" figures are just guidelines.  Internal temp is the answer and you are doing that. 

Sand in the water pan can slow things down a little depending on how much sand you have in the pan.  If you have 3 lbs of sand in the water pan, and an 8 lb butt on the shelf, you are actually smoking 11 lbs of material, not 8.  That sand has to warm no differently than the meat.  Granted, it won't "stall," but it is a 3 lb heat sink that has to warm to the temp you have set on the smoker.  Take the sand out next time and see what happens. 

I use a WSM.  I don't use water or sand.  A 9.2 lb'er I did the end of March took 19.5 hours, and it needed another 30 minutes to an hour in the smoker, but I ran out of fuel.  A 10 lb'er I did a couple weeks later took 21.5 hours.  In both cases, I did 12 hours at 235-250, then bumped the temp up to 275 until the finish.  Neither was wrapped. 

For quite a while I liked wrapping my butts at an internal temp of 180F or so.  I'd add a half cup to a cup of HOT liquid to the wrap (bigger butt, more liquid).  The stall has already occurred and it sped up the finish.  I found I got a noticeably firmer bark than wrapping at the stall, about 80% of what you get when you don't wrap at all. 

Once you wrap the butt, there's no need to keep in in the smoker.  You can move it to the kitchen and put it in the oven at 350F or higher. 

Physics is the reason you get a different chamber temp above and below your roast at the beginning, then equalizes toward the end.  Remember, cold air sinks, hot air rises.  When the butt is cold, right out of the refrigerator, it will impact the air most below the butt.  As the butt warms in the hot smoker, there's less impact.  I get the exact same thing in my WSM.  Plus, you have a sand heat sink below the roast, which will impact temp too until equalization.

 

[plume-o-smoke]

​Thanks Noboundaries.

​

I use a WSM.  I don't use water or sand.  A 9.2 lb'er I did the end of March took 19.5 hours, and it needed another 30 minutes to an hour in the smoker, but I ran out of fuel.  A 10 lb'er I did a couple weeks later took 21.5 hours.  In both cases, I did 12 hours at 235-250, then bumped the temp up to 275 until the finish.  Neither was wrapped.

​That is very consistent with what I am seeing.

​

For quite a while I liked wrapping my butts at an internal temp of 180F or so.  I'd add a half cup to a cup of HOT liquid to the wrap (bigger butt, more liquid).  The stall has already occurred and it sped up the finish.  I found I got a noticeably firmer bark than wrapping at the stall, about 80% of what you get when you don't wrap at all. 

​I'm going to give this a try. 80% of beef-jerkey bark would be A-OK with me. I'll try that, and nixing the sand. Thanks a ton.

 

[heavyd4561]

Try putting the temp up to 300. Hot and fast. You won't lose anything but hours off your cook

 

[SmokinAl]

I agree with the above, I smoke mine at 270-280 & they are just as tender & juicy.

Just done quicker & usually no stall.

I don't wrap them either.

Al