First Boston butt questions

[Kiwi Smoke]

Hi all, so got a Boston butt and plan to smoke/grill this weekend.
Q: is Boston butt only good for pulled pork or can I slice and serve?
Q: butt is just under 5lb so I'm thinking low and slow. How long to cook?
Q: how long to rest after reaching 200 IT.

I'm gonna be doing 3lb of St Louis rib at the same time so there's 6hrs for the ribs alone but I'm guessing the butt will take longer than that.
Any input from you guys will be appreciated.
Cheers Pete

 

[tag0401]

Yes you can slice and serve if you'd like. Plan to cook around 1.5 hours per pound but keep in mind this time is just an estimate, every piece of meat has its own personality some take longer some cook quicker. I usually go with around 8lbs and most times I can get it to pulling temp around 8 hours. After I get to 205 IT I usually try to rest at least an hour or more if I have time, wrapped up tight in foil and in a cooler with an old towel over top of the meat.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

If it is a bone in butt, you will end up with about half the weight post smoking as edible meat...

If you are bringing it to 200f or so for IT, you might find it just falls apart into pulled pork on it's own! Like Tag said; each slab of meat will do as it wishes for cook times, 1 to 1.5 hours per pound is at best, an estimate. I only rest long enough to start shredding pork butt, then add any extra flavourings I want.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Thanks for your responses guys.
After checking out a few videos I'll probably stick with the program and pull the pork and serve in a quality roll.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

You can never go wrong with pulled pork! There is a ton of things to do with lever over pulled pork! Fried rice..tacos.. :)

 

[crazymoon]

KS, There are some good recipes on this site for a pulled pork finishing sauce,worth checking them out for extra flavor on your PP.

 

[saltysandman]

after taking out at 205, i wrap in a beach towel and leave in cooler (minimum 1 hour, maximum ive done so far is 6 hours...after midnight. lol). then right before i pull apart with my hands/fork/bearclaws (be careful still can be hot), i like using my fat separator to separate the au jus/drippings from the fat. then add back as desired. this adds an extra layer of juicyness to an already juicy pulled pork. just make sure your au jus/drippings are too salty....which may depend on if you added anything when you wrapped it/crutched it. you can add your finishing sauce or bbq or leave be and let the lucky partakers add on their own. pulled pork is so forgiving that even if you didn't do all the extras, it will still be good.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

If it is a bone in butt, you will end up with about half the weight post smoking as edible meat...

If you are bringing it to 200f or so for IT, you might find it just falls apart into pulled pork on it's own! Like Tag said; each slab of meat will do as it wishes for cook times, 1 to 1.5 hours per pound is at best, an estimate. I only rest long enough to start shredding pork butt, then add any extra flavourings I want.

Hey Tom, it's got that small piece of shoulder bone at one end but not the big bone I've had in a shoulder roast. Thinking I'm gonna allow 1.5hrs per pound then wrap and rest in a cooler for at least 1 hr.
Thanks again for your responses really appreciate it.
Cheers Pete

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Hey Tom, it's got that small piece of shoulder bone at one end but not the big bone I've had in a shoulder roast. Thinking I'm gonna allow 1.5hrs per pound then wrap and rest in a cooler for at least 1 hr.
Thanks again for your responses really appreciate it.
Cheers Pete

I like bone in ones Pete! Easy test to tell when done...when it gets near the 205f Internal Temp..go wiggle the bone! If it basically wants to come right out or does..it's done! Don't forget the coleslaw for a proper Pulled pork experience ;)

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Sounds like a solid plan Tom. I'll get some pics and report back..

 

[jbellard]

You really want to use the internal temp of the pork butt vs time per pound. Time gives you a rough estimate but I really only use IT. When it’s done it’s done. Because I think where most folks run into issues is when going by time, the time comes and they think oh it must be done va checking the temp and being sure. Once it’s over 200 is also when you should use something like a shish kebab stick to probe the meat. Should slide in like butter all over.
Hope that helps.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Yeah good call. I'm starting to realize that many factors are at play but IT is the best indication of when the meats good to go.
Cheers Pete

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Sure is Pete. Since if you adhere to the time per pound, no pork butt would take you 20+ hours, but with 7+ pounder ones, it really can! Just remember to convert our American measurements to your local one or else you might run into some problems! ;)

 

[jbellard]

Let’s what temp are you shooting for on your smoker? I usually cook mine at 275-300 and they will be done and amazing in about 8 hrs. That’s big 8-10lb bone in pork butts. Just for your reference. I see no reason to submit yourself to the torture of keeping your smoker going for more than 8-12hrs for pork butts. Just for fun I did several pork butts overnight at 225 and they took 16hrs. I did them on my gas grill so could regulate the temp. They were good but no reason IMHO to ever make it last that long when you can cook them perfectly in around 8hrs.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Morning Tom, yeah early start for me today it's 6.30am and I'm up and at em....
Yep just about every bit of content I read refers to farenheit so I have to convert to centigrade, same with weight lb's to kg's ..
Some things are the same though like beer tastes best after a long day cooking...lol

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Well don't forget to grab some pictures Pete! I'm looking forward to seeing the end product!

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

JB, I take your point about the timing and may well ramp the temp up mid cook if I get a big stall.

 

[jbellard]

What temp are you starting at?

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

110c or 230f got a wireless digital probe thermometer to look for the IT stall, when that occurs I'm gonna wrap and transfer to a foil pan and will ramp the temp up a bit to.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Interested to see how these compare to your prices??