HELP My pork butt won't come to temp.

[GaryHibbert]

 
many thanks guys... one other question is  will the shoulder develop a better coat of bark by leaving it in to 200-205??? last weeks shoulder lacked it

Hey paris.  I hate to tell you this, but I use a MES 30, and like just about ALL MES' it never gets good bark.  On the bright side, bark looks great but doesn't really add to the flavor.

Gary

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
Hey paris.  I hate to tell you this, but I use a MES 30, and like just about ALL MES' it never gets good bark.  On the bright side, bark looks great but doesn't really add to the flavor.

Gary

There may be a little mix-up here... An MES will never give a Smoke Ring and Smoke Rings don't contribute a whole lot to flavor, but Bark is another story.

I have been smoking Butts in my MES40 at 225 for 4 years and get Great Bark. I don't foil and let them go to 205°F, planning on 2 hours per pound. The bark does soften if the meat is done early and I have to wrap in foil and go in the cooler. The Pork is the main flavor once the butt is pulled and all is mixed together, but ALL the Spice and Smoke flavor comes from the Bark. My Finishing Sauces add additional spices and enhance the meat flavor. If the Bark added no flavor, we wouldn't taste the smoke or the Rub and we might as well just roast Butts in the oven naked.

My Daughter, Ski302, just smoked a Butt last weekend in my older MES40 I gave her. She got a late start, called from PA and asked what to do. I had her cut the Butt into Fist sized chunks and smoke at 250°F. The Pork was done in 5 hours and she reported awesome Bark. She said it was the best she ever had and was going to do all her Pork Butts in this manner because of the extra Bark and flavor...JJ

 

[Bones816]

Wow, old thread but I'm having the same issue! This my first pork shoulder. I'm using a Traeger. It's a 4 pound butt and has been on for 8 hours at 225*. Still only has an IT of 167*. People coming over in an hour.

 

[Bones816]

I mean, everything I read said 2 hours per pound. Dang.

 

[Bones816]

I know I'm new but hoped for a response. Anyway, I read about "the stall" yesterday and wrapped it in foil and the temp came up fairly quickly after that. Which section of the forum is most likely to receive attention? Which is most used? Thanks for your responses.

 

[sauced]

Wow, old thread but I'm having the same issue! This my first pork shoulder. I'm using a Traeger. It's a 4 pound butt and has been on for 8 hours at 225*. Still only has an IT of 167*. People coming over in an hour.

Raise the temp of your smoker....I run my smoker around 280, food cooks much quicker and no difference. If you have to, put it in the oven, wrapped at a temp of 300 - 325.

 

[joseph gulino]

it will defintely bark up at 205... stop opening your smoker
trust the meat and watch the heat

 

[Bones816]

I did not open my smoker. I have a Traeger and it has probes that go in the meat and back to a digital readout of the IT. I had read it would take 1 1/2 - 2 hours per pound and invited some people over at he 9-10 hour mark but the meat was still sitting at 167* after 9 hours.

 

[llbaker2]

I smoke a 5 lb butt the other day. Would not go past 190 degrees. Smoked it for 14 hrs, thats almost 3 hrs/pound. Cranked it up to 280 or so for last couple hours or so but would not go over 190. Not my first roast. Never had one stall at the end like that. My roast have always been nice and moist. Outer 1/2 inch was dry and tough like it was overcooked. Roast pulled OK but not great. Was using a Yoder offset stick burner. Have never found it necessary to wrap a butt and have always had good results but think I should have wrapped this one because of stall at the end. It sat at 190 for 2+ hrs even with chamber temps near 300 for last couple hours and internal temp didnt change more than a degree or two. End result was an OK roast except for the outer 1/2-3/4 inch which was dry and overcooked.