Pork Butt. Room temp or from Fridge to Smoker? And is it more about internal temp than time?

[J_L_Smoker]

Hello everyone, I joined several days ago and have received great advice. I have a bradley smoker (https://www.bradleysmoker.com/products/4-rack-bradley-digital-smoker). I was looking at a recipe that they posted on the website about smoking pork butt (https://www.bradleysmoker.com/blogs/recipes-pork/best-smoked-pulled-pork-recipe). Looks legit and I plan to follow it down to the "T". I have questions. Do you all let the meat get to room temp before placing it in smoker? The recipe says smoke it at 250 for 4 hours, then increase to 280. Then is says, 2 hours per lb. Do the first (4) hours count towards this? Example, 8lb butt (4+2x8)= 20 hours, or would it just be 16? Or do the hours on the back end do not matter (as I've read) and it is more or less about the temperature achieved? I will be getting my new wifi probe thermometer in today so that will be a game changer. Any advice or comments is education to me. Thank you all.

 

[smokerjim]

Welcome to smf, I personally wouldn't set a whole butt out to get to room temp that might take 1/2 a day. Are you looking for pulled pork or sliced pork that would make a difference in time. Pulled pork you should go by probe tender(usually around 205 internal temp)not so much by temp. I would say the first four hours would be included in your cooking time. Butts are funny some will cook faster then others .so it's hard to give exact cooking times.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Hi, and welcome from Iowa!
Don't try to get your pork butt to room temp before smoking... it would take too long. Start your smoker up, set to 275 degrees, your pork butt won't care... you can smoke at lower temps but just gonna take longer. Season it up, unless you do it the day before and throw it on. It's done when it probes tender. Can't go by time or temp because it will vary. You could smoke two butts of same size at the same time and not guarantee they will both finish at the same time. Wrapping to get through the stall will speed it up a little but your bark might suffer.

Ryan

 

[J_L_Smoker]

Welcome to smf, I personally wouldn't set a whole butt out to get to room temp that might take 1/2 a day. Are you looking for pulled pork or sliced pork that would make a difference in time. Pulled pork you should go by probe tender(usually around 205 internal temp)not so much by temp. I would say the first four hours would be included in your cooking time. Butts are funny some will cook faster then others .so it's hard to give exact cooking times.

I plan on seasoning it the day prior with a mustard layer then the goods. Wrapping it up and placing it in the fridge for 16-24hrs. Good to know, I will just place it from the fridge to the smoker. Trying to achieve tender pulled pork. Probe tender? I'm assume that is the effortless probing of the meat without resistance?

 

[normanaj]

I personally go straight from the fridge to smoker.It is much more important to go by internal temp (IT) then by time,but the key is that it needs to be probe tender and the IT can be different for each individual butt.With butts I generally will smoke at a temp of 265-270 for the duration until done,i.e. probe tender.If time is of the essence you can wrap at the stall (around 160-170 IT,varies by cut) to move it along.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I plan on seasoning it the day prior with a mustard layer then the goods. Wrapping it up and placing it in the fridge for 16-24hrs. Good to know, I will just place it from the fridge to the smoker. Trying to achieve tender pulled pork. Probe tender? I'm assume that is the effortless probing of the meat without resistance?

Should feel like you're sticking probe in to warm/room temperature butter.

 

[JLeonard]

All good advice above. When I first started on this journey I worked myself to death trying to get that "magical 225 degrees". Faught the smoker (MB gasser with a few mods) for hours. Finally I realized that butts and the like didnt care. SO now as long as im running anywhere from 225 -300 degrees I'm happy. And the smoker will settle where it wants. A lot depends on environmental things also. Ambiant temps, humidity, wind all affects the cooker. With butts once the IT hits around 190 degrees I will probe it (I use a wood skewer) and see how much resistance it has. If its like sticking the skewer into peanut butter its done. And check it over the whole butt. There always seems to be a pocket that takes longer to finish. If its not like that, I let it go another 5-10 degrees and recheck. And when you place your probes for monitoring....Try to get as close to the center of the butt away from the bone. The bone will throw you off as it collects and radiates heat differently than the tissue. The only thing that I cook to time is ribs and thats only if I'm running the 3-2-1 or like.
Any further questions man dont hesitate to ask...We were all noobs on this journey at one time.

Jim

 

[J_L_Smoker]

All good advice above. When I first started on this journey I worked myself to death trying to get that "magical 225 degrees". Faught the smoker (MB gasser with a few mods) for hours. Finally I realized that butts and the like didnt care. SO now as long as im running anywhere from 225 -300 degrees I'm happy. And the smoker will settle where it wants. A lot depends on environmental things also. Ambiant temps, humidity, wind all affects the cooker. With butts once the IT hits around 190 degrees I will probe it (I use a wood skewer) and see how much resistance it has. If its like sticking the skewer into peanut butter its done. And check it over the whole butt. There always seems to be a pocket that takes longer to finish. If its not like that, I let it go another 5-10 degrees and recheck. And when you place your probes for monitoring....Try to get as close to the center of the butt away from the bone. The bone will throw you off as it collects and radiates heat differently than the tissue. The only thing that I cook to time is ribs and thats only if I'm running the 3-2-1 or like.
Any further questions man dont hesitate to ask...We were all noobs on this journey at one time.

Jim

I plan to have a temp probe in the thickest part of the meat (no bone contact) from the beginning. I figured that was why I got the latest and greatest probes for meat temp. I also have a secondary probe. Should I use both to have consistency or one is just fine?

 

[JLeonard]

I usually just run one in the meat. Centered as you said is good. Its mainly as a guideline for where your at in the cook for a butt.

Jim

 

[smokerjim]

I plan on seasoning it the day prior with a mustard layer then the goods. Wrapping it up and placing it in the fridge for 16-24hrs. Good to know, I will just place it from the fridge to the smoker. Trying to achieve tender pulled pork. Probe tender? I'm assume that is the effortless probing of the meat without resistance?

Yep as the others said it should slide through like going through peanutbutter. It may take some patience but that's a big part of smoking meats "patience " . Also you can always smoke these a day or 3 ahead of time, shred, then just reheat the day of. Great way to do if your planning on eating at specific time then your not stressing about time.

 

[sandyut]

Same as others, I prep, rub, sweet probe etc. the night before. Wake up, fire up the smoker to 275, then pull the butt from the refer and toss it straight on And go.

 

[02ebz06]

My process:
Straight from fridge to smoker. One probe with tip in center.
Smoke at lowest temp for 60-90 minutes so smoker creates more smoke.
Move to 275 for remaining time (IT in the 195-205 range). Test for doneness...
Time is in the 11-13 hour range.

 

[schlotz]

No worries, pork butt is one of the most forgiving meats to smoke. They can be smoked at almost any temp. If this is your first time don't sweat it. Put what ever rub you'd like on it. Start smoking it on the lower setting ie 180-225º for a couple of hours then bump it up to 250 or higher until it gets done. Every butt can be different when it comes to getting done & tender. As you've read, probe to find out. Only as a guideline they should be close with an IT around 200-205º. Key then is to pull and let it rest in a cooler with towels for 1-2 hours, 2 is better. Take peak at the recipe in my sig below. BTW you know it's done when you can pull the internal bone out and it's clean.

 

[J_L_Smoker]

Sounds like I have a good game plan in place. I will respond with details on the first Pork Butt smoke. Appreciate all the advice, tips, and information from everyone.

 

[Brokenhandle]

No worries, pork butt is one of the most forgiving meats to smoke. They can be smoked at almost any temp. If this is your first time don't sweat it. Put what ever rub you'd like on it. Start smoking it on the lower setting ie 180-225º for a couple of hours then bump it up to 250 or higher until it gets done. Every butt can be different when it comes to getting done & tender. As you've read, probe to find out. Only as a guideline they should be close with an IT around 200-205º. Key then is to pull and let it rest in a cooler with towels for 1-2 hours, 2 is better. Take peak at the recipe in my sig below. BTW you know it's done when you can pull the internal bone out and it's clean.

He made a great comment... don't forget the rest period... very important step with these and brisket, among other things!

Ryan

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Welcome. I usually get mine in early in the morning. I’ll pull it out if the fridge, get my rub together, apply rub, then I’ll set up the grill and light some charcoal in the chimney. Once it’s going I’ll dump it in and let it get up to temp and start burning some clean smoke. After that I put it on. Probably an hour between when I pull it out of the fridge to the time it’s in the smoker. Pulling around 203* when it’s probe tender, pull it wrap it in towels (around the aluminum foil) and let it sit in a cooler for about two hours. I usually wrap my hutts when they hit the stall, just makes it easier when it’s done since it’s already wrapped in foil.

 

[BigW.]

All great advice. I'll add that with the Bradley keep the top vent open. You'll get some good smoke from the pucks. You can probably stop the pucks after 4-6 hrs or so. I used hickory or apple usually. Cook straight from the fridge around 275 or so. Do a search for a vinegar based "finishing sauce" on this site and you'll be golden.

 

[J_L_Smoker]

All great advice. I'll add that with the Bradley keep the top vent open. You'll get some good smoke from the pucks. You can probably stop the pucks after 4-6 hrs or so. I used hickory or apple usually. Cook straight from the fridge around 275 or so. Do a search for a vinegar based "finishing sauce" on this site and you'll be golden.

Nice. My goal was to place it in the smoker at 225 for 4-5 hours, beginning at 2200-2300hrs. Wake up, exchange the water (I heard getting a larger water pan helps). Increase the heat to 275-280 for the remainder of the time, or until temp is 200-205, and probing is effortless. Wrap it up in foil, place in a cooler and let it rest for 1.5-2 hours. Wanting to be done by 1500 the following day.

 

[BigW.]

Be sure to let it sit for a good 15-30 minutes before wrapping in foil for the rest. Temp will continue to rise if wrapped right away.

 

[J_L_Smoker]

Be sure to let it sit for a good 15-30 minutes before wrapping in foil for the rest. Temp will continue to rise if wrapped right away.

Thank you, did not even think of that. I've seen people wrap the meat just before increasing the temp in the smoker. Is that recommended? Or just keep it un-foiled until removed from the smoker completely.