Need help! What did I do wrong??

[CubsFan2016]

I’m trying my first pork shoulder in my new Cuisinart propane smoker. I have a 7 lb Boston butt and from what I’ve read on these forums, I should allow about 90 minutes per pound, so I was hoping it would be done in around 10.5 hours.

I’m at 11 and a half hours right now and it’s still only 168 degrees according to my ThermPro. I’ve read about the stall, but this seems too long, so I’m wondering if any of the steps below seem wrong:

1. I put a water pan/drippings catcher on the lowest rack and the pork directly on the middle rack (ThermPro sensor clipped to the top rack).
2. I replaced the oak chips (dry, not soaked) about every 45 minutes and replaced the water in the water pan when it had evaporated. Vent was fully open and I seemed to get a decent amount of smoke.
3. Smoker was at 225-235 for the first 9 hours according to my ThermPro (I was happy to see that the budget smoker kept a good constant temp)
4. It took 9 hours to get the internal temp to 160. Should it take that long? The recipe I was following said 5-7 hours. After that, I put the shoulder in an aluminum pan with some apple juice and covered it with aluminum foil. (I’ve since read some articles saying I should skip the pan and double-wrap the pork shoulder in aluminum foil - does that make that much of a difference?)
5. When I moved to the pan, I raised the temp in the smoker to between 250-260, mostly because I was impatient. I also stopped adding wood chips because I figured the smoke wouldn’t matter if the shoulder was wrapped.
6. In the last 2.5 hours in the pan, the internal temp has gone up from 160 to 168. I know this is the stall range but I didn’t think it would take this long

I probably should have waited until it was done to ask for help, but at this rate, it won’t be done until 2 in the morning, and I have time to kill now! Thanks in advance for any suggestions on what rookie mistakes I made or what I could do differently in the future.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Welcome to the stall.
From what you have posted, you have done everything right.
The only thing you can do is bump up the smoker temp to 290 -300 and ride it out.
Don't worry about running a higher temp.
Pork butts can handle it and are very forgiving.

 

[noboundaries]

Welcome to Smoking 101; butts can't tell time. At 225-235F you're not far off from butt time. I usually smoke 8-10 lb butts over night at 225F. When I get up in the morning, after 12 hours in the smoker, they are usually high 160s to 170s. That's when I crank the temp up north of 300F.

You can finish it in the oven at 350F and it will be juicy and flavorful in about 90 mins. We've all done it. Probe it for tenderness when you think it's done. Don't rely on internal temp. A dry, tough butt is undercooked.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Just so you know, the butt I smoked last month took 18 hrs.
Put her on at 20:00 hrs the night before.
She wasn't probe tender bone wiggling done until 14:00 hrs the next afternoon.
She did have a nice two hour rest in the faux cambro before pulling.

 

[GaryHibbert]

Not a thing wrong with your procedure at all. As said, the meat just can't tell time and will be done when it's done.
When I get a butt like that, I generally bring it in and put it, foiled, in a 350 degree oven. I leave the meat probe in and when the IT reaches 205 I start checking for probe tender.
If it's too late for supper, just pull the pork and put it in the fridge for the night. As far as I'm concerned, PP is ALWAYS much better reheated after an overnight in the fridge.
Gary

 

[CubsFan2016]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I followed the advice by increasing the smoker to 300 for a few hours. Total time in the smoker was 15 hours, much longer than I planned but it tasted great!

 

[nomad297]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I’m not afraid of looking stupid, so here goes: did you start out with a thawed/fresh or a frozen butt in the smoker?

There is nothing you did wrong with the way you cooked this butt except for trying to analyze the stall and frustrating yourself. The stall is something you really have no control over, other than trying to push it along by wrapping the butt with foil and, maybe, cranking up the temperature, but you still won’t have any idea of how long it will be in the stall.

After all of these years, my wife still asks me “when will it be done?” Or, “what time should I tell everybody to come over?” My answer has always been the same; “it will be done when it is done.” I know this frustrates her, but it’s the truth. I have learned to start a cook much earlier than what the “books” say to, then all I have to worry about is keeping my finished meat at a safe temperature until it is time to eat. It seems to me that the longer the period between the time it is done and the time it is eaten, the better it is.

Bruce

 

[CubsFan2016]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I’m not afraid of looking stupid, so here goes: did you start out with a thawed/fresh or a frozen butt in the smoker?

There is nothing you did wrong with the way you cooked this butt except for trying to analyze the stall and frustrating yourself. The stall is something you really have no control over, other than trying to push it along by wrapping the butt with foil and, maybe, cranking up the temperature, but you still won’t have any idea of how long it will be in the stall.

After all of these years, my wife still asks me “when will it be done?” Or, “what time should I tell everybody to come over?” My answer has always been the same; “it will be done when it is done.” I know this frustrates her, but it’s the truth. I have learned to start a cook much earlier than what the “books” say to, then all I have to worry about is keeping my finished meat at a safe temperature until it is time to eat. It seems to me that the longer the period between the time it is done and the time it is eaten, the better it is.

Bruce

Thanks, I was using a thawed pork shoulder. And you’re right, I need to stay away from the books and just let the meat be done when it is done. And, like you, my wife will continue to be frustrated