smoking a 7.5 pound pork shoulder

[todd k]

I could use some help. Set my smoker for 235 degrees. Put the 7.5 pork shoulder in. Internal temp 39 degrees. Smoked it with apple wood for 3 hours. At the 7 hour mark the internal temp was at 155 degrees. At the 15 hour mark it reached 175 degrees. I wrapped it in paper. I put it back in the smoker. The internal temp dropped to 167 degrees. At 24 hours the internal temp was at 179 degrees. I turned up the smoker to 275 degrees. At 28 hours the internal temp was at 200 degrees. I took it off the smoker and placed it in a cooler to sit (still wrapped in paper). I checked the smoker temps and internal temps with multiple thermometers and everything checks out. IS THIS NORMAL!!!

 

[TNJAKE]

No 28hrs is definitely not normal for a 7.5lb butt.

 

[TNJAKE]

What kind of smoker and what kind of probes?

 

[Three B's]

I had a similar issue the very first time I smoked a pork butt years ago and thought it was just a rookie mistake as it never happened again. That was until last month when it started to happen again and the temp just wasn't going up even though I was way over the expected time even given some error. I realized once I started pulling the pork apart and it was all fat. For a similar size pork butt to yours it yielded barley enough meat for 20 Torpedoes (stuffed jalepeno halves, wrapped in bacon and then smoked for an hour).

What was it like when you pulled it apart? My guess is my two similar instances have to do with the probe being stuck in an incredibly big piece of fat and giving a false reading to the meat temp.

 

[todd k]

Two digital probes in multiple parts of the butt. Always within a degree or two of each other. I bought the shoulder at Costco. The smoker I have is an electric masterbuilt. Served me well for 2 years now.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The IT can drop from removing the meat and the time it takes to wrap it. Can we assume your Butcher Paper is unlined? Was it wrapped tightly? Paper and Air gaps are good Insulators...JJ

 

[todd k]

unlined paper and I wrapped it as tight as I could.

 

[todd k]

Two digital probes in multiple parts of the butt. Always within a degree or two of each other. I bought the shoulder at Costco. The smoker I have is an electric masterbuilt. Served me well for 2 years now.

 

[todd k]

I have it still wrapped and sitting in cooler right now. At 11am PST I am taking it out and going to attempt to pull it apart. Not sure I am going to eat this "science experiment" or not.

 

[chef jimmyj]

There is nothing wrong with it. You reached Safe Temps. Sometimes you get a Stubborn Butt...JJ

 

[todd k]

I have it still wrapped and sitting in cooler right now. At 11am PST I am taking it out and going to attempt to pull it apart. Not sure I am going to eat this "science experiment" or not.

Unwrapped it and behold, it looked good. Shredded it. Tasted excellent. Could be a little moister. Going to wrap it in paper sooner next time. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[schlotz]

No mention of what was providing the smoker temp setting. I'm assuming its the built-in. Those are notorious for being inaccurate. If this is the case then my bet is, it's way off and a good reason to always have a calibrated reporting thermometer to measure true grate temps.

 

[todd k]

No mention of what was providing the smoker temp setting. I'm assuming its the built-in. Those are notorious for being inaccurate. If this is the case then my bet is, it's way off and a good reason to always have a calibrated reporting thermometer to measure true grate temps.

I have two ways to measure internal and smoker temps. The IT were within a degree or two of each other. The smoker temp gauge and the one I put on the grate were within 4 degrees of each other.