Two Butts

[JohnM70]

Hi all I just finished smoking 2 pork butts. It is the first time I have smoked two meats at once. From the pictures you can see that one butt is larger than the other. We made our own rub (some day we will figure the proportions) and put a coat of molasses before the rub. I did not trim the fat cap and it was on top in the oven.

I set the internal temperature (on the remote) to 195 and since I over slept the IT was 203/205. We FTC'd the butts and after 2.5 hours we began pulling. The larger butt was not easy to pull so I cut into steak size portions and cut the meat from the bone. The taste was great and  the meat  tender, with the exception of not being able to pull it part. The smaller butt came apart with ease and the flavor was great also; although a little different from the larger butt.

We prepped the butts as usual. The larger was put on the 2nd slot from the top and the smaller on the bottom slot. The weather was 35 degrees and 10MPH wind, the smoker is sheltered. I wrapped the box with a blanket. Sorry no pictures of the Butts in the box.
I did not rotate the racks. Both were smoked for 4.5 hours and the box temperature varied from 190 to 235. (Redi Check)

I am curious if not rotating the racks contributed to the problem of not being able to pull the larger butt apart.

Thanks   

Big butt


Smaller Butt


Big Butt after FTC. I had to do a little work to get the bone away. It did not pull away easily



Small Butt after FTC pulled apart easily.



I had to slice some of the Big Butt into steak size pieces.

[Wildcat]

Not rotating the butts had nothing to do with not being able to pull the larger one. Not rotating simply equates to them getting done at different times.

I am confused - you said that you set the internal temp on the remote to 195. Assuming you are talking F and not Celsius is that 195 the internal cabinet temp or meat temp? If meat temp, which one? 195 to 205 meat temp in the center of the meat not touching bone and not in fat in both meats should have left both butts falling apart when being handled. Assuming you are talking exclusively about internal meat temps, at what cabinet temp did you cook at? Also, exactly where were all the temp probes located?

[TedEbear]

I'm confused.  Did you pull both of them out at the same time?  It would be unusual for both to be done at once, especially if they are different sizes.  I'm thinking the big one wasn't cooked all the way and maybe you had a meat probe up against the bone or a fat pocket that gave a false temp reading.

[JohnM70]

Not rotating the butts had nothing to do with not being able to pull the larger one. Not rotating simply equates to them getting done at different times.

I am confused -

You are confused?.... I wrote this. OK I set the internal temp to 195 F on the larger Butt (LB). I had a non remote on the smaller one (SB). The 205F IT was on the larger one. Before I put the meat in the oven I check for the location of the bone in the LB. The probe was about 3.5" from the bone. The SB probe was maybe 3" from the bone.  The cabinet  temp was set to 240 on the Bradly. The remote probe was attached to the rack next to the LB (pos #2 frm top). The temp on the remote fluctuated between 205 and 240 +/- some? I am not sure if the probe in LB or SB were in a fat pocket, I am not sure how to determine that issue. They were however, in the middle of the LB & SB.

One other note the top of the LB was not very dark when I remove it from the cabinet. However, after removing the LB from the FTC it appeared darker. I do not remember seeing contrasting color of the bark when I started to pull.

Many thanks for your comments.

John

[JohnM70]

I'm confused.  Did you pull both of them out at the same time? 

Hi TedBear please check my response to Wildcat. I did pull both out at the same time. The IT on both was over 200. I am not sure about the fat pocket which could be the issue. 

Thanks for your response.

John

[Wildcat]

I suspect the probe in the LB was in some fat and gave you a false reading and the meat temp was probably much lower. Since it seemed to be done I would guess that your LB was probably at a much lower temp and it got totally done during the FTC just not done enough to pull. The best way to tell if the butt is done enough for pulling is with the fork test. If you can twist it without too much resistance then it is ready to pull.

I have found that with 1 large butt, it normally takes between 16 and 24 hours. When I do 2 butts it normally takes 20 to 24 for the first one and another 4 to 8 hours for the other one if I do not rotate. I normally do not rotate due to losing heat each time door is opened.

I cook at lower temps than most on here, but I also do not always have to take the meat temp so high in order to pull. I cook at 195 to 210 (205 average) cabinet temp and finish with a meat temp between 175 and 195. I also have started taking most, if not all, of the fat cap off. More usable bark that way and less grease.

[watchdog56]

 I usually go at least 3 -4 hours and they pull fine.  I also pull my butts when IT hits 195. Not sure if any of this would make a difference but with and IT temp at 200 I would think the bone would just slide out no problem.

[JohnM70]

Thank you wildcat, tedebear and, watchdog56. As usual I get great information on this forum. The bone in the LB did not pull away and the bone in the SB almost fell out when I unwrapped the FT. This is the first time I use a bone in. I have previously use smaller butts with no bone and netted; also, there was no fat cap on the smaller ones.

Wildcat you are right about the fat cap I am still cleaning the cabinet and racks... I won't make that mistake again.

Next time I will move the probe as a double check.

As Pogo said "we have met the enemy and it is us"... I mean me.

Thanks a lot all.

John 

[Wildcat]

My pleasure. I would suggest that when the probe tells you it is done, stick it in a couple of places and see if you get the same readings in the other locations.

[JohnM70]

You are very welcome. BTW I examined the meat form the LB, which I had sliced and noted that there was some fat strips inside the meat. which is probably where the probe entered and why I got the false reading.

AW the process of learning even if I am an OF.

John

[terry08]

I would think that when the large butt stalled, it would take a few hours longer to recover. Thus requiring a longer cooking time. For whatever reason it was not cooked to correct temperature. Could have placed in the house oven for an hour or so at 300* and probably had it falling off the bone.

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[beefmann]

them some good looking butts