Cooked my first pork butt (3#) tonight Cooked at 225-250 for 5 hrs use oak and apple. Pulled and wrapped at 200. set for 1 hr
Thoughts: Could not pull, had to chop. Smoke was a little strong/bitter tasting but not bad. No juice at all. I think the strong smoke taste was the oak. Did I over cook? Int tmp was 200* HELP PLEASE
Did you happen to check temp several different places?
Sometimes it hits a fat pocket & you end up with a wrong reading sort of.....
Best way to do these things is only go by temp up to a point, then just go for probe tender where therm
( heck, you can use a skewer or an icepick) just slides in with zero resistance, like there's almost nothing there.....
Try maybe cooking just a little hotter, like 250~275, it will move along a bit faster & the pig can take it...
This also perhaps keeps your fire burning a bit hotter & like more clean (possible cause of some bitterness might be a tad too sluggish of a burn)
I know it kinda wrecks dinner plans, but in that situation you can just stick it back on (even foiled up) & cook awhile longer 'till it falls apart........
Lastly, it is not impossible that a small piece could skip right thru done & start to dry out.....unlikely, but possible....