First overnight pork butt

[smokeusum]

Darn!! See my link wouldn't post! Google "physicist cracks BBQ mystery"... I know it's hard, but hang in there; you've come this far, don't ruin it!!!

 

[yardbird]

20 hours

Meat 189

Smoker 250 (got warm outside....temp crept up... I didn't touch it... honest)

So... 2 stalls... waiting for the "bloom" where it climbs temp quick at the end.... hope it comes soon and glad I didn't start this in the morning hoping it'd be ready for dinner. heheheh

 

[flash]

Only got up once... and had to pee anyways, so.... not like I was getting up every hour or 2 to check. 9 hours? I'm 13 hours in and meat temp is 174. Smoker temp 235 (It went up some when the sun came up). Maybe if I cooked it at 275 I could push it to 9 hours, but this one is low and slow and goin' long. And I'm in no hurry, which I think is the best part. Nobody droolin' on me with plate in hand waiting for food. :)

OK... 'cept maybe Darby (one of my dogs) ... seems he's ALWAYS hungry

 You don't foil, but when I get around 170º IT I do, then I jump the temps up to 295º to 300º. I can get 8 lbers done in 9 1/2 hours that way with no lost of moisture to the meat. Guess you could try it with out the foil and see how that work. Should put more bark on it also.

 

[yardbird]

OK, I'm admitting I gave up and pulled it out after TWENTY AND ONE HALF hours. Meat probe in several locations (just to be sure) said the meat temp was 190. I thought I might have to slice it. Nope. Bone pulled out clean and it pulled just fine. The bark was out of this world. My wife and son were competing as to who could steal the most pieces of bark. :)

I have no idea why this one took as long as it did. It's just one of those things I guess.

IMG_20130825_164944.jpg

• yardbird
• Aug 25, 2013

It kinda fell into chunks like this once I started moving it around. This one had more juice INSIDE than I remember any of my other ones and very little juice in the drip pan.

 

[pc farmer]

Sounds like everything is in order! I'm still too paranoid to do an overnight smoke!

Ya me too.  I wouldnt be able to sleep.

 

[cliffcarter]

When you do them at 300 how long does it take? I mean, do you shorten the cook time enough to just start in the morning and have it for dinner for sure?

Cooking at 300°  I cook butts at a rate of slightly less than 1 hour per pound, there is no stall, no foiling(thus no loss of bark) and no overnighters. I would have started your 6 pounder at 9AM, been done at 3PM and resting for an hour or before pulling and serving. 

Here's another little secret- your butt is probably done and the temp does not reflect that fact. I have had butts done and pullable at temps as low as 182°, the way to tell is the probe test- if your temp probe slides smoothly with no resistance from the meat( I liken it to probing thick custard) then you are done. The other test is to grab the bone and twist it out, if it comes out easily you're done, wear gloves it will be hot.

 

[webowabo]

Wow.. stubborn little 6lber.... ;) thats how some meat go ;) glad it turned out well.

 

[yotzee]

Cooking at 300°  I cook butts at a rate of slightly less than 1 hour per pound, there is no stall, no foiling(thus no loss of bark) and no overnighters. I would have started your 6 pounder at 9AM, been done at 3PM and resting for an hour or before pulling and serving. 

Here's another little secret- your butt is probably done and the temp does not reflect that fact. I have had butts done and pullable at temps as low as 182°, the way to tell is the probe test- if your temp probe slides smoothly with no resistance from the meat( I liken it to probing thick custard) then you are done. The other test is to grab the bone and twist it out, if it comes out easily you're done, wear gloves it will be hot.

A few weeks ago I accidentally left my vents open too much on an overnight of a 9LB butt I was doing.  I went to bed at midnight, woke up at 8 and headed down right away to check it.  When I opened up and saw what I did I screamed!   I let it sit for a while then let I pulled it around 11am.  According to my wife it was one of the best butts I have ever done.  I couldn't argue.  It was juicy, nice texture and excellent bark.  Butts are very forgiving and you can get away with a lot.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I know patience is a virtue and all that, but seriously? I'm closing in on 19 hours and still sittin' at 183. Like it stalled around 170 and now again at 183. After I moved the Maverick's probe around a couple places, I went in and got another meat thermometer, and it agrees with the Maverick. So I'm ruling out a therm/probe malfuntion and just going with the flow..... actually more like a trickle.

Hopefully you made to 140* in less than 4 hours. I have had butts and brisket stall out multiple times before. For six pounds it sure is strange. The butts that I do are usually 9-8 pounds and are normally done in 12-16 hours running my smoker at 265* The last two that I did both 8 pounds took 20 hours! Crazy long!

 

[rtbbq2]

Sounds like you nailed it. How did that butt turn out...........

 

[yardbird]

Sounds like you nailed it. How did that butt turn out...........

It pulled fine. It tasted wonderful. It just never reached that 205 temp. Texture was perfect... not mushy, not too tight. It was moist and .... just great, actually.

Cliffcarter's comment about the probe test really fits in this case. When probing temp it was like pushing the probe into air. No resistance at all.

So I learned a lot from this session.

#1 I learned my smoker can pull an all-nighter very easily. Holds temp well. And I get to sleep without having to baby sit the smoker.

#2 Meat temp is still what I'll cook by, but I learned there are exceptions to the rule and in this case I learned how to tell when enough is enough. :)

#3 I learned about higher temp cooking for butts. I already do poultry at high temps (the closer to 350 I can hold, the better I like it) with great success so I'm going to try a butt at high temp and see how we like it. 

#4 I learned to cook ahead. I always seem to "call it close" on timing. I need to start well ahead of time. I KNOW the meat can hold, whether it's a butt or a turkey. It is SO much more relaxing to NOT have to push through a stall 'cause people are hungry or guests are waiting. Makes it more fun to prepare the sides. :)