Smoking a Butt

np307

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So I'm gonna try bringing Lexington to the Sandhills for Memorial Day. Never tried smoking any meat before, but this seems like a good opportunity. My main questions are about time and temperature. The target is to eat around 4. 10 lb butt. I've read some saying to give 1.5 hr/lb if smoking at 225 the whole time. Is that what y'all have found? I'm going to shoot for 205 internal temp. I've also read some saying smoke it for 6 hours then wrap it and put it in the oven on 350 til you hit the target temp.

Any advice so I don't pull my hair out?
 
What are you cooking on?
 
Don't worry too much about it- there about a million different opinions on smoking pork and everyone always thinks theirs is right. Just get it on the grill and don't let it get too hot, but don't let it go out, either. Low and slow. Everytime I smoke a butt, it cooks faster than I think it will, so when you get closer to the time, keep a close eye on it. Also, you if you're planning on eating at 4:00 and intend to pull it apart before, it will be too hot to handle with bare hands. You may want to find some gloves or allow time enough to cool before you try.
 
Regular grill, indirect fire method.

Give it longer than expected.... anywhere from 1.5 to 2hrs per lb.

You can always hold it, but you can't make up time... I usually rub mine the night before, throw it in the fridge and take it out a couple of hours before I put it on to smoke. Cold meat will absorb more smoke but take longer to get up to temp.

I will usually take mine to around 205-210, wrap them in foil and put into a cooler... they will stay warm for hours and keep cooking. Its pretty hard to overcook one.

Charcoal or gas?
 
Give it longer than expected.... anywhere from 1.5 to 2hrs per lb.

You can always hold it, but you can't make up time... I usually rub mine the night before, throw it in the fridge and take it out a couple of hours before I put it on to smoke. Cold meat will absorb more smoke but take longer to get up to temp.

I will usually take mine to around 205-210, wrap them in foil and put into a cooler... they will stay warm for hours and keep cooking. Its pretty hard to overcook one.

Charcoal or gas?
Thanks, that helps. Charcoal.
 
For what it's worth, I started two butts last night at 8 pm, cooking at 250 degrees. It is now 11:35 and they aren't finished yet. I don't think I have ever had any take this long. They are fairly large, around 9 pounds each. The rain storm that hit a few minutes ago is not helping, either.
 
Advice ??

Take your time, 12-15 hrs ... Sometimes more.
Rub a day before, warm up on counter a couple hrs. Before putting on grill .
Smoke to 165 then wrap with foil and continue until 205 deg.
Even if you get it done a day before, it reheats in foil just fine.
 
Rub it down the night before and prepare to smoke it for 2hrs per pound to be on the safe side. Seems like every time I smoke one, it hits a snag at around 180-190 degrees and needs a little help to push it up over 200. That’s normally when I wrap it and add just a little more heat to get it done.

It’s tough to mess up smoking a butt, it’s just time consuming. Something you really have to plan your day around.

And oh yeah, if you didn’t know the fatty side goes on top so the meat is basting itself when it’s cooking. Don’t mean to insult your intelligence if you already knew, but if you don’t know then you don’t know.
 
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The adventure begins tonight. Thanks everyone for the advice, I have taken it all into consideration. Also, I'm kicking myself for never trying a chimney starter before as these things are awesome.
087ffdd016101fb4c786008ceefed4c4.jpg
 
Chimney starters are the tits. I try to only use lump charcoal and it makes starting your grill/smoker so much easier.
 
The adventure begins tonight. Thanks everyone for the advice, I have taken it all into consideration. Also, I'm kicking myself for never trying a chimney starter before as these things are awesome.
087ffdd016101fb4c786008ceefed4c4.jpg

You'll be fine. It is hard to screw up a butt. Go indirect, give it time, and use a good thermometer. If it gets done early wrap it in foil and let it sit. It can stay in foil for a long time and still be warm and juicy.
 
Glad you posted this, these guys are tired of seeing my butt. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
 
Fought with the temperature all night. The lump charcoal seemed like it burnt up instantly and the temp kept wanting to drop. Kept at it though and I just wrapped it. Moving it to the oven since the rain is supposed to set in soon. Not ideal but it has plenty of smokiness from the time already spent over wood.
 
It will be fine. I can't get the hang of lump charcoal myself. I guess I haven't used enough of it. I'll stick with my Kingsford and Royal Oak briquettes.
 
Yeah I had a half bag of kingsford laying around and finally switched over to that after dawn and things leveled out. On the positive side, the house now smells like smoked meat.
 
You'll be fine. It is hard to screw up a butt. Go indirect, give it time, and use a good thermometer. If it gets done early wrap it in foil and let it sit. It can stay in foil for a long time and still be warm and juicy.

This ! They will be done when they get done, not at the time you tell everyone. Finish early and hold. Don’t be scared of the stall, it’s normal. I go to 195n then yank and wrap. “If ya lookin, ya ain’t cookin”. 373AC2E9-EB0A-41FF-BD46-8648A77E9520.jpeg1638D992-0F64-42CC-A138-9E67531848B4.jpeg

I’m loving these: https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...ahUKEwjz1di76qjbAhVC2FMKHRIqDY4Qwg8IQQ&adurl=

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...ahUKEwiUr_CB66jbAhVHzVMKHadqDNgQwg8IMg&adurl=

They are both well worth the money
 
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Using lump charcoal to me it is more critcal to have a tight smoker that you can control airflow well if not it is more challenging than briquettes to keep temp steady over long periods it also burns faster at times since it is all diffrent sizes with more fines in it. I have used lump in the past many times in my uds but to me the kingsford competiton briquettes is hard to beat just for ease of use and steady rate of burn.
 
Fought with the temperature all night. The lump charcoal seemed like it burnt up instantly and the temp kept wanting to drop. Kept at it though and I just wrapped it. Moving it to the oven since the rain is supposed to set in soon. Not ideal but it has plenty of smokiness from the time already spent over wood.

As others have said, lump burns hotter, good for steaks. Not so much for smoking long periods, I have gotten decent results by mixing lump and briquettes, however the briquettes are much more consistent in temp and burn rate

My preferred charocal is the Royal Oak at Lowes when a 20lb bag is 5.99 like it is right now... which reminds me I need to go to Lowe's tommorow and get a truck load?
 
Pork Shoulder:
Trim all fat. Do not leave any if you can help it. Fat does not add moisture, it just runs off and gets your smoker greasy (and takes your rub with it).
Put your rub on the day before, wrap in foil and leave it in the fridge. Take it out an hour or so before you cook. (not frightfully important)
Put it on the smoker, maintaining it at 225 or so.
Turn the meat every hour for the first 4, then every 2-3 hours.
Cook till the internal temp is about 195-205 (I like to go 200+)
Foiling to get past the stall defeats the bulk of the benefits of smoking. Collagen liquefies between 165-180 degrees and takes time. When the meat temp stops rising, it is the evaporative cooling of the collagen. The longer it is in the stall, the more tender it will be. Foiling also softens the bark.
Wrap in foil when you remove it, then put it in a cooler for a couple hours to rest.

Pork shoulder is forgiving, foiling thru the stall does not ruin it. (I have done it when I did not predict the cook well and needed to accelerate)
Foil brisket to push thru the stall and it will be tough.

I converted my UDS to electric and use a perforated stainless tube filled with wood pellets and chips (apple or pecan) to make the smoke.
 
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Is that a hog eared pistol grip?? Looks tasty even if its not....good job on the swine!!

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