My 1st Pork Butt finally on the grill.

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sirovenmitt

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2015
8
10
Cedar Park TX
So didn't sleep to well last night stressing about smoking my 1st meat and i'm starting with a 7p Pork Butt. So far am I 1hr and 20mins behind schedule as my grill blew up on temp when I went into the house to put the final coat of rub on it. Temp was up to 280 and I couldn't get the Akorn back down on temp and finally shut it all down and restarted the process. Got the temp at 216 right now trying to slowly get it to the 220 mark without over shooting it. I am trying to follow Bears step by step Pork Butt instructions. Did put rub on the butt last night but didn't put any mustard on till this morning as I thought it might get better rub flavor into the meat over night without the mustard blocking it.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the temp, 280° is no big deal with pork butt. I used to smoke them low and slow, but got tired of having them take 16-18 hours. Now I run my smoker at 285° and get the same results only in half the time.

As for your mustard, its not needed for anything and it doesn't add any flavor. The dampness of the meat is all you need to adhere the rub. I used to rub the night before, but now I apply the rub while the smoker is coming up to temp.

One last thing

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You are doing fine.  Butt is very forgiving so don't sweat on the temps. Many ways and variations for getting excellent pork butt. Hopefully your first will be too, and spur you to try some variations as well.  ex) we like to marinate the butt over night (12-15hrs) in a cup of pickling salt, 2 quarts of water and 8 ozs of molasses. Put the rub on in the morning and then smoke. Good luck and here's hoping for a successful 1st smoke!

Matt
 
When it comes to butts/shoulders, temp control is nice but not necessary.  It helps you better predict what time it MIGHT be done, but that's one piece of meat that will take whatever temp you throw at it.  I've done butts on my smoker at just about every constant temp between 225F and 350F, with a few spikes to 450F later in the smoke once wrapped.  I've had 100F swings on the high side in temp when I used to spritz or smoke with different meats and I had the cover off for too long, feeding the fire too much air.  The butts turned out delicious every time.    

Like DS2003 above I've moved into the hot and fast camp, smoking mine between 275F and 325F, depending on how fast I want them done.  Butts/shoulders just wanna get smoked, pulled, and eaten!
 
Absolutely with the rest. As long as the target temp of the butt hits (for me...) 200-205, don't stress the rest.

I've had temp control issues on my current smoker. So I've had swings from180-380. But maintained good smoke and took the meat off at 203ish....butts were delicious.
 
Ugh the coals went out so had a slight hiccup while I took everything out and got them going again. Guess I either didn't let enough air in or didn't stack the lumps well enough to keep them burning. Been going for 5-1/2hrs and IT is up to 136. I did get it injected and the meat probe in while restarting the coals. Hopefully I got the probe in the right spot :/.
 
 
Keep the faith and keeep smokin.
icon_biggrin.gif


You are leaning a lot today.
Totally agree.... Just learn from it... Remember, it's a "fun" hobby... Have a cold beverage and relax... By the way, Do you keep a BBQ journal? I used to, and it helps a lot... you can right down the problems and what you did to correct it, as well as, what you thought of afterward that may have been a better solution... On a side note; I have about 20 pages dedicated to the "F" word (no not "FUN" - the other one)
 
 
Ugh the coals went out so had a slight hiccup while I took everything out and got them going again. Guess I either didn't let enough air in or didn't stack the lumps well enough to keep them burning. Been going for 5-1/2hrs and IT is up to 136. I did get it injected and the meat probe in while restarting the coals. Hopefully I got the probe in the right spot :/.
Hey if you have 5.5 hours of smoke on the meat feel free to throw it in the oven if your pit is giving your trouble. Set that baby to 225-250 and wrap in foil let it go for another 4-5 hours and you should have delicious PP!

Remember its not an exact science its an art and for sure have fun with it!

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)
 
I got the Akorn back up to speed shortly after injecting and inserting the probe. I just hit 165 and put it in the drippings pan and foiled it and then remembered I was supposed to take a picture O|o

Yeah For-Q I got a note book and been writing notes, am trying to not make it harder than it has to be by forgetting mistakes I've already made. I will be sure to get a photo when it finishes.
 
Ok what a long day. I could never dial in the akorn to sit at a temp it would drift up or down, all I can say is thank god for the Mavrick wireless temp gauge!! The time and temps were pretty spot on for Bears step by step so that was reassuring that the meat probe was in a good spot and giving a true reading. Had the inlaws over for dinner and they all liked it, although I thought the non-bark pieces were a little unflavorful. Next time I might use pineapple juice instead of apple and might add more rub to the injection fluid, might try and pump more into it as well. From the looks of the coal area I didn't get some wood chunks burned up so I think I was missing a bit of smoke as well. Going to have to work on my stacking.  Thanks for the support now i'm going to go passout,             i'm beat! Here's the final product. 
 
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