This is my first ever pork butt. I made up my mind that it would be done when it was done and I shouldn't fuss over it too much. If it was done mid afternoon, I would keep it warm and possibly eat early or if it was done later in the evening then we would eat late. I'm glad I listened to myself. I injected it the night before and wrapped it in plastic wrap. The next morning, I fired up the smoker at 6:30 and went in to put rub on the butt. After getting the smoker up to 225 degrees, I put the butt directly on the grate at 7:15 and let it do its thing.
After 5 hours at 225 it reached the target of 165 internal temperature at which point I put it in a foil pan, added a little liquid and tightly covered it with foil and back in the smoker it went.
After 3 more hours in the smoker it reached an internal temp of 205 and at this point I put the whole thing, pan and all, in an igloo cooler with lots of old towels as insulation for a couple of hours to rest. (all the while drooling because it smelled fantastic)
After pouring off the excess liquid, I removed the bone and the excess fat, I pulled it and served it with some baked beans and a little homemade sauce on the side. It was delicious and I was rather proud when my wife said it was the "best pulled pork ever" which is pretty high praise because pulled pork is her favorite.
So, total cooking and resting time was 10 hours and it was worth every minute of it.
After 5 hours at 225 it reached the target of 165 internal temperature at which point I put it in a foil pan, added a little liquid and tightly covered it with foil and back in the smoker it went.
After 3 more hours in the smoker it reached an internal temp of 205 and at this point I put the whole thing, pan and all, in an igloo cooler with lots of old towels as insulation for a couple of hours to rest. (all the while drooling because it smelled fantastic)
After pouring off the excess liquid, I removed the bone and the excess fat, I pulled it and served it with some baked beans and a little homemade sauce on the side. It was delicious and I was rather proud when my wife said it was the "best pulled pork ever" which is pretty high praise because pulled pork is her favorite.
So, total cooking and resting time was 10 hours and it was worth every minute of it.
