Pulled pork smoking temp

[whistlepig]

Really enjoy this forum. Been gone a while. Work and a small farm. Also my smoker was broken. I fixed the smoker and am now retired. I have been smoking my butts at 225 degrees for twelve hours. I read recently that I can smoke at 300 degrees for 6 hours (7-8 pounds). Will this work and turn out as well as the 225 degrees at 12 hours?

 

[Kvgsqtii]

Really enjoy this forum. Been gone a while. Work and a small farm. Also my smoker was broken. I fixed the smoker and am now retired. I have been smoking my butts at 225 degrees for twelve hours. I read recently that I can smoke at 300 degrees for 6 hours (7-8 pounds). Will this work and turn out as well as the 225 degrees at 12 hours?

I smoked a 9 pound butt on Wednesday. Kettle was running 280-310° the whole time. I pulled it off after about 6 hours when it hit the stall ~165°. Also kettle temps were starting to fall and the weather was getting nasty. Put it in a pan covered with foil and into a 350° oven till it hit 210° internal and probed tender. This was another hour or two. It was still too early for dinner so I just let it rest in the pan in the oven till dinner. It was the first time I've done it this way and the wife said it was the best I ever made.

I do typically run the smoker closer to 300° though, but really whatever temp between 225° and 325° it styles in at is where I leave it. Ymmv, but lots of folks on here like to run hot and fast.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I recommend 250-275 and smoke un wrapped for about 10 hours or wrap and finish in 7-8 hours, but never to time, always to probe tender which will be around 205 but the probe with a skewer tells the true story. Should go in and out like pushing into a jug of peanut butter.

 

[whistlepig]

I was thinking 6 hours seemed a bit too short. I have a 7 pounder in the fridge going int the smoker Monday. I do cook to temp. 205-210 degrees.

 

[DougE]

I typically run at 275° or so. You won't find any noticeable difference from one cooked at 225° other than it takes less time to get it done.

 

[thirdeye]

Butts are still something I smoke closer to 250° range at least for the first 6 hours. I think I get a better overall texture.

That said... many competition cooks are cooking in the 300° range, but they are very selective in the particular muscles that are turned into the judges.

 

[JLeonard]

I cook them anywhere from 225-300 degrees. Some days it just a matter of where the smoker wants to settle in at. When it hits the stall I let it run there about an hour to see if it’s gonna break on through. If not i wrap it and finish it out. rest when probe tender.

Jim

 

[mneeley490]

Whistlepig, a while back our webmaster/guru Jeff featured a fast-cook version of pork butt smoked at 300 degrees. I tried it and did not notice any appreciable difference in taste or texture. So now that's my go-to. Usually takes 6-8 hours to hit 205 IT.

 

[DougE]

Whistlepig, a while back our webmaster/guru Jeff featured a fast-cook version of pork butt smoked at 300 degrees. I tried it and did not notice any appreciable difference in taste or texture. So now that's my go-to. Usually takes 6-8 hours to hit 205 IT.

I mostly found out that hot and fast VS low and slow makes little difference on most things due to the cookers I've used over the years. It was always a fight to keep them at the old standard of 225°. I got tired of fighting them and let them run where they wanted, within reason ~300° or below with maybe some occasional swings above, and really found little difference in the end product.

My OKJ likes to settle in around 275~280° so I don't fight with it and let it run there, but even with the pellet grill, where I can easily keep temps down closer to 225°, I haven't really found much benefit in doing so.