Ultra low and slow pork butt.

[Coreymacc]

I planned a pulled pork for this weekend on the pellet grill. I usually get up early and go 250f to 275f, to get it done in about 8 to 10 hrs. I came across a video a few days ago about ultra low temp pulled pork. 200 deg f. Decided to try it, I put the 9 lb boneless butt on last night around 10 pm, smoke level 9, went to bed. Well, this is working fantastic, woke up, pork was 154f internal. Im now 11 hrs in and its coming to stall. The theory is lower temps hold thr pork at collegen break down temps longer so it actually finishes at 190f not the normal 203 ish f. Plus lower temp on a pellet gains more smoke. I looked at the graph from last night and i was only at 140f for about an hour 45 min so plenty safe for this cook temp. Its 9:15am sitting at 161f. More to come.

Corey

 

[sandyut]

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but low and slow is just slow. Just my opinion. When I first started I thought low and slow was all there was. Then I was enlightened. Never going back.

 

[Coreymacc]

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but low and slow is just slow. Just my opinion. When I first started I thought low and slow was all there was. Then I was enlightened. Never going back.

I get that, this is just lower than i normally go, bit of an experiment, just felt it was worth sharing. My goal is more smoke flavor than normal on a pellet, while also using 2/3 less pellets throughout the whole cook. Take it or leave it

Corey

 

[sandyut]

Your not a jerk, this is just lower than i normally go, bit of an experiment, just felt it was worth sharing. My goal is more smoke flavor than normal on a pellet, which tends to be a problem over a live fire.

Corey

Sorry if I missed it. What kind of smoker? From reading, some make more smoke than others.

 

[mike243]

Speed ain’t everything, less chance of over shooting temps with a lower temp, I don’t have a 275 mine goes from 250-300. Still like 225 when I have time, run my 40” Masterbuilt wide open most of the time

 

[Coreymacc]

Speed ain’t everything, less chance of over shooting temps with a lower temp, I don’t have a 275 mine goes from 250-300. Still like 225 when I have time, run my 40” Masterbuilt wide open most of the time

I was going to use my kettle on this one but i am too busy working around the property, the pellet fit the bill and i have plenty of time, its just for the wife and I, no hard deadlines.

Corey

 

[bigfurmn]

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but low and slow is just slow. Just my opinion. When I first started I thought low and slow was all there was. Then I was enlightened. Never going back.

I think most of us are going hotter and faster but hey if you got the time to try something new why not? I'm curious to see how it turns out.

 

[thirdeye]

The theory is lower temps hold thr pork at collegen break down temps longer so it actually finishes at 190f not the normal 203 ish f.

There is a guy named Smoky Hale that published The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual about 25 years ago, and he subscribes to low and slow pit temps (180° to 225°F) for most barbecue meats. And for pork shoulder, he preferred using a 210°F pit temp. Smoky's finish temps were well below the 200°+ meat temps many of us shoot for today. One interesting consideration is that modern day pork is much leaner than the pork from the '70s and '80's.

When I was growing up none of the family pits had any kind of thermometer, so all of the fires were maintained by experience and using all of your senses. I've always suspected my Grandfather cooked in the 200° to 225° range, and in those days there was no injecting or wrapping... but he did keep meats well basted. Finish temperature was not measured either, rather he used an ice pick to monitor the tenderness.

My first pit with a actual thermometer was a Big Green Egg I bought around 2000 and at the same time I began using meat thermometers. I still use low pit temps when barbecuing pork butts or whole shoulders. I think I get better flavor, a softer texture (some muscle groups are almost sticky), and a moister product (although I do inject).
These butts took about 16 hours start to finish, then were rested for 3 or 4 hours. Notice the meat atop the blade on the butt in the foreground has pulled back an inch or so.

​

 

[jcam222]

I get that, this is just lower than i normally go, bit of an experiment, just felt it was worth sharing. My goal is more smoke flavor than normal on a pellet, while also using 2/3 less pellets throughout the whole cook. Take it or leave it

Corey

Worthy experiment ,especially for pellet smoking. I use charcoal and / or wood so I'm team 275F but I get the thought here

 

[Coreymacc]

There is a guy named Smoky Hale that published The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual about 25 years ago, and he subscribes to low and slow pit temps (180° to 225°F) for most barbecue meats. And for pork shoulder, he preferred using a 210°F pit temp. Smoky's finish temps were well below the 200°+ meat temps many of us shoot for today. One interesting consideration is that modern day pork is much leaner than the pork from the '70s and '80's.

When I was growing up none of the family pits had any kind of thermometer, so all of the fires were maintained by experience and using all of your senses. I've always suspected my Grandfather cooked in the 200° to 225° range, and in those days there was no injecting or wrapping... but he did keep meats well basted. Finish temperature was not measured either, rather he used an ice pick to monitor the tenderness.

My first pit with a actual thermometer was a Big Green Egg I bought around 2000 and at the same time I began using meat thermometers. I still use low pit temps when barbecuing pork butts or whole shoulders. I think I get better flavor, a softer texture (some muscle groups are almost sticky), and a moister product (although I do inject).
These butts took about 16 hours start to finish, then were rested for 3 or 4 hours. Notice the meat atop the blade on the butt in the foreground has pulled back an inch or so.

​

Those look amazing. That is one other thing i forgot to mention, i am going unwrapped as well. Im sitting a 170f at the 14hr mark.

Corey

 

[1MoreFord]

There is a guy named Smoky Hale that published The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual about 25 years ago, and he subscribes to low and slow pit temps (180° to 225°F) for most barbecue meats. And for pork shoulder, he preferred using a 210°F pit temp. Smoky's finish temps were well below the 200°+ meat temps many of us shoot for today. One interesting consideration is that modern day pork is much leaner than the pork from the '70s and '80's....................................................................

The Smoke and Spice book written by Cheryl and Bill Jamison promoted really low and slow too. Don't hear much mention of Smoky, or Smoke and Spice, these days either. Smoke and Spice has some good recipes as long as you tailor time an temps to your version of BBQ.
Smoky still has a presence on the web but it doesn't look like it's been updated in years.

Barbecue'n On The Internet - Home of Barbecue, Barbeque & BBQ! -

barbecuen.com, The Best Source of Barbecue Information on the Web, offers complete and accurate information on barbecuing, grilling and general outdoor cooking worldwide. From free newsletters to cookbook giveaways, Barbecue'n On The Internet is your complete source of outdoor cooking information.

barbecuen.com

 

[sandyut]

The Smoke and Spice book written by Cheryl and Bill Jamison promoted really low and slow too. Don't hear much mention of Smoky, or Smoke and Spice, these days either. Smoke and Spice has some good recipes as long as you tailor time an temps to your version of BBQ.
Smoky still has a presence on the web but it doesn't look like it's been updated in years.

Barbecue'n On The Internet - Home of Barbecue, Barbeque & BBQ! -

barbecuen.com, The Best Source of Barbecue Information on the Web, offers complete and accurate information on barbecuing, grilling and general outdoor cooking worldwide. From free newsletters to cookbook giveaways, Barbecue'n On The Internet is your complete source of outdoor cooking information.

barbecuen.com

When I was a full newbie, seems like every website, book, etc. said 225 like it was gospel. Then all my good friends here helped me see the light. So much happier now.

 

[chopsaw]

just felt it was worth sharing

100 % and I'm glad you did . I do a lot of smoking at 200 on the pellet grill . Like you say above it renders down slowly and gets plenty of smoke that way .
My go to lately , with pulled beef or pork , is smoke at 200 using the pellet grill . I'll let it run all day / several hours like that . Take the internal temp for reference , and pull it off and cool on the counter .
Next morning it goes into the crock pot on a rack with some liquid in the bottom .
Heat on low until it wants to shred . Fantastic and no stress about finishing .

When I was growing up none of the family pits had any kind of thermometer, so all of the fires were maintained by experience and using all of your senses.

Exactly right , and the one my Dad used didn't even have a lid . One of the open top / hood styles with rack adjustments in the hood .
I managed fire on Weber kettles by the amount of charcoal . Lower vent adjustment was done by holding your hand over the lid vent and seeing how long before you had to pull away .

 

[Coreymacc]

Well, 18 hrs pretty much on the dot. It didn't probe tender at 190f, well not all of it. Some parts were butter, i ended up taking it to 205 to get it completely tender for pulling. Its in the oven holding till supper. Taste test will obviously be the real test here.

Corey

 

[Coreymacc]

Well, the results are in. Here is a quick summation of what i discovered. Would i do this exactly the same way, no. The pork was getting dry from such a long cook. I would wrap at 170f to hold moisture for sure. Did the long cook give extra smoke flavor on the pellet grill, no, there was no perceptable difference from any hotter and faster cook I have done. Did i use less pellets, yes, surprisingly i did use probably ½ the pellets i normally do.

The only real benifits i can see is i didn't have to get up early to start the cook, I used less pellets. Heavy bark. Cons were the pork was getting dry toward the end. Wrapping would help.

Definitely not earth shattering but good pulled pork. 250f to 275f result with a wrap is just as good IMO.

Corey

 

[in. pred]

meat looks good n smoky! i hear a lot about pellets not giving as good smoke as wood. i have also had same experience. you ever try putting a tube of pellets in there with the meat? could get you the extra smoke you want?

i smoke my buts at 225-250 for about 4hrs. after that it depends on time effort i want to put in it. most time ill wrap it and toss in roaster to finish temp. the 4 hrs gives a great "smoke ring" and flavor. i smoke heavier than most do. i like to see smoke coming out not just a faint haze. i take wrapped pork to 200 then them let it set and cool. most times im doing the day before and just let it set in roaster over night. the roaster also gives you some juice to add to the pulled meat if needed.


i think the "standard 225" comes from temp fluctuations. its a good mid way temp for falls and peaks not to be too extreme. with live fire/coals you will have temp swings as you tend it. just part of the fun to me.

 

[Coreymacc]

meat looks good n smoky! i hear a lot about pellets not giving as good smoke as wood. i have also had same experience. you ever try putting a tube of pellets in there with the meat? could get you the extra smoke you want?

i smoke my buts at 225-250 for about 4hrs. after that it depends on time effort i want to put in it. most time ill wrap it and toss in roaster to finish temp. the 4 hrs gives a great "smoke ring" and flavor. i smoke heavier than most do. i like to see smoke coming out not just a faint haze. i take wrapped pork to 200 then them let it set and cool. most times im doing the day before and just let it set in roaster over night. the roaster also gives you some juice to add to the pulled meat if needed.


i think the "standard 225" comes from temp fluctuations. its a good mid way temp for falls and peaks not to be too extreme. with live fire/coals you will have temp swings as you tend it. just part of the fun to me.

I have tried lighting tubes of pellets as well, but for some reason they never stay lit. I there must be weird airflow in the grill or something, i figured they would stay lit easy, but they snuff out. Kettle or offset is the only way to really cook meat for smoke flavor.

Corey

 

[coltranem]

There is a guy named Smoky Hale that published The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual about 25 years ago, and he subscribes to low and slow pit temps (180° to 225°F) for most barbecue meats. And for pork shoulder, he preferred using a 210°F pit temp. Smoky's finish temps were well below the 200°+ meat temps many of us shoot for today.

I haven't seen that name in a while. I bought that book when I got my first cheap offset. One important thing to remember is that Smoky also advocates cooking directly over the coals so the hear transfer includes radiation directly from the hot coals. It took me quite a while to fully realize 205 on one pit isn't the same as 205 on a different pit.

I do still base a few of my sauce recipes off Smoky's book. I really like his Lexington Style carolina sauce.

 

[thirdeye]

Smoky still has a presence on the web but it doesn't look like it's been updated in years.

And there used to be a site with some archived articles but it's not around any more either. He was pretty witty on certain topics.

When I was a full newbie, seems like every website, book, etc. said 225 like it was gospel. Then all my good friends here helped me see the light. So much happier now.

225° for barbecue was just like 325° for baking. I always called 325° the Betty Crocker temperature .

My go to lately , with pulled beef or pork , is smoke at 200 using the pellet grill . I'll let it run all day / several hours like that . Take the internal temp for reference , and pull it off and cool on the counter . Next morning it goes into the crock pot on a rack with some liquid in the bottom .

I sometimes do the exact thing in a table top roaster.

I live at over 5300' elevation, and have grown up using pressure cookers and pressure canners... so those are options as well. Here are some pork neck bones I smoked for a few hours, then did a pressure finish on. I not only get pulled pork, but amazing broth.

Well, the results are in. Here is a quick summation of what i discovered. Would i do this exactly the same way, no. The pork was getting dry from such a long cook. I would wrap at 170f to hold moisture for sure. Did the long cook give extra smoke flavor on the pellet grill, no, there was no perceptable difference from any hotter and faster cook I have done.

Wrapping around 170° will help with moistness. But also experiment with injecting for moistness and flavor. I don't own a pellet cooker, but I've cooked on them for competitions and I was surprised at how light the smokey flavor really is.

I have tried lighting tubes of pellets as well, but for some reason they never stay lit.

Try warming up your pellets in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds at a time until they are warm to the touch.

One important thing to remember is that Smoky also advocates cooking directly over the coals so the hear transfer includes radiation directly from the hot coals

Correct! And the little flavor bombs of fat dripping into the coals always help. For me... drum smokers have the closest flavor to open pit barbecue. In fact, flavor-wise drum smokers are my favorite.

 

[chopsaw]

sometimes do the exact thing in a table top roaster.

The talk and post from you about using the pressure cooker or an instant pot to finish pastrami is what got me thinking . I haven't used the IP yet to finish PP or beef . Mostly because the day ahead , hold then crock pot are just easy with perfect results .