Pork Butt Dilemma

[BethV]

I started with a 8 pound pork butt. Here's the data:
10:50 pm (last night) - 215F
3:45 am - raised temp to 225F, meat temp 130
7:30 am - meat temp 150
9:45 am - meat temp 161 (figuring this is the stall)
2:45 pm - meat temp 174 (wrapped with butcher paper to hopefully speed up cooking)
6:10 pm - meat temp 176

About 19 hours in and the temp is not getting about 176

I just pulled it off the smoker and I have checked and double checked temps with my thermopen and my smoke x. I did not use RT probes for this cook.

It seems done. So far it looks like I can pull it and it's moist. I tasted a piece with the bark and it's delicious.

I'm going to take it off the grill now to see what the deal is. I realize this can go 20+ hours, but to have the temp basically stall for about 6-8 hours seems a bit much for an 8 pound piece of meat. The bone does not slide out like it normally would, however, the roast is probe tender all over. I like it pulled. Hubby likes it chunky. We might just get the best of both worlds.

This is what I love about this grill....the experimenting. Fortunately, I got nowhere to go and nothing to do. And I have 4 smoked turkey legs ready to come off the grill as a backup.

 

[Buckeye1]

Looks great, seems like a long time but each piece of meat is different

 

[Clm65]

That does seem like it is taking longer than expected. Some people will raise the setpoint a bit after it is wrapped to push it through the stall and reach the desired final temp.

 

[BethV]

Forgot to take a photos after I pulled it. Please excuse the photos after the fact. Probably best pork I've ever made. Very moist. Bark is so good. It was perfectly done at 176. Strange but it worked.

 

[DarkStar11]

Looks delicious! Indeed an odd cook, but it sounds like a winner! Pork butts can be weird. Out of curiosity, did you put it on straight from the fridge or let it sit at room temperature for a bit?

 

[BethV]

Straight from the fridge. Used my AP rub and let it sit in the fridge about 3 hours before putting it on. Honestly, I've made a lot of these and they are good. This took it to a whole new level. I'm not sure I'll be able to recreate it. I also removed all visible fat.

 

[ndfan6464]

Your not alone in the mystery of pork butt... I've had several take that long. In fact I smoked a pork butt about the same size a week ago while visiting my father that took 18hrs to cook. At 18 hrs it was finally "fork done" (stick a fork in the butt, twist 90 degrees to test for tenderness) pops doesnt have a leave in probe nor a regular thermometer I trusted. So reverted back to the good ol days before having those fancy tools...hahah..

The one thing I noticed about the butts that took longer was the leaner the cut the longer it took. Didnt matter if it bone in or boneless.. not based on science just my blue collar observation...

 

[BethV]

@ndfan6464 I think you make a great point. I removed a lot of fat. That cut of pork has a lot of fat naturally so I didn't mind trimming fat I could see. So yes, this pork butt was trimmed lean. Based on how it turned out, I'll trim it the same way again.

 

[DarkStar11]

I used to go straight from the fridge because I've read that smoke "sticks" to cold meat better. For the past couple years I've been putting rub on, in the fridge for 3+ hours, then letting stand at room temp for at least an hour. Then on to the grill at 225 till done. If I'm looking for extra smoke, I add a pellet tube. The room-temp rest seems to make my cook times more consistent, and I haven't noticed an impact to flavor, moistness, or bark. I don't recall one going longer than 14 hours. Like ndfan6464, no science to back this up, just personal observation. Sounds like you hit the sweet spot for this cook!

 

[Wslayer]

@ndfan6464 I think you make a great point. I removed a lot of fat. That cut of pork has a lot of fat naturally so I didn't mind trimming fat I could see. So yes, this pork butt was trimmed lean. Based on how it turned out, I'll trim it the same way again.

I leave all that fat on for all that goodness and remove extra when pulling.
Glad your cook turned out for you

 

[Uncle Bob]

This looks like a good example of why the "magic number" of 203 isn't really the only temp to shoot for and why probe tender is more meaningful. From a cooking standpoint the meat was safe/cooked at 145 degrees. The rest of the temperature increase is needed to render the collagens in the connective tissue, but it isn't only temperature that will result in successful collagen softening. Time is a factor too. The collagen starts to dissolve at 160, and as your experience here shows, you stayed above that temp for a long time that gave you an acceptable pulling experience even though the temp never got as high as you'd normally expect. The fat trimming thing probably had little to no affect. The traditional advice for leaving a fat cap is to have a layer of "insulation" to protect the meat from the older, more conventional bbq cook methods as you'd get from an offset or vertical smoker. The convection effect in a pellet grill is different. I'm wondering if that butt had been injected with water by the processor (profit improvement) which added moisture that makes the stall.

 

[BethV]

@Uncle Bob Thank you for your insight. I love the forum for exactly this reason. So much experience from many people and great support.

I don't know if the meat was injected. I bought it from the meat counter at our Vons (Safeway) store. I don't normally buy meat from them. Costco or Restaurant Depot preferably. But the butt purchased at Costco I originally planned to use smelled rotten when I opened it so I had no choice but to run to the local store. It was not a brand such as Smithfield and packaged with a brand. It looks like something they cut up at the store and packaged there. I don't think it was injected. If I thought it had been injected, I would not have purchased it. With this cut of pork, I prefer to have more meat exposed so that I can get a good amount of bark. I probably just got lucky with a very strange and long cook.

One thing I have learned since getting my smoker in early March is that as the gal doing the cooks, I have over time gotten a "feel" for my grill. I'm not new to cooking or barbecuing. I'm a classically trained chef and instructor. But I am a newborn when it comes to smoking on my grill. At first, I questioned so much and like most, sweated it out through the stall of meats, or wondering why we were eating dinner at 11:00 at night. But with a lot of use and over time, I began trusting my instincts and started to notice that while there are guidelines, there are no rules. And I treat each cook as if it is an experiment and more importantly an experience. I am a cookbook collector and now own 5 BBQ books by the best in the field. And they all do thing very differently. I don't put pressure on myself anymore to get food done by 5:00. I just start it the night before. I log every cook and refer back to each one (probably because I forgot how I did it last) and learn from that. I would imagine most of us start out the same way and eventually bond with our toys (grills). I guess what I am saying is that I am more comfortable now with my grill and I trust myself to make the right choices when it comes to how I cook.

Thanks to all my forum buddies who make this experience of smoking meats feel like a family experience.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Beth, the wisdom you show in that last big paragraph is something I would hope all aspiring cooks would appreciate and strive to learn if they aren't there already. Cooking is part art, not just a guaranteed step by step prescriptive.

 

[BethV]

Beth, the wisdom you show in that last big paragraph is something I would hope all aspiring cooks would appreciate and strive to learn if they aren't there already. Cooking is part art, not just a guaranteed step by step prescriptive.

Thank you.

 

[Beach Bum]

This is a great exchange of ideas and insight. I read the entire thread twice. Thanks!

 

[Mastertech59]

Pork shoulders and butts can smell rotten when opened, just wash it off with plain cold water and pat dry if the smell is gone your good to go if it's still there toss it in the trash.

 

[BethV]

Pork shoulders and butts can smell rotten when opened, just wash it off with plain cold water and pat dry if the smell is gone your good to go if it's still there toss it in the trash.

This is the third piece of pork I have gotten that smelled so bad others in the house could smell it. The other 2 came from Costco. Normally I don't have issues with their meats. The sell by date was good (into September), but it's usually a sign that the pork was not kept refrigerated at a safe temperature at some point. I'm a certified food safety handler and my motto has always been when in doubt don't. The good news is that Costco takes their meats back. All you have to do is provide them with the label and receipt. No need to return the meat.

 

[Gonefishin]

I've noticed the 3 packs of ribs from Costco stink pretty bad. I'm told they are fine but it is hard believing it.
FWIW, I have not had the singles at the grocers stink.

 

[Greg Jones]

This is the third piece of pork I have gotten that smelled so bad others in the house could smell it...

I‘ve never had a problem with our Costco, but funny you should mention this. My wife and I stopped in my favorite national grocery chain, and while I was waiting for her to find the raisins, I was standing beside two pallets of frozen foods that were not even parked in the frozen aisles. They were in the middle of a row of Halloween candy items, and looked like they had been completely forgotten. Remind me not to buy any frozen foods there again!

 

[dreammachine]

I wash and then marninate my Boston Butt in apple cider vinegar, apple juice, tad of lemon juice, and sometimes a sweet kiwi/strawberry juice for a hour or so (6 to 8 lb Butt). I do sometimes inject with the same juices as it is sitting in. Put my rub on it and then I put it on my Bull at about 200 F around 10:00 PM and allow it to slow cook until about 8:00 AM the next morning and then wrap it in double foil and cook it for about two more hours at 225F and then take it up and allow it to rest for an hour or so and then you can easily pull the bone out and the flavor of the meat is off the charts. Works for me.