Pulled Pork tips?

[smokingbean]

Hey all,

I am planning on doing a pork shoulder this weekend while I am golfing. My goal is to have it done around 2/3pm. Considering that I am golfing I will also be away from the grill from 7am-ish to 1pm-ish. So no spritzing or wrapping in my plans.
I have a RT-700 and was hoping for any helpful tips that you may have?

 

[Plumberguy]

Hey all,

I am planning on doing a pork shoulder this weekend while I am golfing. My goal is to have it done around 2/3pm. Considering that I am golfing I will also be away from the grill from 7am-ish to 1pm-ish. So no spritzing or wrapping in my plans.
I have a RT-700 and was hoping for any helpful tips that you may have?

Someone will probably have a better suggestion than me, but I like thinking about things like this as I gain more experience.

bone in pork shoulder aka Boston butt, right, what size/weight? Do you want to serve at 2-3? Could be. A little tricky as you will not be there to supervise powering through the stall. If you use the rec tech probes on a weekend, as others have pointed out, notifications may not be working. If you have an Internet capable third-party probe and app, would be helpful, or someone in your family could text you temps and you can turn up temp with app or have them do it.

also, if it hits 195-205 while you’re playing, can someone pull and rest for you?

 

[smokingbean]

Someone will probably have a better suggestion than me, but I like thinking about things like this as I gain more experience.

bone in pork shoulder aka Boston butt, right, what size/weight? Do you want to serve at 2-3? Could be. A little tricky as you will not be there to supervise powering through the stall. If you use the rec tech probes on a weekend, as others have pointed out, notifications may not be working. If you have an Internet capable third-party probe and app, would be helpful, or someone in your family could text you temps and you can turn up temp with app or have them do it.

also, if it hits 195-205 while you’re playing, can someone pull and rest for you?

I was planning on a ~8 lbs butt. Serving roughly 5-8 people. And I would use the probes to check temperature. But I would not have anybody available to check temps or pull as my wife will be out of town.
If I start at 6am at 225, how likely is it to hit 195-205 after 8 hours?

 

[jfrosty27]

I don’t think you’ll make it at 225. I’ll defer to others but in my experience you’ll either need much more time or a much higher cook temp

 

[chadinsc]

8lbs at 225 should take 12-14hrs. if the meat hits temp while your away you could turn the grill to 180 for and hr or 2 maybe if needed to keep it in the safe temperature zone. although i have never tried that

 

[smokingbean]

I don’t think you’ll make it at 225. I’ll defer to others but in my experience you’ll either need much more time or a much higher cook temp

I am open to starting earlier or higher temp. I just want to try and hit the end time (1-2ish pm) as best I can

 

[smokingbean]

8lbs at 225 should take 12-14hrs. if the meat hits temp while your away you could turn the grill to 180 for and hr or 2 maybe if needed to keep it in the safe temperature zone. although i have never tried that

Yeah I am just trying to hit that end time spot as best I can. Whether it is higher temp or earlier start. What is your method for pulled pork?

 

[chadinsc]

i do alot of pulled pork and mine always takes pretty close to 1.75hrs per pound at 225 however i normally wrap them at 165-170 and i cook until around 205 +/- a few. just pull it when it probes nice and tender and put it in a cooler to rest.

 

[Gonefishin]

My last unwrapped 8 lb'er took 14.5 hrs on my 340 @ 225. I was spritzing so that'd add a bit to the time. FWIW, I've found that placing the temp probes early in a cook usually does not equal optimum placement. I like using the instant read when temp gets up around 180 to find the coolest spot for the smokers probe. If it were me I'd shoot for 1pm finish time, you can wrap it when done and stick it in a cooler till 30 min before pulling.

It would be interesting to see what the outcome would be if it hits, say 195 while you are on the course, hopefully near the end of your round, and you remotely turn down the heat to low.

 

[Plumberguy]

My last unwrapped 8 lb'er took 14.5 hrs on my 340 @ 225. I was spritzing so that'd add a bit to the time. FWIW, I've found that placing the temp probes early in a cook usually does not equal optimum placement. I like using the instant read when temp gets up around 180 to find the coolest spot for the smokers probe. If it were me I'd shoot for 1pm finish time, you can wrap it when done and stick it in a cooler till 30 min before pulling.

It would be interesting to see what the outcome would be if it hits, say 195 while you are on the course, hopefully near the end of your round, and you remotely turn down the heat to low.

^^^This. I'd put it on at midnight (thereabouts) if you are going to roll unwrapped at 225 or so the whole time. My troubles with the app have been solely with notifications, so you can insert a probe in the morning before you leave and make temp adjustments if needed when you check the app while you are playing (you'd have to manually check the app, not depend on alarms/notifications). For example, if you are 180 IT at 10 or 11, you could bump up temp a bit to, say 275-300. This is what I would likely do.

 

[thedudeabides]

The good news is that it will be semi tough to mess up a butt. Start early, and if it’s done way too soon, just keep it warm. It will be sure to make your guests happy. With BBQ, the only way to guarantee times is to start early and then have longer than normal tests, which isn’t a bad thing. Good luck!

 

[thedudeabides]

The good news is that it will be semi tough to mess up a butt. Start early, and if it’s done way too soon, just keep it warm. It will be sure to make your guests happy. With BBQ, the only way to guarantee times is to start early and then have longer than normal tests, which isn’t a bad thing. Good luck!

*rests

 

[Bytor]

I had a 9 pounder rest for almost 4 hours and it was still steaming hot when I began to pull it. It was also one of the moistest too.

 

[smokingbean]

My last unwrapped 8 lb'er took 14.5 hrs on my 340 @ 225. I was spritzing so that'd add a bit to the time. FWIW, I've found that placing the temp probes early in a cook usually does not equal optimum placement. I like using the instant read when temp gets up around 180 to find the coolest spot for the smokers probe. If it were me I'd shoot for 1pm finish time, you can wrap it when done and stick it in a cooler till 30 min before pulling.

It would be interesting to see what the outcome would be if it hits, say 195 while you are on the course, hopefully near the end of your round, and you remotely turn down the heat to low.

Thank you so much for that sound advice. I will use it.

 

[orangebiker]

Another way to reduce time if you aren't down with putting it on at midnight is to let it come up to room temp before putting it on. The swing from refrigerator temp to room temp takes quite a while when the smoker is rolling at 225.
As others have said, it's a pretty forgiving piece of meat, so getting done early and letting it cadillac at low on there won't harm anything.
Just a thought.

 

[chadinsc]

im sure letting it warm up would speed up the cook. but i always heard that smoke is attacked to cold and damp. now that may be flase im not sure.

 

[BradBQ]

Start it the night before. I did a 9# shoulder last weekend. On at 11:40PM the night before set to LO for an hour and then bumped to 200 overnight. 8AM bumped to 225 and let it ride. Wrapped @ 174 IT approx 13 hours in. Pulled it off 14 hours 50 mins in and then rested. Total Time - 16 hours, 50 minutes.

Hope this helps establish your timeline!

 

[jfrosty27]

Another way to speed up the cook is to cut the butt into smaller pieces. Cook time is largely determined by the thickness of the meat. Cut it down to make it thinner. A side benefit is more surface area for bark formation.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Its been my experience that in general, it's more like 2 hrs/pd. So at 225° I'd be planning for 16hrs plus rest.
If it gets done sooner, more resting isn't gonna hurt anything. Every one acts differently during the stall and theres multiple factors in if it cooks faster or slower. Goodluck

 

[Wslayer]

You can monitor while on the course, if getting done "too quick "turn it down with your app or up if needed. Put on at 10 pm @ 225, turn up to 250 if needed before golf outing.

I would not let pork come to room temp but that is just me.