Pork Butt Help

[Indy Smoker]

I could use a little advise. . ..

My first butt smoke was probably the best.  I went from fridge to smoker to a temp of 185. took 24+ hours.

I did 2 batches of 2 last week and let them sit out to warm to room temop for 3 hours, then placed in the smoker. They took around 12 hours for both batches to hit 185.  I then FTC'd for 3-4 hours and pulled.  The bone pulled out easy, but some of the meat didn't 'fall apart' like I recall the first batch doing, the meat nearest the bone was a large mass that pulled with a little more effort.

Can letting them sit for 3 hours to get to room temp make a 12 hour cook time difference <9 hour total> ??

Why was the one area more difficult to pull ??

Is the 185 the right temp to cook to ??

What am I doing wrong? or is it just the difference in the butt ??

The only think I may have done differently is not keep water in the pan, but this time I moved to the oven to better control temp swings.

Advise is appreciated

[classicrockgriller]

I do like to cook mine a little longer, to IT of 195'ish.

With FTC it should get to around 200 +.

The 12 hrs does sound a little short in time, especially two butts.

I don't think the room time had anything to do with it.

[ArnieM]

I could use a little advise. . ..

My first butt smoke was probably the best.  I went from fridge to smoker to a temp of 185. took 24+ hours.

I did 2 batches of 2 last week and let them sit out to warm to room temop for 3 hours, then placed in the smoker. They took around 12 hours for both batches to hit 185.  I then FTC'd for 3-4 hours and pulled.  The bone pulled out easy, but some of the meat didn't 'fall apart' like I recall the first batch doing, the meat nearest the bone was a large mass that pulled with a little more effort.

Can letting them sit for 3 hours to get to room temp make a 12 hour cook time difference <9 hour total> ??
Doubtful

Why was the one area more difficult to pull ??
Not cooked enough

Is the 185 the right temp to cook to ??
I'm with CRG and go to 195.  It also depends on where you're taking the temp.  Sometimes two probes are helpful.

What am I doing wrong? or is it just the difference in the butt ??
Could well be the butt.  Some are just plain ornery.

The only think I may have done differently is not keep water in the pan, but this time I moved to the oven to better control temp swings.
Putting some water or apple juice in a pan in the oven might help.

Advise is appreciated

[Habanero Smoker]

You should always keep water in the drip pan, to reduce the possibility of a grease fire.

Twelve hours is pretty quick for a load of two butts to be fully cooked. What cabinet temperature did you use? The butt is made up of a few muscle groups, and each muscle may have more or less connective tissue depending on how each muscle is used by the animal. So the connective tissue in that area hasn't fully converted to gelatin, but at 185°F I would expect it to be done. The placement of the probe is important, so when I hit the temperature I want to remove my meat, I will slowly move the probe in/out to see if the temperature drops (some of the less expensive digital probes can take up to 20 seconds to register the temperature). If it drops I leave the probe at that depth and continue cooking.

Besides not leaving them out to get up to room temperature, the amount of meat (mass), ambient temperatures, wind conditions, the meat itself etc all could have contributed to the longer smoke/cook time.