Pork Butt temperature problem.

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blefever

Newbie
Original poster
Sep 5, 2011
5
10
Fort Myers, FL
Pork Butt - Can't seem to get meat's internal temp high enough. Using a WSM 18 1/2" and recipe from "Smoking Meat" by Jeff Phillips (pg 84). Should be a 10 hr smoke.. I'm at the 9th hour and internal temp (of the meat) is reading 171. The book calls for 205. I'm using the top rack in the grill, but can't imaging that would be the problem. Anyone have any suggestions, etc.  May have to end up putting this sucker in the oven, but sure would like to know what I'm doing wrong. Thanks in advance. 
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Time is just loose guideline, not an absolute. Every piece of meat cooks differently, depending on the size and fat content. Yours sounds to be in the "stall" stage, were it will sit for a few hours without budging. Once it's done with that, the IT will start to rise again. You can speed this up by wrapping in foil, if you want, but this will effect the consistency of the bark.

I'm looking at the recipe, and it does say "10-1/2 to 12 hours". Just give it more time and, assuming your thermometer is accurate, wait until it hits 200° to 205° to take it out.
 
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Thanks to all. I'm still fighting this thing. I'm now at 11 hours and 20 minutes and probe reads at 190. We are now working on Plan B for tonight's dinner.

Am going to get another meat thermometer, but I'm currently using a Redi Chek Model ET-732. 

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Thanks to all. I'm still fighting this thing. I'm now at 11 hours and 20 minutes and probe reads at 190. We are now working on Plan B for tonight's dinner.

Am going to get another meat thermometer, but I'm currently using a Redi Chek Model ET-732.

th_INGardenbbq7.gif
Wrap the butt in foil if it isn't already and crank the temp up. 

EDIT:   Redi Check is a Maverick that most around here use.  Before going out and getting another thermo, test this one in some boiling water on the stove.   Hold the probe tip down in the water, but off of the bottom of the pan.  Should read 212 iirc.
 
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What temp are you smoking at? At this point you could probably bump it up 10°-15° to finish it.
 
Thanks again! After (only) 12 hrs 15 min, the butt reached 205 degrees. Tested the probe in boiling water and it is fine as it registered 212 degrees. Still not sure what the problem was. For the first 8 hours, I kept the temp in the 230-245 degree range, but then realized it was not working as planned, so I put more coals in an let it go on its own. Temp got into the 300's before the food temp got to 205. Let it col, and it tastes GREAT, but I wish I understood what the heck happened (and why it happened). 
 
Search "stall", and you will see many threads discussing the issue. Don't worry, it's normal. 
 
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