Pork Shoulder Smoking Time?

[Meatophyte]

So, I did a couple of pork shoulders, about 3.5 lbs each in my Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 (propane burner).

I think they came out pretty well, but the time seemed excessive based on what I've read, and I wanted to get some feedback.

I used temp probes in the center of each of the 2 shoulders, and another temp probe hanging free in the chamber at the same height as the meat, so I could monitor both meat and smoker temps. Shoulders were arranged side-by-side on the shelf in the center of the smoker, and in the center of the shelf. Smoker was maintained at 225F to 235F throughout.

I had the wood tray directly over the burner, and a water pan above that. The water pan got refilled roughly every 3 hours. Temps were monitored on an hourly basis. Wood was added at the beginning of the smoke, but only once, as the wood ran out just about the time the meat hit 140F.

Took about 6 hours to get to 140F, but took almost 18 hours for one shoulder, and about 25 hours for the other shoulder to hit 195F. The shoulder that got done first had just a small piece of the humerus, while the shoulder that got done later had a fair-sized chunk of the scapula. Dunno if that makes a difference.

Is this normal? I have to assume it is since the meat came out fine, but it just seems like it took an awfully long time.

 

[Jonok]

Every time I change the cook temp for pork butts to something other than 250F, I wish I hadn’t.

 

[metsfan2152]

Yea that seems very long for 3.5lbs. Every meat does take its own time but that seems like temps were not accurate somewhere. What you can try doing on the next cook bump the temp to 250-280. I cook all my shoulders at this temp. I used to cook it at 225 but after cooking it higher i would never go back. I don't notice any food quality change.
I do usually 8-10 pork shoulders. I do usualy foil mine but usually takes about 10 hours.

 

[JC in GB]

Did you wrap the butts when they reached 160?

 

[Meatophyte]

Did you wrap the butts when they reached 160?

No, fully nekkid until done.

 

[Meatophyte]

Yea that seems very long for 3.5lbs. Every meat does take its own time but that seems like temps were not accurate somewhere. What you can try doing on the next cook bump the temp to 250-280. I cook all my shoulders at this temp. I used to cook it at 225 but after cooking it higher i would never go back. I don't notice any food quality change.
I do usually 8-10 pork shoulders. I do usualy foil mine but usually takes about 10 hours.

I was wondering about bumping to 250 next time I did them.

 

[Jonok]

At 250 in my MES, smoking 2 8-10# butts, side by side, and fat cap down, on the top rack, this method always works great:
I put them into a preheated smoker, rubbed and still at refrigerator temp. I don’t put any water in the drip pan, and I close the door and walk away. I don’t wrap.
Ill check to see if the bone is loose at somewhere around 11-12 hrs, but it always is.
When I’ve tracked it with a wireless thermometer, the meat may exhibit a stall. but it always comes through it. Once it hits 190-200, it stops increasing anywhere near as fast, so a couple hrs here or there doesn’t seem to make much difference.
If I was making it for a competition, it would be “overcooked”, because it is very tender, and very moist, (pulling it basically involves squeezing it through your gloved hands), but as crowd pleaser, it always goes over big.

 

[Nole4L]

I don't run a pellet smoker 18 and 24 hours for 3.5 pound pork sounds WAY to long to me. I would check your thermometer. The meat would turn out okay but I think your temps are super low.

 

[normanaj]

No, fully nekkid until done.

Do all my shoulders "nekkid" in my MES.

Just did a boneless 4lber this past Sat/Sun...took just shy of 14 hours.Came out insane.I've found this how's its been for all the ones I do,its done when the thermometer says its done.

 

[Inscrutable]

Usually good within 10-12 hrs with much larger butts. (At 240-260)
I’d also suspect the temp reading.

 

[Inscrutable]

And wrapping and using oven at 275-300 for a couple hours has worked well and shortened for me.

 

[noboundaries]

I passed this by earlier today because no 3.5 lb pork shoulder should take 18-25 hours. Sump'n ain't right. I know there were two 3.5 lb'ers, but I finish two 10 lb pork shoulders in 15-20 hours at 225F overnight (12-14 hours), then a bump to 275F or higher to finish, no wrapping, or wrapping in butcher paper (doesn't seem to make much difference in time). Heat is heat, so the smoker doesn't matter. The conditions IN the smoker do make a difference. So lets see what we can figure out.

The first thing that pops into my head is the water pan refill every three hours. That's a lot of BTUs being used to boil and evaporate tasteless water. I couldn't find the volume of the water pan, but watched a few videos and it looks like it might hold about a gallon of water. Just for grins and giggles, and to save yourself some time, do a dry smoke next time, no water. Water acts as a heat sink, sucking up heat energy that could be used to cook the meat. Water cannot be heated above 212F under standard atmospheric conditions. Water changes state at that point from a liquid to steam until it's gone, but won't get any hotter. You may find you like dry smoking better, but you'll only know if you try. Smoker water DOES NOTHING to keep the meat moist, contrary to popular opinion of some of the most notable competitors and sales pitches. It will work if you happen to drop the roast in the water pan, braising the meat.

The biggest issue was mentioned above in an earlier post. You most likely were smoking the meat at a MUCH lower temp than indicated. It's all part of the learning process, but those 3.5 lb'ers should have been done in about 6 hours.

 

[Meatophyte]

Water cannot be heated above 212F under standard atmospheric conditions. Water changes state at that point from a liquid to steam until it's gone, but won't get any hotter.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

You are correct that water won't get above 212F at 1 bar (actually something like 210 at my altitude), but the steam will. That being said, yes, there's a lot of BTUs (roughly 1200/hour/gallon) going into making the steam and those BTUs aren't doing anything directly to help me cook, so the point you are driving at is completely valid. I'm not using the water for anything other than thermal mass in the smoker, to make it easier to regulate temp, as I've found it is bloody hard to keep this smoker at a stable temp otherwise. That may be an indication in and of itself that I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.

The biggest issue was mentioned above in an earlier post. You most likely were smoking the meat at a MUCH lower temp than indicated. It's all part of the learning process, but those 3.5 lb'ers should have been done in about 6 hours.

That thought had crossed my mind, and has now crossed it several more times.

I haven't actually calibrated this thermometer or the probes, and it's just a cheap Walmart thermometer with a removable probe. I thought about calibrating it when I bought it but then I thought "It's a digital thermometer, it's going to be accurate to +/- 5 degrees, right?". Maybe that was a naive assumption on my part?

What's the recommended calibration method? Ice water and boiling water?

Also, I've read mention of using something like food grade silicone or something similar to seal the door? Not really sure how I would go about applying that?

Finally, I've read about people using thermal blankets to insulate the smoker? Any thoughts on that? (I've seen the temp on my smoker drop 50 degrees in a matter of 30 seconds when the wind kicks up).

 

[metsfan2152]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

You are correct that water won't get above 212F at 1 bar (actually something like 210 at my altitude), but the steam will. That being said, yes, there's a lot of BTUs (roughly 1200/hour/gallon) going into making the steam and those BTUs aren't doing anything directly to help me cook, so the point you are driving at is completely valid. I'm not using the water for anything other than thermal mass in the smoker, to make it easier to regulate temp, as I've found it is bloody hard to keep this smoker at a stable temp otherwise. That may be an indication in and of itself that I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.



That thought had crossed my mind, and has now crossed it several more times.

I haven't actually calibrated this thermometer or the probes, and it's just a cheap Walmart thermometer with a removable probe. I thought about calibrating it when I bought it but then I thought "It's a digital thermometer, it's going to be accurate to +/- 5 degrees, right?". Maybe that was a naive assumption on my part?

What's the recommended calibration method? Ice water and boiling water?

Also, I've read mention of using something like food grade silicone or something similar to seal the door? Not really sure how I would go about applying that?

Finally, I've read about people using thermal blankets to insulate the smoker? Any thoughts on that? (I've seen the temp on my smoker drop 50 degrees in a matter of 30 seconds when the wind kicks up).

For calibration i always use ice water. Wind plays a big factor in propane smokers. At least when i had my masterbuilt one. I ended up building a sorta wooden frame around the bottom of the smokers cause my smoker kept going out. Not sure about the smoke vault but i use lava rocks to keep the heat regulated better when you do open the door. This will help keep the heat inside and get back to temp much quicker.
Def check the thermometer though sounds like it must be off or something. Cause that should not take that long.

 

[Meatophyte]

Not sure about the smoke vault but i use lava rocks to keep the heat regulated better when you do open the door. This will help keep the heat inside and get back to temp much quicker.

Lava rocks.....hmm.....hadn't thought of that. I'll give that a whirl. In the bottom, I assume? (around the burner)

Def check the thermometer though sounds like it must be off or something. Cause that should not take that long.

I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks again!

 

[metsfan2152]

Lava rocks.....hmm.....hadn't thought of that. I'll give that a whirl. In the bottom, I assume? (around the burner)


I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks again!

Yes, I am assuming you have a wood chip bowl or pan of some sort. I put a layer of lava rocks then put the wood chunks on top of them. Lava rocks bring the temperature back up much after after the door is opened and closed again. It will help with fluctuations.

 

[Meatophyte]

Def check the thermometer though sounds like it must be off or something. Cause that should not take that long.

All 4 probes read the same thing:
33F/1C in an ice bath
210F/99C in boiling water

The thermometer is a 1487 Taylor Pro Programmable I bought from Walmart for $15. It only has one probe input, so I cycle between the probes.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Nole4L]

You mention a Taylor Pro Thermometer. Are you using it to measure the temp of the meat or the temp of the cook chamber? My suspicion is that the something is wrong with the temps you're showing in the cook chamber itself or that the pellet smoker is telling you it's cooking at a temperature that it's really not cooking at (I don't have any experience with pellet smokers so I'm not 100% how that works). On my cooker I have a temp probes in the meat and temp probes at grate level in the cook chamber. If you're only calibrating the thermometer in the meat try checking the temp in the chamber itself.

 

[Meatophyte]

You mention a Taylor Pro Thermometer. Are you using it to measure the temp of the meat or the temp of the cook chamber? My suspicion is that the something is wrong with the temps you're showing in the cook chamber itself or that the pellet smoker is telling you it's cooking at a temperature that it's really not cooking at (I don't have any experience with pellet smokers so I'm not 100% how that works). On my cooker I have a temp probes in the meat and temp probes at grate level in the cook chamber. If you're only calibrating the thermometer in the meat try checking the temp in the chamber itself.

It's not a pellet smoker, it's essentially a propane oven with a tray for wood chips or chunks directly over the burner.

I use one probe to measure the temperature of the chamber at the point where the meat is located (as mentioned above, pork shoulders arranged on the center of the shelf, with the temp probe hanging free in between them). I use another probe for each of the pork shoulders. I then manually switch between the probes, taking readings from them as necessary, making sure that the reading is stable.

 

[Meatophyte]

If I was making it for a competition, it would be “overcooked”, because it is very tender, and very moist, (pulling it basically involves squeezing it through your gloved hands), but as crowd pleaser, it always goes over big.

You've got me curious on this: tender and moist is "overcooked"? To me, that's properly cooked meat; "overcooked" when the meat is dry and tough.

I tend to prefer my beef steaks on the rare end of the spectrum, but a properly cooked well-done steak is still perfectly edible. The problem with well-done steaks is that most people (at least in this area) seem to think that "well done" means "cook it 'till it glows".