Help My Butt!

[BrownRooster]

Great to know...thanks!

 

[BrownRooster]

IF you maintained 200°F the entire time, you didn't from the start and not likely during the hours you slept, those Butts would have taken at least 2.5 hours per pound to get to an IT of 205. For an average 8 pound Butt, that is 20 hours minimum. With temps you experienced, you would need to be smoking 30 hours easy.
You got a lot of suggestions above. I suggest you use ALL OF THEM. This way you have more than one tool in you smoking kit. Figure an average time to 205 per pound. 2.5 hours per pound at 200, 2 hours per at 225-250, 1.5 hours per at 250-275 and 1 hour per at 300-325. Next, when the meat IT gets to 200°F, start probing for tenderness. When the Probe slides in, with no resistance, you are good to go. Last wiggle the bone, should nearly fall out.
At this point the meat is Done. A 30 minutes rest, on the counter is all you need, then pull it and serve. There no reason to cooler rest meat that is done, unless you need to transport it or it finished early and you are not ready to eat. Putting meat that is Done in a cooler for a couple of hours don't make it Better Done. I just continues to cook and break down more, getting softer even mushy the longer it sits...JJ

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that there is some fine detailed info. is it possible to save a post/reply so it is easy to find later?

 

[BrownRooster]

>any particular brand you recommend for
>leave in? I like the remote idea.

For a remote therm, you need to decide how many probes you need and if you want one with a dedicated receiver, or one that uses bluetooth and your mobile device to display temps (or both). For bluetooth/mobile devices, folks here like the Inkbird, but there are many similar devices branded differently. For dedicated receiver, Maverick and Thermopro are popular. For a little bit more, I think Thermoworks Smoke is a better option - much better build quality than the others.

>Btw way...I know brisket has a "stall" do
>butts have the same or similar thing?

Oh yeah, it sure does. You can wrap to reduce stall time. Cooking at a higher temp also can help.

Oddly (NOT) no sooner had I asked you that question than FB started posting ads for a Smoke on my timeline. That is likely the direction i am heading. thanks for your help and patience with me.

 

[chopsaw]

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[BrownRooster]

O my word! Thank you all so much for your patience with me and for answering so thoroughly. I really feel like I learned a lot from y'all which is what I was hoping to do.

So an update. I threw those bad boys back in the heat. (oven this time because I didn't want to start the firebox up again.) I set the oven at 200, because not knowing how long it would take, or how long it had been "at temperature" previously, i didn't want to overdo it and dry it out. After 4 hours both were dark enough (interior) and at a safe temp to eat, but not "pull apart" by any means.

Butt1 (the one I brined in Green Chile and Lime) I decided to make up some more of the brining liquid, minus the salt and put it in a pot on a low-med heat to braise. After about 1 hour...DANG it was good. So good, that i threw in some Masa Harina, Onion, Spices, and more peppers and I have now invented Caldo de Carnitas!!

Butt2 - traditional brine, untraditional stubbornness on my part. Even if I ultimately threw it away for temp concerns, I was bound and determined to see this through. So I put it back in the oven, cranked it up some more....to 215. Let it go for about another 4-5 hours.
I pulled it out and that whole bone just slid out. I then pushed on it and it fell into shreds and threads. Maybe a touch drier than I would have preferred, but i went ahead and pulled the rest of it. Fingers got all collagen covered and sticky as promised. (btw...200 degree fat burns a bit...you're welcome).

So all told the tests you told me to use...all of them worked. I turned what looked like prime rib into decent pulled pork after several false starts and I now have a new recipe to boot. pictures will come later after work.