Smoked Pork Butt or Roast

[otterman91105]

Hey guys i'm sure this topic has came up a lot, but i'm starting to learn how to smoke just wondering if i can get some help on what to use and how to cook a pork butt. Does a guy use apple cider or apple juice in the water pan, do you wrap it in foil towards the end or no, do you spray with anything durning cooking. Any input is helpful. Thanks. I ended up buying a pork roast that is 5 and a half lbs.

[reinhard1]

Otterman try looking up a real good thread titled "1st Smoked pork shoulder" on page 6 of this cooking forum. should answer some of your questions for starters. also one thread that is a must to look at for any smoker is "HSO's Smoked, Smoking @Smokers Library Of Links" put out by Shack. pages of a variety of smoking ideas and recipe's and more. first thread on the first page. any more questions just ask. good luck.

[delcecchi]

also virtual weber bullet. Great smoking HSOforum, oriented towards the weber smoky mountain.

[otterman91105]

Thanks guys really appeciate it.

[otterman91105]

Cooking it on friday morning. How many hours do you add wood chips for? I have done some reading some say for the first three hours.

[reinhard1]

i've been talking to a guy i know who's been retired longer than i was and we were talking just like a couple of meatheads would do at times, about smoking. since you asked this question, i recall him telling me that he keeps the smoke on till the internal temp is 145 degrees. then he double wraps the butt in heavy foil and keeps it in the smoker wrapped in this foil until the internal temp gets to 200 and then takes it out of the smoker.

this is for a butt that's about 8 pounds and it takes him 12 hours at 225 in an electric smoker. in his drip pan he puts a 50/50 mix of apple juice and hot water. he cuts up a couple of onions and slices up one lemon and puts it in the liquid as well. also when the butt is done he keeps it wrapped in the foil, then wraps the butt in a couple of towels and puts it in a cooler for 2 hours before shredding it.

good luck.

[McGurk]

I know you are looking to nail it on your first time, but honestly, you just need to do it and see how it goes. Keep reading on here, glean what you like and don't like and what works and what doesn't work. Make a plan including times working backward from serving time,write it down, and stick to it. I like to leave myself around 12 hours from the point of starting the smoker to putting it on the table. There are hours of reading that has accumulated here, and I'd bet most of your questions have been asked (and rightly so!) and have been answered in depth.

Here is my input, and could be put into 4 categories:

1- Week before Prep (Meal Plan, Get or Thaw Meat, Shop for Rub ingredients and side dishes)

2- Night before Prep (Pork butt, Smoker, and cooking utensils and needs)

3- Smoking (Initial Smoke, Foil, and Stall stages)

4- Serving Prep (Resting, Pulling, and Serving)

1) Self explanitory but important none the less. I like Baked Beans, Coleslaw, and Cheap white buns for this meal, plus whatever else you want to make it yours.

2) The night before, unwrap and rinse the butt off. I like to pat it dry, put it into a tray that will hold it and can be covered with saran wrap, and let it sit for a few minutes. Mix up a brine while waiting, and I then apply my rub all over it. I then inject it with about a cup of brine, cover it with saran wrap, and put it in the fridge overnight.

3) Get your smoker up to temp, I run at 225 deg or so. I like to smoke with apple juice/vinegar spritzing until around 160 int temp or when the meat starts "weeping" on its own. You will see this happen because up to this point it will appear dry between spritzings, but now the fat is starting to melt and leave the pork butt, giving it a wet look on its own.

I like foiling the butt at this point in HD alum foil with a good shot of spritz juice to help it to self-baste. If I didn't do this the fat would just run off into my coals cool the smoker down (yours may not). I don't use a drip pan due to heat dispersion, so in my smoker the drippings hit the coals directly, and too much juice falling will kill the fire. Obviously no smoke will penetrate the foil so don't waste the wood.

The time to get the butt to 160 deg int temp takes a few hours, but the time from 165 to 175 deg takes a few hours on its own, and is referred to as the "stall." During this process, the collagen in the fat is changing chemically to a gelatin (a good thing) and it takes some time to do this. After this happens, the int temp will start start rising quickly again so you need to watch that you don't allow it to get too high. Some people like to let it get up to 210 int temp before pulling, but I like around 195-200 myself.

4) I then take it out still wrapped and put it into a cooler to "rest". Get a cooler not much larger than the pork butt, and either some old towels or a lot of crumpled newspaper. Layer the bottom, put in a small pan or tray, and put the foiled butt into in. Cover with more towels or crumpled paper, and allow a minimum of 1/2 hour to rest. I like to go up to 2 hours if time allows, it will stay warm and the juices are being pulled back into the butt so it is juicier when pulling. Pull no more than 15 minutes before serving.

Open white bun, spoon on some pork, pour on bbq sauce if you'd like, spoon on some 'slaw, close bun: eat!

[OnAFly]

Here's my advice:

Make sure you get a bone-in butt.

Coat it with rub the night before you smoke it

Let it sit at room temp for 1.5h before you smoke

When you smoke it, it will get 10 160-170F fairly quickly, then stall. This is normal, don't touch it.

It's done when the bone easily pulls out. This is around 200F.

[reinhard1]

my old meathead buddy told me to smear yellow mustard well around the butt and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours and then put the rub on it, he calls it glue . the rub sticks to the meat better. dont taste the mustard after it cooks. good luck.

[OnAFly]

I used to do that, but stopped after trying it without. It didn't seem to make much difference. To each his own in smoking though.

[otterman91105]

Thanks guys i think i got it.

[otterman91105]

I cooked the pork roast on friday, it took about nine hours. This was the first time i have had smoked pork and it was awesome. Will do again that's for sure. Thanks again to anyone that helped me.

[Leaky]

Congrats. I'm not sure if I can do this or not, but here is a great cooking log in Excel you can download. It's pre-formatted - just fill in the blanks.

I started using this from my first smoke and can see where it will be a great tool as I try to get better and better at this.

[norm25]

I would love to see that template for excel!!

[Leaky]

I would love to see that template for excel!!

I just emailed you a blank one and one I filled out during a recent cook. I'll be using this everytime I use the smoker.

[norm25]

Got it. Thank you!