Smoking Pork This Weekend

OK, I am going to attempt to smoke my first Pork Butts for pulled pork, this weekend, on my Weber Smokey Mountain...

Went to Peoria Packing yasterday to pick up 2-7.5 lb. Pork Butts, which are niclely trimmed. Then went to Berger Brothers to pick up some Lump Charcoal and then on to Chicago Firewood for some Applewood Chunks. Gonna smoke them with 2/3 Applewood and 1/3 Hickory

I have a question on how long these are going to take to cook. I plan on putting some rub on them and cooking them in the 225-250 range until they reach 190 degrees.. I have heard everything fro 8-16 hours. We plan on pulling them out of the smoker about 4PM on Sunday afternoon, just in time for the end of the 500.


I have looked on G Wiv's site, and the virtualweberbullet.com and am at a loss. If anyone can help it would be appreciated.

BBQ is more art than science. It is hard to predict exactly how long the butts will take to cook. As they say in the BBQ world "It's done when it's done." I think the range you posted, 8 - 16 hours, is a little wide though. I've never had one take more than 10 - 12 hours, but usually they come in towards the lower end of your scale. I'd error on the side of allowing for a longer cook time. That way if they are done sooner, you can hold them in a cooler till you need them. Those bad boys stay hot for a long time. Good luck with your cook. Don't forget to post and tell us how things went.

Sounds like you've got a great plan
Every butt is different. They are done when they are done, probably not at the same time. I use the bone as a guide and when it feels loose we're done. If they're done early wrap it in foil ,and put it in a cooler that has been filled with hot water for 5 min and dumped. Put towels over it and it'll keep for 2-3 hours no problem. Enjoy!!

I use a WSM and pretty much all my butts seem to come off near the 18-19 hour mark. This is with a lid temp of around 250-260.
Best advice is to start early enough so you are not rushe. It is easy enough to hold them for a few hours in foil in a cooler, but pretty tough to make them cook faster.
Be patient and resist the urge to open the cooker too much, as that only adds time to the cook. Also, I have found that flipping the butts halfway through the cook like I used to isn't necessary. I put them on and don't touch them till they are done now.
Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:I use a WSM and pretty much all my butts seem to come off near the 18-19 hour mark.

????????

The last couple of butts that I smoked took about 16-18 hours. I usually put the butts in the night before around 11 and pull them in the afternoon the next day. I foil 'em & stash in a cooler til I'm ready to pull. The timing usually works out so they're ready for an early evening dinner.

The butts I use are the ones from Costco, so they are pretty big. I've used smaller ones from Jewel or Dominicks & they are usually done in the 8-10 hr range.

One more thing...when I do an overnight cook, the temp usually drops a bit under 200 during the early morning hours. I usually open up the vents or even fire up some more coals first thing in the morningn to get the temp back up a bit. That may account for an extra couple of hours of smoking time.

viachgo wrote:

The butts I use are the ones from Costco, so they are pretty big. I've used smaller ones from Jewel or Dominicks & they are usually done in the 8-10 hr range.

My Costco only has boneless butts. I have to go to Sams Club and ask the butcher, who usually has cryovac two packs weighing about 15lbs. They are
$1.20/lb which isn't bad.

I assume you're cooking both at the same time? That usually makes a couple hours difference. The times that people will give you will vary widely due to different smokers, thermometer placement, wind conditions, etc....

I would plan on 11-15 hours at 225-250 or 8-11 at 250-275. You can do it faster at 300 or so, but then you're indirect grilling and it's not going to turn out as well (although it will be pretty good). I've done large briskets for 18 hours at 210 or so many times, doing it overnight is more convenient than trying to rush it, and I get better results that way.

Check around here for some more info.

Stevez:
WSM = Weber Smokey Mountain (R2D2 smoker). Was simply stating mine usually take about 18 hours to cook.

Last butt cook I did was 4 Costco boneless butts (2 cryovac packs, about 30lb total weight). I simply trussed them up with some butchers string and they turned out great. Really could not tell a difference between those and bone-in with the finished product. Just an FYI for next time.

In the morning of an overnighter I generally get temps up just by stirring the coals a little. This knocks ash off and improves airflow. At some point I also toss some unlit briquettes in if I think I am running low on fuel.
Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:Stevez:
WSM = Weber Smokey Mountain (R2D2 smoker). Was simply stating mine usually take about 18 hours to cook.

The ??? was because I don't usually run such long cook times in my WSM, but anything is possible. I normally get my butts at Peoria Packing or Chicago Meat and I've never done a load with Costco meat so I guess I can't directly compare. It just seems a little long to me. Maybe you are running your smoker cooler than you think.

I never really thought 18 hours for a butt (usually they are about 8lbs each) was that far off the norm (I usually cook 2-4 at a time, and have cooked butts from Jewel/Dominick's/Peoria/Costco/etc). I use a fry thermometer that came with a clip to attach to the side or a turkey fryer that I clip to top vent and it goes down into top of the lid (total probe length is about 6" I'd say). I calibrated it when I first got it and it seemed to be on target though who knows where it is at now. I really only use it to tell me if my temps are way low or way high; basically a warning device that something is wrong. I always figured there was a differential between my dome and grate temps so I am probably cooking at 220-225 when my therm reads 250. Never really bothered too much with tetsing though as it is far from an exact science and the meat is done when it is done.
Time differential could also be based on what internal temps you pull at. I pull at 195-200 internal and at that point they fall apart if you blow on them hard enough.
My last cook was 2 11lb packer briskets that came off after 18 hours. They were tender and juicy as can be.
Jamie

HI,

I have only made a dozen pork butts in the last two years. The cooking time in my experience has been 8-12 hours range. The longer cook was on a cold day where I began with a water pan, then switched halfway to sand in the pan.

While 195 degrees is the target temperature for the butts, reaching temperature is not the reason to conclude it is cooked. They need to stay at 195 degrees for an extended time to soften the connective tissues. Gary has described the butts as having slumped on itself. While I finally understand that visual cue, I can also tell by feeling the butt for a squishy, spongy feel.

I have never held the butts after cooking. I go straight to pulling because it can be held that way or reheated later. Last year I saw Bruce heat up a cooler with hot water, drain it and keep food warm in there for some hours. I tried it myself when I brought freshly smoked hot links to a Katrina dinner last fall. They had a fresh off the smoker heat to them, though they had been holding for several hours in a preheated cooler. A really great food service trick-of-the-trade I will use forever into the future.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

I have only made a dozen pork butts in the last two years. The cooking time in my experience has been 8-12 hours range.

That's been closer to my experience as well.

Jamieson22 wrote:I use a fry thermometer that came with a clip to attach to the side or a turkey fryer that I clip to top vent and it goes down into top of the lid (total probe length is about 6" I'd say).

Jamieson,

First let me preface my post with ~if it ain't broke, don't fix it~. That said my method of pork butt smoking differs from yours in a number of ways. First and foremost, a "fry thermometer" is not designed to read air temp and, in addition, the temperature will read considerably higher at the top of the WSM. It is also not a good idea to block one of the top vents, this impedes air flow and can promote smoldering. I'd guess your top vent temp readings are 25° degrees high, if not more.

I vastly prefer bone-in pork butt for a couple of reasons, one of which is the bone radiates heat into the meat helping it cook both faster and more evenly. Think nail in the baked potato trick.

Pork butt, for me, take in the 8-12 hour range, skewed more toward 8-9 hours. I'm, from what I can tell from your posts, cooking at a higher temp on my WSM which, coupled with bone-in butts, leads to faster cooking times.

I'd also suggest trying natural lump charcoal as opposed to Kingsford briquettes, they burn cleaner and the taste of your pork butt will benefit.

Enjoy,
Gary
Wiviott WSM 5-Step

Well, I don't think the therm in the top vent is restricting airflow at all. It is clipped to the tab on the vent so the face sits above the tab and just the probe goes into the vent hole. It would be akin to saying putting your arm out of a car window is stopping the air from getting in. It might just a little but probably not enough to matter.

Didn't really realize that my therm would not register air temps well. It certainly reacts quickly when I add or remove it from the smoker. I figured since I clip it in and leave it the whole cook it would be fine. I am not using it as an instant read or anything, just as a rough estimate of cooker temps. So if that is the case, what is a good one to try? I guess I could toss an oven thermometer on the rack just to do a comparison between that and my current therm. I just don't want to drill into my smoker, and want an external reading so that wouldn't be a long term solution.

And I do agree that the bone helps the cook. I have only cooked 8 boneless butts (4 for buckboard bacon and 4 for pulled) and probably 60 bone in, but don't think that is main reason for my temp variance. I was simply stating that if I was at a place that had boneless I'd take them rather than running around looking for a place that had bone-in.

Jamie

Hi,

Do you mind commenting on buckboard bacon? Recipe?

Regards,

Cathy-
I purchased the Buckboard Bacon cure from Hi Mountain:

https://shop.himtnjerky.com/online/prod ... 253&page=1

One box cures 25lbs of meat, so I grabbed 2 cryopacks of boneless butts from Costco totaling about 24lbs. You want boneless butts for this as you will be slicing it when done. After that rubbed each of the 4 butts down with 1/4 of the cure and tossed it in a one gallon Ziploc bag. Total cure time is 10 days in the fridge and you flip them after 5 days (mine went 11 total which is fine).
Once cured you rinse them and then soak them in water for 2 hours. Definitely change the water a few times during this so you pull some of that salt out.
After that I trussed them up and smoked them with some apple wood chunks till they hit 140 internal temp (this takes only a few hours). Pulled them from the smoker and let them air-cool, then I put them in the fridge overnight to make them easier to slice the next day.
The end product is sort of a mix between country ham and bacon in flavor. Mine was sliced about the same to just thicker than a spiral ham (you try slicing 24lbs of butts without getting a bit sloppy...hehehehe). I found it a bit salty to enjoy on its own, though I think doing more water changes during the soak would change this or it could be my personal taste (as many people said it was perfect). I can tell you it makes the best BLT you will ever have. You can also use the cure on loins to make something more like Canadian bacon.
It is a great food project and if you have a FoodSaver just go ahead and make the full batch since it freezes well and makes a great gift You will be especially grateful for the effort once garden tomatoes make their apearance this summer.
Also have a foodsaver bag of all the end pieces/chunks that I plan on using for split pea soup one day.
Jamie

BTW-> TVWB has a nice little walkthrough on the process here:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/buckboardbacon.html

HI,

Thanks for the links and narrative! I love having new tricks for my WSM!

Regards,

Jamieson22 wrote: So if that is the case, what is a good one to try?

I saw a neat little thermometer at Crate & Barrel while the wife was shopping for a shower gift for one of her girlfriends. It's a grill thermometer that is flat on the bottom and is made to sit right on the grate with the dial facing up. It kind of looks like a hocky puck. Cost was around $9.00. I bought one on a whim (or out of boredom).

Jamieson22 wrote: I was simply stating that if I was at a place that had boneless I'd take them rather than running around looking for a place that had bone-in.

Either way 18-hours is a VERY long time for pork butt on a WSM. Think food safety danger zone. (40°-140°)

Enjoy,
Gary

I've been smoking stuff since last year with the Alton Brown Good Eats Terra Cotta rig.

Especially from what I tried in the winter, I don't think you have to cook and smoke in the same place.

Smoke the meat, and if it's not done and finishing it is problematic, move to the oven, so long as you already have your smoke flavor.

Also, if you like your pulled pork with BBQ sauce, it's quite nice to cut the shoulder in chunks along it's connective tissue, and off the bone, smoke that stuff with a good bit of wood for just an hour, then move it into the oven with your wonderful BBQ sauce homemade stuff and braise it for 4-6 hours. Frankly I accidentally did this trying to make a pork chili with too much meat and too little liquid, and it was one of the best mistakes I've ever made. I intended to add more liquid but was too seduced by my saucy pulled pork to do so.

Oh, and you CAN over-smoke. That is really disgusting. Cooking italian sausage at around 100 degrees with mesquite until the meat was done was an oversmoke disaster (100 degrees because it was winter).

Nancy

Nancy Sexton wrote:Smoke the meat, and if it's not done and finishing it is problematic, move to the oven, so long as you already have your smoke flavor.

What sacrilege! Actually, I do this fairly often (don't tell the professor). In fact, that is my SOP for Thanksgiving Turkey. In November, it is usually too cold outside to get the turkey up to serving temperature, so I will smoke it for 4-5 hours, then finish it in the oven (I have done this with pork also). I have never noticed any adverse effects. I figure once something has been in a smoker for several hours, it is completely sealed anyhow. It is no longer absorbing any smoke, so why risk drying it out and coating it with tar just to get it hot enough to serve? However, with the hot and sunny weather this weekend, you will probably have no problem keeping the temp up in the smoker, especially if you keep it in the sun and out of the wind.

I use a remote probe thermometer (about $15-20 at HD or Menards). I don't put the probe in the meat, but push it through half an onion or potato to hold it in the position I want it.

I use an offset smoker and almost always finish off long cooks in the oven (for the last hour or 2). It lets me switch the smoker over for grilling to cook side dishes.

d4v3 wrote: I figure once something has been in a smoker for several hours, it is completely sealed anyhow. It is no longer absorbing any smoke, so why risk drying it out and coating it with tar just to get it hot enough to serve?

d4v3,

I've taken to referring to these types of statements as 'Grandma logic'

You guys, and gals, want to simmer pork meat with BBQ sauce and call it BBQ fine by me, you want to finish in the oven, douse with liqu*d sm*ke filled BBQ sauce, fine by me, you want to go to Twin Anchors and call it BBQ, fine by me.

Hope you don't mind if I sit those conversations out.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:You guys, and gals, want to simmer pork meat with BBQ sauce and call it BBQ fine by me, you want to finish in the oven, douse with liqu*d sm*ke filled BBQ sauce, fine by me, you want to go to Twin Anchors and call it BBQ, fine by me.

Well Professor, I assumed you would not approve (that's why I asked people not to tell you) . Admitedly, I don't have your skills. However, there is a big difference between oven finishing a piece of meat that just won't quite get up to temperature on a cold day and calling Twin Anchors barbecue. That is harsh. On occassion, I have done the former, but never in my life have I done the latter, and I resent being lumped in with those who do.

PS. I am starting the 5 step program this weekend. Hopefully, that will help me learn to better control the time versus temperature versus smoke issues.

G Wiv said:

You guys, and gals, want to simmer pork meat with BBQ sauce and call it BBQ fine by me, you want to finish in the oven, douse with liqu*d sm*ke filled BBQ sauce, fine by me, you want to go to Twin Anchors and call it BBQ, fine by me.

Well, it's tasty stuff - and I didn't throw it in a pot of BBQ sauce, but a pot with canned tomatoes, sauteed onions, lots of roasted/peeled/seeded/chopped poblanos, same number of similarly treated jalapenos, a good dose of my custom "my way" recently home-made chili powder, some freshly ground cumin, some rich pork and chicken broth.

Of course the smoke flavor came from the time the meat was in the smoker.

For the record, I also have in the freezer "pulled pork" which is just smoked and slightly seasoned meat (Alton Brown's recipe).

Some time I'm in the mood for one, sometimes the other.

Nancy

Somewhere between 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through a long smoke (5+hours) meat no longer takes in any appreciable smoke for flavoring. I've experimented with this many, many times - you can add some very slight flavoring to the bark in the last 1/4 of a smoke, but you won't be affecting the flavor or the meat itself at all. Low and slow is the key to smoking, and once you have the smokey flavor you desire you just need to keep going low and slow.

The smoker I use is fairly heavy gauge and I also use firebricks in it to keep the temp constant. If I'm smoking something at 200-225 I can (and do) go for an hour with the fire completely burned out. The mass of the smoker and the bricks keeps the temp steady for a couple hours easy. If I'm cooking with no fire at all for an hour or so why not put it in the oven to finish off/hold??? The flavor is there already. Just make sure you cook the food in the oven at the same temp you were cooking it in the smoker (i.e. set your over for 210 for brisket and higher, 275 for me, for Turkey or chicken)

OK....The first Pork Butt Smoth was a success this weekend. Started up the Weber Smokey Mountain about 9:30PM on Saturday night. By 9:50PM the two Smoked Butts from Peoria Packing with a really nice rub. By midnight, I had the temp. stabilized around 240 degrees with natural wood charcoal and a mixture of apple and hickory wood.. I stayed up with it until 2AM. At 4:30AM, I woke up and the temp was about 240 degrees.

I went back to bed until 7AM, and then the temp fell to about 175. I fired up some more charcoal and added it to the smoker, which brought the temp back up to 250 degrees. At noon, I added some hot links to the bottom grate. At 3PM, I ttok off the hot links which had a really nice smoke ring. By 3:45P the meat was at 190. I wrapped it for about 30 minutes and then pulled it. Put it on some cheap with buns with some cole slaw...perfection....

It was fantastic....Thanks to all for your tips and tricks. I took some pctures of the final product and will have them posted later this week.

This was a highly motivational and semi-expensive thread. . . . .

One Weber WSM Smoker. . . . .$xxx.xx

One Pork Butt from Peoria packing. . . . . $x.xx (should have bought two for all the effort involved)

A bag of hardwood charcol from Lincolnwood Produce $x.xx

A bag of hickory chunks from Home Depot . . . . . . $x.xx

11 hours of smoking

Hmmmm, really good porkiness

Can't wait to smoke some other stuff.


Thanks for all the great ideas and suggestions.

I also smoked pork yesterday.

I bought a picnic ham with skin on from Tony's ($1.20 a pound). It weighed about 7.5 lbs. I put a dry rub on the night before (Cajun mix from Caputo's in Melrose plus red pepper flakes). Next time I'll brine.

Anyway, got up at 7 am and the shoulder went on at 7:30. I tried to keep the temp at about 250 all day. I got a thermometer from Home Depot that goes in the holes on top of the Weber. BTW, I don't have a smoker so I just shoved the charcoal once lit to the side of the grill. I also put a foil pan under the shoulder to catch grease, etc. I threw wet hickory chips on the fire every hour or so.

Every 2 hours or so I basted with apple cider vinegar. Started with skin side (fattier side) up then flipped it about noon.

Took it off the grill at 3pm and put it in a 350 deg. oven for an hour to get internal temperature up. Tore it apart at 4 pm.

I liked it. Almost all the fat and connective tissue was gone. Nice char and smoke ring on the outside. Everyone at the BBQ said they liked it.