OK... I have been successfully smoking pork butts (thanks to many of you on this forum) for a few years now and I always smoke them at 225 in my MES30 until the IT reaches 165 and at that point I foil it with some apple juice until it hits 205 (or slightly less if I have extra time knowing that the temp will rise as it rests in the cooler). This is the most reliable fool proof method I have ever used (along with 3-2-1). The only downside to doing the foil is that you loose the great texture of the bark. I also know that the primary reason it was suggested to foil was to assist in getting the butt through the stalling period. Which leads me to my next question: Has anyone ever foiled at 165 until the temp starts to climb on a regular basis and then remove it from the foil and throw it back in the smoker without foil until it hits 205 so that you get some of that wonderful bark back? I would assume it would work but just thought I would throw it out there for others to critique. I will not sacrifice the moist, delicious meat when foiling due to my bark fetish but thought I could possibly get the best of both worlds. I will be throwing 2 8 pound butts in the MES tonight for a surprise birthday party for my sister tomorrow at 3:00 so I will most likely chuck them in at 12:00 tonight figuring roughly 1.5 hours per pound (and the fact that it will most likely take longer to get up to temp due to 2 butts in the smoker). 8*1.5=12hrs.. So it should be ready to roll somewhere between 12:00 and 1:00 and if it is I will have some time for resting, if not i have a little time to CMA. Thoughts Anyone???
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks,
Jim