Let's talk pork..

[ryeguy45]

I have a pork butt and a pork shoulder. They both weigh the same. Will they take the same amount of time to smoke on an offset char-broil smoker. also temps and times

 

[pratherq]

I'm a newbie myself, but I've done well with shoulder pulling easily at 190 degrees. I usually wrap mine after about 4 hours. Learning as I go, but that has worked for me.

As for butt, I can't remember. I should start taking notes! I believe 200 is a good temp, but I'm sure one of the pros here can give better advice!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

[gary s]

Hello, and Welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of good information and great people.

Gary

 

[smokeusum]

What a second, let's discuss pork shoulders. A full shoulder is a butt & a picnic in its entirety. If you have a butt you have the top portion of the shoulder, the lower portion is the picnic. Sounds like you have a Butt and a Picnic, not a butt and a shoulder. It may have been referred to as a shoulder roast.

The two pieces don't smoke the same, the picnic or shoulder roast can dry out quickly! The Butt, not so much. You have to do bad bad things to screw up a butt! (I'm speaking from experience here, hehehe) - I don't do picnics anymore, I'm not fond of the texture.

You can PULL well at 190, 195, or you can just give it a stink eye ;) at 205 and it'll fall apart on its on! Careful though, if you foil at the stall temp/mark and leave it foiled until you reach a pull or "stink eye" temp (known as the Texas Crutch) you may end up with the dreaded mush texture and a very Crocker Pot temp flavor.

If you are bound and determined not to wait out the stall and decide to foil consider foiling at an IT temp of 165-ish (stall temp) and UNFOILING at 192-ish (surpassing the stall in record time) to finish up to the 200-ish mark - put in a COVERED pan (not wrapping your precious butt, making it sweat all over its beautiful bark) for a half hour in a neutral/room temp area to let it settle! Poof! AWESOMENESS! No finishing sauce needed!

 

[smokeusum]

220 at the least. At 200 you could be looking at a 16-24 hour smoke on a 8-9lb butt due to how long it would take to get past the stall, even wrapped.

 

[gary s]

I do quite a few pork shoulders, I cook at 225, usually buy mine at Sam's 2 in a package. Takes me at least 12 hours I then wrap in a couple of old towels and let them rest for an hour or so in a cooler. Shoulder bone will slide right out.

Gary

 

[smokeusum]

Gary, do you get yours bone-in? My costco does the dual cryo-pac butts but they are ALWAYS de-boned (they do not carry whole shoulders and I've yet to see a picnic there)

 

[gary s]

I live in Whitehouse, TX (Tyler area)  We have Sam's, Walmart, Brookshire's and Super 1  All of these have the bone in (the blade shoulder bone. Pork Butt, Pork Shoulder same thing. Every once in a while Brookshire's (grocery store) will have some smaller trimmed down ones without the bone. I usually get mine at Sam's or Super 1 with the bone they average about 8 #.

Gary

 

[gary s]

Our closest Costco  is in Dallas about 100 miles away, I do like Costco, wish we had one here in Tyler

Gary

 

[foamheart]

Boston Butt

Low and slow, old school. 20 hours at 220 degree, plus a 4 hour rest.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/143297/butt-on-mo-learning-q

Picnic has more bones should be a faster smoke.

 

[ryeguy45]

Oh, wow foamheart...20 hours?? I smoked mine for almost 9 hours at 250-275°F this past weekend and it just fell apart in my hands. I picked it up off the smoker and the bone fell out. I let it rest for an hour.. what kind of smoker do you have to smoke it for that long?

 

[foamheart]

Oh, wow foamheart...20 hours?? I smoked mine for almost 9 hours at 250-275°F this past weekend and it just fell apart in my hands. I picked it up off the smoker and the bone fell out. I let it rest for an hour.. what kind of smoker do you have to smoke it for that long?

I did mine at 220, and that's when the butt said it was ready. It was most excellent. 18 to 20 is what it usually takes mine. I have had 16 and I have had 23, but 18 to 20 is average. But to me, 250 to 275 isn't low and slow. LOL..... its all in what you are used to and how you cook.

 

[woodcutter]

I just did 2 bone Sam's butts yesterday and they took 18 hour at 225. I get them done in 12 hours at 250.