First Pork Butt

[pigbark]

coming along nicely...

 

[HempKnight]

coming along nicely...

Finished

 

[pigbark]

Looks good, if you need help eating it, let me know..

 

[HempKnight]

I cooked it to an internal temperature of 207 degrees wrapping at 170. It had a really good flavor but was not fall-apart tender like I expected it to be

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

Good day all,

I picked up a pork butt from save-a-lot today. It is a little over 3lbs. This will be my 2nd run on the smoker. I've watched many YouTube videos on smoking butt. Some apply a rub on naked meat, some use a binder like yellow mustard or olive oil, then apply their rubs.

It also seems to vary on smoking temps. Some say low & slow 225 degrees; others say 275 deg Fahrenheit.

Most agree to wrap around internal temp of 160-165 degrees. And cook to temp of 200 - 205. Rest for an hour.

I notice people spraying the butt with apple juice or applecider vinegar. When did you start misting the meat? What is the determining factor?

I plan on using royal oak lump charcoal and using some hickory & apple woods.

Tips appreciated!
View attachment 405034 View attachment 405035

Lots of great info here. I use mustard as a binder, put the smoker at 275 for the full smoke, and don't wrap. All of my pork butts have been awesome. Make a decision and what you want to do and go with it.

 

[knifebld]

I cooked it to an internal temperature of 207 degrees wrapping at 170. It had a really good flavor but was not fall-apart tender like I expected it to be

Very curious that it didn't fall apart like you were expecting. Your process was quite sound and almost identical except for a few things...I don't spritz (I used to but did not find much taste difference for the effort), I don't inject, I smoke a lower temp (235), and I let it rest for an hour or too (in a cooler) once the IT hit about 208.

All I can say is stick with this group and refer back to it often. I found this place a little over 5 years ago and these literally helped me smoke my first butt...from then on I never looked back! Keep trying, cause it's life changing! ;)

 

[HempKnight]

Appreciate the info

 

[pigbark]

I cooked it to an internal temperature of 207 degrees wrapping at 170. It had a really good flavor but was not fall-apart tender like I expected it to be

Man this is a tough one to figure out. therms are fine, temp and everything were fine , good plan etc. you did everything rite, damn pork butt was being stubborn.. i have not cooked one under 8 lbs. most in the 8 to 10 range.. Bigger cuts of meat have been more forgiving for me.. the smaller ones have givin me fits at times..with the bigger cuts, what we dont eat we freeze ..

 

[HempKnight]

Man this is a tough one to figure out. therms are fine, temp and everything were fine , good plan etc. you did everything rite, damn pork butt was being stubborn.. i have not cooked one under 8 lbs. most in the 8 to 10 range.. Bigger cuts of meat have been more forgiving for me.. the smaller ones have givin me fits at times..with the bigger cuts, what we dont eat we freeze ..

I'm planning on smoking some fatties this Sunday. Next pork butt I'm going to go for one atleast 6-7lbs. I'll keep at it until I get it right.

 

[fullborebbq]

Malcom Reed knows his stuff.

Then I found this site and have learned even more!!!!!!!

 

[HempKnight]

Malcom Reed knows his stuff.

Then I found this site and have learned even more!!!!!!!

100% ! I have watched many of the videos on his channel on YouTube "how to BBQ right." I like how he breaks things down and shows you the entire process. I will definitely keep at it that's for sure it is just discouraging that I'm not getting the results I'm looking for.

 

[bgaviator]

I can't help but wonder if your particular piece of meat didn't have enough marbling throughout and maybe that's why it wasn't as fall apart as you wanted? Also, did you temp check it in multiple places? I know often times when I've done pork butts, one section will be temping that it's done, but another section won't be....I have just moved my probe to the underdone section and let it go longer. Sometimes the probe will seem to be in a pocket of fat, which can be at a different temp than the surrounding meat. If I move my probe around to a different spot the meat isn't always at the temp I think it is.

The blade bone should be able to twist out pretty easily. Usually when mine is finally done the meat is splitting apart in certain sections, usually around the blade bone.

Also, I noticed that your finished shoulder looked pretty wet....that will happen after wrapping. I like wrapping...I have done them wrapped and unwrapped, and I enjoy the time savings that wrapping provides, plus for me I think wrapping gives the pork better flavor and moisture. What I do is pull it out of the wrap about 10 degrees away from target temp and set the shoulder back directly on the grate to let the bark form back up. It happens pretty quick and it will get crusty again. It can be tricky to get the meat out of the foil pan and back on the grate as it's usually starting to fall apart by this time. I take a couple wads of tin foil and just grab it from each side and get it back on the grate as best i can.

With my last cook a member on this site gave me JJ's finishing sauce, including his tweak. It was fantastic drizzled over the shredded pork. Highly recommend giving it a try. I know his instructions said he normally doesn't use more than a couple tablespoons for an entire shoulder, but I liked it so much that I drizzled a decent amount over mine. It gives it such an extra great boost of flavor:

JJ's Finishing Sauce



1C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Extras per Me:

¼ C Honey

1 C Apple cider

 

[HempKnight]

Absolutely some awesome pointers I very much appreciate it. And I will definitely give that sauce a try. I plan on trying another pork butt maybe next weekend when I'm off so I will definitely take these tips into consideration and apply them to my next smoke.