Help please....I'm scratching my head

R

retarmyeng06

New member
I have searched and am more confused than I first thought...


1) 2 - 9lbs. bone-in butts; injected and rubbed
2) Mak 2 star @ 225
3) Hickory pellets
4) want a two hour rest from an IT of 195-199 foiled and towled.


I have seen every planning factor imaginable from 15-17 hrs. regardless the size - to two hours per lbs. plus two hours for the "for certain" stall.

Sorry to rehash an old subject but the many variations of you can't go wrong with this...has left me scratching my head.


Randy
 
FLBentRider

FLBentRider

New member
I have done many of these and the variance you see is largely due to, IMHO, variances in the meat and the BTU content of the pellets.

I always plan on them getting done more late than early, and with a good cooler I can stage them in FTC for 4 to six hours with no problem.

So I usually start about 18 to 20 hours before I want to serve, I run them on "smoke" for 4 hours then 215F until the IT is 195-200F.

Out of four butts, one may come to temp in a few as 12 hours, others may take 4-6 even eight hours longer.
 
H

HoDeDo

New member
So the long and short of it is.... there are no two butts that cook exactly the same. Depending on fat content, age of the hog, kind of hog (is it a Duroc or Berkshire, or some cross of other hogs) they will all cook differently. Is it humid or dry? Cooking with a pellet cooker takes some of the variability out of the equation...

But try this: 6hrs at 225... then wrap. (add braising liquid if you like, or just reseason if you like, or even add honey or something if you like...) I add about 1/4 cup of my marinade in with the foil. Then continue to cook @ 225, until the meat is tender. You can stick a thermapen in and it has initial resistance through the foil, but goes into the meat like a hot blade into soft butter. That is usually possible anywhere from 3-5 hrs later... I start checking at 3 hrs wrapped. Temp will be between 195-210 usually... but once you get that feel, it can be pulled off and rested.

Hope that helps.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
I do mine basically like Andy describes. Except, if I'm looking to cut the cooking time down a bit, then I foil sooner (around 4 - 4.5 hours-when the color looks good) and raise the pit temp to 275° or so. This lets the pork shoulder finish in 6 - 8 hours depending on its size. If needed I'll stick the shoulder back a hot pit on for 15 minutes or so to finish off the bark.

Second, forget the finish temp. Like Andy said, go by feel. If it feels like soft butter, its good! This method never lies.
 
CarterQ

CarterQ

Moderator
Good advice from everyone, like Tent when I want to get a butt done quicker I will start at 225 and move up to 275 once the meat hits 140, the pellet boss is great for this, just set a program and roll. Usually it finishes in around 8 hours depending on the meat. The beautiful thing about pork butts and shoulder is they are very forgiving. Even if you finish way early you can pull and then reheat.
 
FLBentRider

FLBentRider

New member
As an example, I put 4 butts in last night around 9:30pm.

The first one came off at about 10:00, the last one around 3:00pm.

All IT were 195-199F
 
R

retarmyeng06

New member
Sorry for the lack of pictures etc...

I sincerely appreciate everyone's timely comments - they saved me from myself!

A last minute change of plans left me with one butt to smoke. The wife put it on at 2100 and after fretting over it I pulled it off at 1230 the next day with an IT of 199. Foiled and toweled it went into the cooler for four hours. Pulled and instantly fell in love with it- it was sooooo goooooood. :cool:

I learned a lot from this cook and am grateful for the help and the experience. Any imperfections (just a tad bit dry) were solely the result of what I did or did not do. Now to perfect it!

Thanks all!
 
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