Pulled pork advice

[whistlepig]

I have a 9.5 butt rubbed and ready to go in the smoker in the wee hours of the morning. This will be my first time critical butt. I have done two previously but with no time deadline. I know I can towel and cooler for a few hours. I'm thinking of foiling @160 and after 8 hours and an additional 4 hours wrapped to reach 205. Advice appreciated.

 

[flatbroke]

What temp are you cooking?

 

[whistlepig]

225

 

[SmokinEdge]

225

Why?

 

[whistlepig]

Why?

Why not?

 

[SmokinEdge]

250-275 much better.
Where exactly did you land on 225?

 

[jcam222]

You can certainly cook at 225. That said pork butt is very fatty snd forgiving. You can easily run at 275F and shave many hours off the cook with no downside.

 

[whistlepig]

And at 275 the cooking time would be?

 

[jcam222]

And at 275 the cooking time would be?

Guessing around 7 hours of you are wrapping at the stall. 8 max.

 

[OldSmoke]

SmokinEdge and jcam222 - thanks, I’m smoking a small butt today and will use your suggestion.

 

[schlotz]

Butts can be smoked lots of ways and all of them turn out good eats. Personally I run around 250-270º. If you are time crunched after 5-6 hours in the smoke at that temp, wrap it tight in alum foil then either crank the heat up to 300º or place in an oven @300º for approx 2-3 hours. Just monitor the IT. Somewhere around 200-205º it should be tender and the bone will pull out clean. If interested see recipe in the sig below.

 

[whistlepig]

I very much appreciate the advice given here! I already had my alarm set to get up early to put the butt on and did a 225 degree smoke today. It's not done yet.

And SmokinEdge I'm not sure how I landed on 225. I will certainly try the higher temps next time. Will probably make a lot more pulled pork in the future because of the shorter cooking time.

 

[wtipton]

225 is perfect for brisket, which perhaps were your getting the number from. Like stated above pulled pork is more forgiving, for me personally I strive for 250.

 

[whistlepig]

It took 12 hours at 225. I just toweled and put in a cooler. Definitely try 250/275 next time.

 

[JLeonard]

Doing butts I let my cooker settle in where it wants as long as its between 225 and 300 degrees. This temp can be influenced by environmental factors. As long as I'm getting clean smoke I let it roll. Havent had one come out bad yet.

Jim