Pork Butt on WSM

[Burgman08]

Threw a 4.5lb pork butt on the WSM this past weekend. 

Started it around 8:45am.  Temperature held btw 215 & 240 pretty reasonably all day.

From all the reading i had done, i knew the stall (btw 155 & 165) would drive me nutz, but i wanted to hit that 195 internal temp mark.  So by 6:30pm (nearly 10hrs), w/ an internal temp at 163, i pulled it, wrapped in in foil for an hour, sliced and served...cause i had to feed the family.  I was hoping to get to that magical pulled pork consistency but it was like serving a roast.

Had a great smoke ring, flavor was damn good, i just didn't have that magical pull.

I'm wondering if my impatience got the best of me and i should have left it on until it hit 195?  I would just hate to have it be overdone.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

[MacEggs]

Reminds me of this thread:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/the-longest-pork-shoulder-smoke-ever/

Bump up the temps next time.  Should not be a problem for a pork butt to handle.

[WNC]

Yeah, you just needed to let it cook longer.
Butts will usually pull somewhere between 195-200, but it's much better to go by the probe test. When your probe goes in all over like warm butter than its ready to pull. In fact I don't even turn my thermometer on anymore when doing butts, that way I don't worry about temps and go more on feel.

My wsm likes to run between 250-275 and my butts take between 8-10 hours. I'll go 6-7 hours to let the bark set up and then wrap in two layers of heavy duty foil. In an hour or two after wrapping start checking for probe tenderness. When it feels like warm butter, wrap it in a towel, and let it set in a warm cooler for at least an hour. After that should pull with no problem.

Good luck and keep practicing you'll get it, the wsm is a great cooker. Oh yeah, pictures are always nice too!

[1buckie]

Like above, a couple things may help........

You can easily go at a higher temp without any ill effects......I shoot for 260~275 generally.....gets done faster, comes out just as well, plenty of time at that temp to add as much smoke as you'd like....
I get nervous when someone says 215 because if you happen to be reading off a lid therm, it's way under that....like at 180 or something.....could possibly even be not foodsafe if you go uncured at too low of heat....that's what Tenderquick & other curing salts are for......

Don't be fooled by a smaller piece, as it's going to go by thickness much more than total mass.......heat needs to get to the core & stay at that level for "X" amount of time.....

Most times, I'll cook all the way thru (likely around 200, but slide easy probe tender is the best indicator...or bone wiggle / release, see below), let breathe for 15 minutes to stop the cooking mostly, then dbl. foil wrap, towel around that & into a dry cooler for minimum 1-1/2 hours........this is the most important part from my own personal; perspective.....it needs to sit still & allow the juices to level out & reabsorb all thru the piece.....then you get this:





Bone release.....the bone will pop loose from the meat & come completely clean.....
I tend to move it around or wiggle, but then leave it in place so as not to disturb the shape of the piece....





You can wrap during the cook....some people do to get a good ending color.....find where you like it & wrap at that point....



It will also then speed up the cook somewhat....