Smoked Pork Shoulder Butt Roast

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wpernik

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 27, 2015
3
10
Hello fellow smokers. I recently purchased an 18" Weber Smokey Mountain vertical bullet smoker, and after seasoning it and completing 3 smokes (ribs, thighs, and beer can chicken), have attempted my first smoked pork shoulder butt roast.

I got a 4.75 lbs bone-in butt roast with a fat cap, coated it with spicy yellow mustard, then rubbed down with a pork rub, and left overnight in the refrigerator. This morning, before work, I set up my WSM using minion method, with combination hickory/apple wood chunks. At 225, I placed the roast on the top rack, estimating cook time to be appx. 7- 7.5 hrs.

I used my new wireless digital thermometer (single zone, multi-sensor CharBroil), inserted the probe into the roast making sure that it didn't go near the bone, covered the lid, and left to work. Bottom vents are 65-75% open, top is at 50%, temp is stable 225.

Here is my concern: in 1 Hr and 15 min, temperature inside the roast went up from 37F to 111F at the coldest setting, and 132 at the highest. WSM's dome thermometer still showed steady 225. I am worried that the internal temp is rising much faster than I expected and the roast will burn up before I get home. I plan to go back and check on it in about 3 hrs.

Do you think it is cooking much too fast? Any thoughts/ suggestions?

Thank you very much.
 
You were right! It stalled out and stretched into a solid 8 hour smoke. I came home around hour 6, and whipped up a quick glaze/mopping sauce using 1C tangerine juice, 2-3 tbsp of BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby ray's), 1-2 tsp each of Jamaican Pickapeppa mango hot sauce that I bought in Jamaica on my honeymoon and our local Pepper Plant's chipotle sauce. The tropical flavors combined beautifully with hot peppers to deliver sweet and tangy heat. Meat came out finger-lickin' good. Wife and dog were happy :)

Thanks!!!
 
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Sounds like a successful smoke. 
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Most all butt's I have smoked,  (18 inch WSM @ 225* - 250* smoker temp), have taken a minimum of 2 hours per pound.

My WSM's dome thermometer is fairly accurate but I like using a 2 probe remote thermometer which I know is more accurate.  (Takes the guess work out of depending on the dome thermometer).
 
What is the brand/model of your thermometer? I bought mine in Sears, and they did not have dual zone. I was not happy about remote turning itself off after several hours, which reset the timer.
 
Where are the Pics ????    Got to have pictures

Gary
 
What is the brand/model of your thermometer? I bought mine in Sears, and they did not have dual zone. I was not happy about remote turning itself off after several hours, which reset the timer.
My "go to" two probe therm is  the Thermoworks  TW8060  2 channel thermocouple.

http://thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html

Another, decent option, is the "Maverick two channel".  I own one of these also and was perfectly happy with it till I got the Thermoworks.  (I find the Thermoworks a little more durable.  {The probes and cables hold up better}  A touch more accurate,  and much quicker to show changes in temp's)  Many smokers are happy with the Maverick.

Here's a link to the Maverick.


PS.   I don't use the timer function on Maverick and don't even know if the Thermoworks has that function.  I write out a log for each of my smokes,  (If I am smoking something that I don't have a lot of experience with),  and just use my cell phone as a time keeper.  I do use the alarm functions on the therm's if I am multi-tasking away from the smoker.
 
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