Pork Butt @ 280

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Geebs

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Mar 9, 2018
746
237
Olathe, Kansas
Morning all,

After a few weeks of being sick and unable to smoke anything I decided to dust off the WSM and get her fired up. Since I bought my CC Woodwind I have let the WSM sit to the side.

Started with an 8# bone in pork butt. Rubbed her down the night before with mustard and Jeff’s rub, I use his rub for everything. I let it sit in the fridge over night and the. Injected it with a mixture of apple juice that I simmered with rub.

Got the WSM charcoal going at about 6am using the minion method and threw in some apple and hickory chunks. About 30 min later most of the white smoke had faded and it was time to throw on the butt. I place a tray of baked beans underneath the butt for the first few hours to catch those delicious drippings.

Here is where I changed up my normal butt. I usually cook at about 225-250 and generally hit a stall at about 160 that I then foil to help push through. Last week I was reading some posts and SmokinAl said he does his at 280 and it doesn’t stall and gets a great bark. So I thought I would give this method a try.

Conclusion to using SmokinAl’s advice: I will never smoke a butt any other way. The WSM held pretty constant between 270 and 280. She hit 160 and I was waiting for the stall and it never did! It just kept climbing and I never had to foil. I finally hit a stall at 199 and threw some more coals on and got it up to about 325 and an hour later we were at 208, my magical #. I pulled it off and let it rest 30 min. Deboned and shredded the meat.

I failed miserably as by the time it was done I was so hungry and forgot to take pics of the final product. It’s hard to do after smelling delicious bbq all day and having to wait 11 hours to finish.

Thanks Al for the great advice!

The only pic I got was the beginning.
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Nice job on the high heat butt. Boy is that one clean WSM. I smoke at 250 to 260 because I like to sit outside and spend time with my little buddy skidmark.

Chris
 
Well I'm real happy to hear there is another convert to hot & fast for butts!
I sure wish you would have taken some photo's, I bet that was some good looking PP!
I think I would have pulled the beans out after 3 or 4 hours & snacked on them & drank beer until the butt was done!
Al
 
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Hot and fast is the way to go however I still wrap in foil because it catches the juice that I just put right back into the meat when it’s pulled. If you get a good bark set before you wrap it’ll still be good when you unwrap it and get to eating it.
 
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Nice job on the high heat butt. Boy is that one clean WSM. I smoke at 250 to 260 because I like to sit outside and spend time with my little buddy skidmark.

Chris

I had to clean it the night before. After sitting out all winter when I opened the lid I saw the bottom was full of water and the entire inside was full of white mold. I hated to do it, but I powerwashed it and then ran 1/3 bag of charcoal through it to burn off anything else. Not sure how the water got in there since it sits under a cover.
 
Well I'm real happy to hear there is another convert to hot & fast for butts!
I sure wish you would have taken some photo's, I bet that was some good looking PP!
I think I would have pulled the beans out after 3 or 4 hours & snacked on them & drank beer until the butt was done!
Al

I usually only leave the beans in there for 2-3 hours. This time I left them on for 4 hours and there was too much smoke flavor for my liking. I wish I would have taken photos too. My wife said it was the best pulled pork ive made and my mom who was in town said its better then any BBQ she has had back home. I really enjoyed the nice thick bark. Im going to reheat some tonight and will take a pic.
 
Glad you were able to get it clean. Maybe the wind blew some rain or snow in the vents(if they were open) while it sat idle. Nice job

Chris
 
I did do a butt one time at like 225 for 16 hrs. Turned out really nice. Usually don’t like to stay up with them that long so I cook them during the day a bit hotter and faster to get them done.
 
Oh man...what a great looking plate and fantastic bark!! Same here, I am in the hot and fast camp and I no longer wrap as the bark is in big demand by the family!!
Nice job!!
 
Great job. Glad you at least got a before and after pic.
I'm in the low and slow camp. I've done it both ways with great results. BUT I'm like Chris--I really like just sitting outside by the MES with my old hound Roxy.
POINT
Gary

Ive got a little one that keeps me on my toes and not able to sit back and relax much anymore. Someday in the future that will be the case.
 
Geebs, enjoy the little ones while you can. They grow up quickly, and I miss those days.

Chris
 
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SmokinAl SmokinAl did you say that you trim any of the fat? The fat layer on mine didnt really melt like it normally does and the meat underneath seemed to pull away leaving a barked up fat cap. Regardless is mixed it in while I was shredding but I was curious if you do anything with yours?
 
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