doing some pork butts for mother day...... with todays trial run qview included!

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jacobtia

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Feb 24, 2011
231
23
Central Illinois
I am going to do two 6lb pork butts for sammies on mother's day. I have never done a pork butt on the smoker before so I am looking for a lil advise on:

What do I look for in meat selection?

To brine or not to brine?

Cooking temps?

Cooking time?

Foil or no foil? And if foil at what temp?

Thank you in advance for the great advise! You guys rock!
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I am going to do two 6lb pork butts for sammies on mother's day. I have never done a pork butt on the smoker before so I am looking for a lil advise on:

What do I look for in meat selection?

I like to do bone in and other than that I haven't found much difference in what I have available

To brine or not to brine?

I don't brine sometimes I inject other times I don't

Cooking temps?

225-250

Cooking time?

Too many variables but figure roughly 1.5 hours per lb

Foil or no foil? And if foil at what temp?

Depends on how much bark you want no foil = more harder bark. Personally I like to foil and I do it at 160-165 it will also speed up the cooking time a bit

Thank you in advance for the great advise! You guys rock!
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Sounds like a great mothers day smoke. Dont forget the qveiw and what pineywoods said
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Piney has it right.  The only other question you need to answer: slice or pull?  If slicing, I foil at 165* and take the meat to 185-195*.  If pulling, I foil and take to 205* -- it will literally fall apart in your hands.  Either way, when it hits temp, Leave the foil on & wrap in towels and place in a cooler to rest for NO LESS than 1 hour (2 is even better) before slicing or shredding.  The meat will stay nice and hot for a very long time this way, so don't worry about waiting that long before you serve everyone.  In fact, you will burn your fingers a bit shredding the meat by hand.

BTW, I never bother to brine, and the smokey goodness never lasts very long ;-).  I also don't spritz with any moisture, but I do keep a pan of water in the smoker to keep moisture levels up and smoker temps stable.

I've had them finish up in about 9 hours and had them go 14.  It's done when its done.  Things vary so much because of the differences in connective tissue content, which leads to a brief discussion of "The Stall."   The internal meat temp will stall around 145* and may stay there for hours.  Don't panic, and don't keep peeking!  That connective tissue is breaking down which gives you that tenderness and fantastic flavor.  Keep the thin blue smoke going and cook temp in the butter zone (225-250*), and all will be well.  Your first stall is the worst, because you convince yourself your doing something wrong or missing a trick.  Think of it a little like "trial by fire."

Cheers!  Follow Piney's guidelines and my advice, and you'll be stuck doing this EVERY Mother's Day, so I hope you like doing it!!!
 
Thank you guys! I really appreciate the advise! And I am planning on trying the finishing sauce mentioned by fpnmf! That sounds mighty tasty! And don't worry guys I won't forget the q view when the day comes I'll have plenty of pics for ya'll!
 
I had to do a trial run on a butt prior to Mother's Day to make sure I was happy with what I am going to be serving! So I picked up a 4 lb. boneless pork butt today and here she sits on the smoker. More Qview to follow!

2acfdb6d_qview.jpg


I had one hell of a stall! This 4 lb butt was on from 11am till 8pm! I stuck the probe in her at 4 hrs and she was at 151. She went up to about 161 and just stayed......I finally hit 163 and decided to foil.... About 1 hour after foiling it she broke 170 and cruised along to 205.

BUTT!!!!!!! I must say it was the best pulled pork I have ever had and I enjoyed the extra time I had to soak up some beers!

I used a combination of hickory chucks and apple chips!

I didn't get to rub it down the night before so I decided I'd try mixing 2 tbl of cider vinegar 1 tbl beer and 2 tbl of my spice rub and inject this little concoction into the butt.

Then I gave it a coat of my spice rub.

I also used the finishing sauce mentioned above and that took this pulled pork to the next level!

Well.....I had a great day and I hope ya'll enjoy the qview!

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Notes taken from trial run.......

Gonna prolly smoke the night before to ensure dinner is served at 1.

Definitly gonna use a finishing sauce only I will prolly half the crushed red pepper.

Other than that I have to say I think my guests will be very happy come Mother's Day!
 
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I'd love a nice butt for Mother's Day....  but I'm stuck with mine.
GROOOOOAAANNNNN


Thank you guys! I really appreciate the advise! And I am planning on trying the finishing sauce mentioned by fpnmf! That sounds mighty tasty! And don't worry guys I won't forget the q view when the day comes I'll have plenty of pics for ya'll!
Looks delicious!!

Craig
 
Nice Job, Looks Great...

Good Luck on Mothers Day...
 
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