1/2 pork butt, too low temp

[kaskiles]

My first shot at pork shoulder with the vent wide open had me go to bed without making sure the temperature was as high as it needed to be.  I had found the slider setting earlier Friday afternoon that gave me the temps I wanted, but it didn't seem to work the same with a little meat and the cooler temps of the night.  I think I averaged around 4 hours per pound  :o on this one...

My wife only found the butts Publix's cut in half:


I'm going to try to get a 6 or 7 lb one this weekend from BJ's or WallyWorld, rub it and freeze it for next weekend cook.

I just put together a rub with different stuff from all the spices I see listed here and there (lower sodium and sugar though):


I set the slider to expose 3/8" of the groove from the end (right side), where I had it measuring 230 F chamber temp.  Fell asleep, woke up six hours later and chamber was only around 190 F, and the meat was still back down around 150...  So I adjusted a bit and finally had it cooked around noon:


FTC'd it a couple hours and pulled:


Not as much smoky flavor as I was expecting, but it did taste really good.

Here is my smoking log:
http://kaskiles.org/smoke/smk001/smk001.html

[FLBentRider]

That looks good.

If you ask the meat guys @Publix they will usually go in back and get a bigger butt.

How much smoke did you use?

You're a couple of hours from me.

[terry08]

Looking at the price per pound scared me. Here in Mississippi, where I live. Boston Butt, goes for an average of .89 to.99 cents per pound. I use it to mix with venison sausage for fat content. Just goes to show how prices vary from region to region.

[kaskiles]

I used 4 hours of hickory. I would go with 6 next weekend, but I want to get that starting temperature corrected, and a larger butt cooked before I change much more.
I scrubbed my chamber clean the last few weekends, maybe I need to get some creosote/resin built up...

Yes, I seem to remember $1 per pound picnic shoulders a while back, but butts always seemed higher.  I think Publix might be a little over priced on their meat though.  I'll check out a regular cryovac 6-7 lb butt at wallyworld and BJ's tomorrow and report back the $/lb comparison.

[KyNola]

kaskiles,
We all have a learning curve to go through.  First, Publix totally screwed you with that piece of butt at $2.59/lb.  Walmart should have a "for real" butt at about $2/lb and it won't weigh 3.29 lbs.  Second, don't scrub your smoker clean ever ever ever again.  Did I mention don't scrub your smoker? :)  4 hours of hickory should be plenty but if you want to roll smoke for 6 hours, hit it!

Your finished product looks really good.  Don't worry about this one.  Move to the next one.  I guarantee it will be better.  Why?  Because you learned from this one.

You've got this! Can't wait to hear from you after your second butt smoke.  Relax and have fun.  As my good friend CRG told me one time "Larry, you can't hurt it. It's dead ".

[Habanero Smoker]

You may not need 6 hours of smoke. Give your pork another taste to see if the flavor has improved. I know a lot of members smoke with the vent wide open, but when I have one or two butts in the smoker I have the vent set at about 1/2 open for better heat control.

[FLBentRider]

Publix is definitely higher than Sams club.

BB ribs at Sams were ~$3.00/lb at Publix they were ~$4.59/lb

I think Pork butt was $1.49/lb at Sams

[kaskiles]

Nearest Sams for me is Melbourne or Orlando.
I just got back from checking Cocoa Beach WallyWorld and BJ's wholeSale club.

Butt:
WallyWorld 1.98 $/lb
BJ's club    1.49 $/lb

Brisket:
WallyWorld 1.98 $/lb
BJ's club    3.39 $/lb

So BJ's seems to be about the same as Sams for butt.

Not sure what was up with the BJ's Brisket, but it was very thin (1 1/4") at 4.21 lbs.  It was cryovaced and had a good looking fat skin layer on one side.
I decided to go with a nice looking brisket from WallyWorld, weighed in at 9.93 lbs.

[GusRobin]

Brisket:
WallyWorld 1.98 $/lb
BJ's club    3.39 $/lb
Not sure what was up with the BJ's Brisket, but it was very thin (1 1/4") at 4.21 lbs.  It was cryovaced and had a good looking fat skin layer on one side.I decided to go with a nice looking brisket from WallyWorld, weighed in at 9.93 lbs.

Shooting in the dark I would say that the Wallyworld was a full packer brisket, and the BJ's was a flat. At least that is the type of price differentials i see around here between flats and packers.