brett Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 6 lb Pork Butt (bone out) KK dialed in at 225 on the upper grate with deflector on lower grate. BBQ Guru controlling temperature. Put in at 10pm Fat side up By 7am the Guru was beeping at me that it hit 190 Confirmed 190/192 with thermapen So just 9hrs, which wasn't what I expected. From other threads (and faded memory from previous cooks) I was expected a long 16 hr run hovering by 180 in the morning and dialing the KK down to 200 for a while to breakdown more of the fats. It tastes great - and pulled apart easy - but there are also some globs of fat that hadn't melted down. I'm curious how to make this even better next-time. Some things I'm wondering about: Maybe a 6 lb butt is on the small-side and so just cooks faster? Should I be starting at a lower pit-temp, say 200? My pit probe sat on the grate a few inches from the butt. Should I be putting the pit probe up a little higher towards the center/top of the meat? What else am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 It's simply not done. I take my butts to 205° every time, and I'm never disappointed. This is also a good example of why timing should not be a strict consideration when cooking large proteins. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Yes, small and bone-out will cook faster. Try a whole shoulder (butt + picnic, bone in) for the other monumental extreme. As a bonus one gets many kinds of muscle, a carnival of flavors. Be careful ordering this, as the language is so debased that even professionals equate shoulder and butt. Berkeley Bowl once sold me a two butt vacuum pack as a whole shoulder; luckily the symmetry tipped me off before I had paid and left the store. So ask what the local dialect calls a bone-in shoulder+picnic in one piece. If they offer you a vacuum pack, always a good idea to have them open it (for a fragrance check), and then one sees if it falls into two pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett Posted January 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 @Rob - so do you think this would have stabilized around 190 for a long-time and I should have rode it out to 205? @Syzygies - that's a fine idea bone-in next time it is... Would either of you suggest starting at a lower pit-temp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Leave your grill alone, I believe consistency is best. Yes, let it ride to 205. Sometimes they're done a bit earlier, but I've never had a complaint at the 205° finish. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 If it's done before you're ready to serve, just wrap in foil, then a bath towel, and into an insulated cooler to hold until supper time. It will hold for hours and will still be hot when you go to pull it. ps: can one of the admins move this thread to the Pork section? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I'm with Robert should have cooked longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I did a 10 pound bone in this weekend. Put it on with the KK at 140 and the guru set for 225, Pulled it at 198 internal at 22 hours total. I was at work so I dont really know how long it took to hit 225 but I would guess 2 hours. I was surprised the little 10 pounder took so long. It was perfectly done at 198. I am sure it would have been fine at 205 too. I had been guessing about 14 to 16 hours. It sat at 160 internal for about 8 hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 8 hours in the stall, you must have thought it was never going to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjs Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Isn't the stall a pain to deal with? I think everyone has given you solid advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I’ve gotten to the point where I use the internal temp (I like 195ºF) as step one in determining whether a pork butt is done. Once the butt hits 195ºF, I’ll see how easily the probe goes in and out of the butt in various places. Sometimes it’s like butter, in which case it’s done. Sometimes I get more resistance, at which point I’ll let it go longer. From the description of your butt with the globs of fat, I’d bet that probing it would have given you some resistance. I generally plan for 1-1.5 hours/lb. for a bone-in pork butt, cooking indirect at 200-225ºF according to the dome thermometer, with the meat on the main grate. so your 9 hour cook time seems reasonable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Being relatively new here, I'll share two things that have made a huge difference in my cooking. 1) It's done when it's done. Time and temperature give you a ballpark estimate, but only probing is definitive. I run my grill at 250 and find 207 internal is where it's probe tender. 2) Don't be afraid to wrap. I'm a late sleeper and an early eater. Not a good combo for low n' slow. My first few cooks were 14-15 hours @ 225. The end result was good, but no one was up at 1am to eat with me. Now I run 240-250 and wrap after 6 hours. It's typically probe tender 2 hours later and tastes exactly the same as the 14 hour version (with a little softer bark). I aim for 2 hours rest in a cooler if time permits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
