Boston Butt Pulled Pork (Step by Step)

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Yeah, a lot of people get a little nervous when it stalls, but that's just part of the process. Once it gets through the stall it will continue to climb. No need to turn up the heat.

Gary
 
Yeah i found that out, but mine is solid black on outside. I'm definitely gonna start using foil. I also just purchased some qmats. Gonna save a lot of cleaning time. Thanks!!!
 
That's exactly what mine looked like. I thought it was ruined, but when i pulled it the meat was awesome.
 
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Hey Bear ... gonna give this a try tomorrow.  This is my virgin initiation with my SmokeHouse Pro smoker, newly seasoned and ready to smoke!  Got the 8# butt seasoned and refrigerated and plan to get it going at 0-dark-30 tomorrow.  I'm gonna try Pecan/Hickory just for shits & grins,  I love your step-by-step and will post pics as I progress.  Can't wait for my first results!!
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  Also ... fellow Viet Nam vet
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bear, everyone here talks about pulled pork, i like to slice a butt, as long as i get lots of smoke flavor.

now that i have a maverick i think i can get a better product by cooking to an exact temp. til now i've been doing ok with a $5 probe n guesswork. i've been shooting for around 165 IT. but, i have no idea what IT i've been getting.

i'm happy with what i've been doing but i wonder if that's the optimum temp to shoot for?

essentially i'll be  using your method within the limits of my equipment. i think i can get a sustained temp around 180, then up to 225.

i'll put this on around 6 am tomorrow, so what do you think? 165 for non pulled butt?

the difference between 165 n the 200s seems extreme.
 
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Hey Bear ... gonna give this a try tomorrow.  This is my virgin initiation with my SmokeHouse Pro smoker, newly seasoned and ready to smoke!  Got the 8# butt seasoned and refrigerated and plan to get it going at 0-dark-30 tomorrow.  I'm gonna try Pecan/Hickory just for shits & grins,  I love your step-by-step and will post pics as I progress.  Can't wait for my first results!!
36.gif
  Also ... fellow Viet Nam vet
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Welcome Home, Brother!!

Hope it's warmer at your house---Was 4° here this morning.

I'm glad you like my Step by Steps!!

Don't let me miss your Pulled Pork thread!!

Bear
 
bear, everyone here talks about pulled pork, i like to slice a butt, as long as i get lots of smoke flavor.

now that i have a maverick i think i can get a better product by cooking to an exact temp. til now i've been doing ok with a $5 probe n guesswork. i've been shooting for around 165 IT. but, i have no idea what IT i've been getting.

i'm happy with what i've been doing but i wonder if that's the optimum temp to shoot for?

essentially i'll be  using your method within the limits of my equipment. i think i can get a sustained temp around 180, then up to 225.

i'll put this on around 6 am tomorrow, so what do you think? 165 for non pulled butt?
I would use your 225° smoker temp, and take it to about 190°.

That would be tenderized, but not falling apart, so you can get nice tender slices.

Bear
 
 
thanks, bear. the range between 165 to the 200sdidn't seem right. that's why i asked.
Yup----For slicing, I want the connective tissue broken down, but I don't want it falling apart.

190° IT seems to be about right. Or pull it at 185°, and let it carry over to 190° or so.

Bear
 
Bear ...

Thanks for the reply ... -7F this morning when I fired the smoker.  In fact, I've been so busy trying to maintain a constant temp I totally spaced out photos.  I turn it up a little and it gets too warm down a little and it cools down too much.
 
 
Bear ...

Thanks for the reply ... -7F this morning when I fired the smoker.  In fact, I've been so busy trying to maintain a constant temp I totally spaced out photos.  I turn it up a little and it gets too warm down a little and it cools down too much.
Hmmmmmm, Sounds like it's not "only" the cold----Sounds like the wind is playing games with your temp control.

Bear
 
Used this method today myself. Great results! Thanks Bear.

It was way cold here too I think -3 when I fired it up at 4am. MES30 did pretty good though. Kept the chamber ~235* all day and ~250 when the butt was foiled. Not too bad.

Chris
 
 
Used this method today myself. Great results! Thanks Bear.

It was way cold here too I think -3 when I fired it up at 4am. MES30 did pretty good though. Kept the chamber ~235* all day and ~250 when the butt was foiled. Not too bad.

Chris
Glad to hear my method & your MES 30 did good in real cold weather.

I'm smoking some CB right now, but it was all the way up to 14° this morning.

Bear
 
Great post followed the steps here and came out very nice with a 7.6 lb pork shoulder/Boston Butt I smoked in the MES30.  I mix up my mustard with 3 tbls of yellow mustard, 1 tbls of honey, and about 1/2 tbls of squeezed lemon.  Put the mustard and some rub on and double wrapped in the fridge overnight.  I used apple wood pellets in the AMNPS.  I used two rows of pellets in the AMNPS which burned for roughly 5 hours.  

I put the meat in the smoker about 7:55am and removed when it reached 200 degrees IT at 6pm without any cool down time in the smoker.  I pulled some off to eat and then let it rest about 45 minutes before pulling apart.  First time I've every smoked a pork shoulder, so thanks for the great tips!   



 
That looks great, good job  love that pulled pork

Gary
 
 
Great post followed the steps here and came out very nice with a 7.6 lb pork shoulder/Boston Butt I smoked in the MES30.  I mix up my mustard with 3 tbls of yellow mustard, 1 tbls of honey, and about 1/2 tbls of squeezed lemon.  Put the mustard and some rub on and double wrapped in the fridge overnight.  I used apple wood pellets in the AMNPS.  I used two rows of pellets in the AMNPS which burned for roughly 5 hours.  

I put the meat in the smoker about 7:55am and removed when it reached 200 degrees IT at 6pm without any cool down time in the smoker.  I pulled some off to eat and then let it rest about 45 minutes before pulling apart.  First time I've every smoked a pork shoulder, so thanks for the great tips!   
That's Great !!!

Looks Excellent !!

Glad it worked out good for you!!

Keep up the Great Work!!

Bear
 
Can you speak to the 4 hour danger zone?

If you are taking the meat up to 195+ degrees, then what is the concern about the amount of time at a lower temp?

I am going to cook a couple of large pieces of meat and was going to inject, but don't want to risk contamination.

Thanks for any info you can share.
 
Can you speak to the 4 hour danger zone?

If you are taking the meat up to 195+ degrees, then what is the concern about the amount of time at a lower temp?

I am going to cook a couple of large pieces of meat and was going to inject, but don't want to risk contamination.

Thanks for any info you can share.
You can inject, as long as you keep your smoker temp high enough to get it from 40° IT to 140° IT in no longer than 4 hours.

I can't give you the exact scientific explanation, but it seems that the bacteria creates toxins that may not be destroyed later at the high temps we smoke the meat to.

I never really cared to find out the proper wording. Knowing I should either avoid injecting or early probing, or get it from 40° to 140° was enough for me.

Bear
 
Friend of mine is a serious smoker, has a trailered smoker that holds 60 butts, two others that hold 20 & 30.Uses hickory slabs from a sawmill. He always uses the same technique and rub. Smoke @ 225-250 for 6 hours, double wraps in hd foil and back on the smoker for 6 more hours. Butt falls apart when unwrapped and all the fat is rendered into what he calls gravy. I use his way on my little smoker that holds 4 butts and get the same results. Yum.
 
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