first pork butt questions...

[Illsmokeanything]

Hi everybody, just got registered on the Bradley forum and am looking forward to participating.  My OBS is fairly new and I have had some good smoking experiences so far and some bad.  Last night I bought a 5 lb pork butt, rubbed it down with mustard and rubbed it with a rub recipe.  I wrapped it in syran wrap and put it in the fridge overnight to absorb some flavor.  I got up this morning and started preheating the OBS at 6:45 and then loaded the butt on the second rack from the bottom at about 7:45.  This thing has been smoking for about 14 hours so far and i've had the heat maxed out the whole time.  Current OBS temp is finally up to about 235 and I have only opened the door once all day to change water after about 5 hours of smoke.  Temperature outside is about 40 degrees so that must be holding me back I guess.  Right now the IT is at 183 and I really wanted to at least get a midnight snack out of this thing before I have to refridgerate it!  My question is do I have to FTC for a couple of hours?  Is it going to make a huge difference?  The timing on all of this is just terrrible.  Should I take it out when it hits 195???  I figured 2 hrs per pound max. and figured we would be eating this for dinner tonight!

Thanks for any input.  These forums are very informing and addictive!!  I have spend a lot of time digging up information!!

[DisplacedCoonass]

More experienced will pop in shortly enough I'm sure.   I would say to wait till 195 and that you should be able to pull a tiny bit off to snack on when it's done and then you can just FTC or FTM until you wake up in the morning.  The limited number of butts I've done, I've pulled them after 6+ hours of FTM.

[GusRobin]

Butts can be temperamental. I have had 8lbs that took 12-14 hours and others that have taken 20+.
Couple of questions: did you have the vent open? A closed vent will keep moisture in and make for longer cook times.

[Illsmokeanything]

Ok thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, I've had the vent fully open the entire time.  For the first several hours of the smoke/cook the temperature was hovering around 200 to 210 was as high as I could get it.  It's at 193 right now and this is going to make about a total of 15 hours by the time I'm done!  I have a cooler with some hot water in it and I think I'll just set my alarm for about 4 hrs and get up and pull it and refirigerate it until dinner tomorrow.

[watchdog56]

I have always FTC for at least a couple of hours to let the juices soak back into the meat. I would think if you do not FTC it would still be tender but not sure how moist.

[TedEbear]

This thing has been smoking for about 14 hours so far and i've had the heat maxed out the whole time.

How long are you actually adding smoke?  Hopefully, not 14 hours.  3-4 hours seems to be the norm around here on the smoke. 

[beefmann]

sounds like you  had a stall in it for a few hours, should be done soon

[Illsmokeanything]

thanks everybody for the comments.  I pulled it out at 11:45 last night and it was awesome! Should have taken some pics, but didn't even think about it.  I did the FTC and woke up at 4 in the morning and pulled it.  (man the bone slid right out of that thing!!! it was awesome!) Now we are geting ready to heat it up and eat!

[ghost9mm]

Man hit that with some starnes and balsamic vinegar and have at it...

[MidKnightRider]

I just took an 8Lb butt out of the OBS, 21 Hrs till it hit 195?F IT.
Its FTC now will get up and fridge it later tonight.
I've always FTC, helps to keep it moist.
Will pull it later tonight.
Its for New Years day!