pulled Pork with a Pork Butt

[Karaokegod01]

I have never smoked a pork butt and need some help. What Temp should my smoker be what kind of seasonings should I use and how long will it take to cook? Do I need to constantly tend to it or can I pretty much just leave it alone?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Wildcat]

Most folks on here smoke and cook their butts at 220 F cabinet temp. Personally I do so at 205. Also, most on here take the meat to a temp of 190. I go to 175 to 190. Instead of meat temp I rely on the fork test. Once the meat gets to 175 insert a fork into it and twist. If it tries to come apart then it is ready. If not then continue to cook until it does. As far as rubs, you should experiment. Iceman's Oinker rub is good and is what I use. Jan's rub is apparently really go. I have not tried it yet. At some point the butt will reach a stall stage in the cooking process. Do not be concerned with this. The temperatures may even drop a little. DO NOT rush it by cranking up the heat. Just let it do its thing. Most of my bone in butts take 16 to 24 hours to cook. Time depends on many factors including its weight. You will not need to smoke anymore than 4 hours. Before cooking let the meat sit on the counter for an hour or two so that it can warm up before putting in the smoker. Smoke for 4 hours then empty the water bowl and replace with hot water. After that try not to open the door until the meat reaches 175. When you are trimming the meat prior to smoking, I recommend that you take off most if not all of the fat cap. A little is OK but too much and you will wind up throwing most of the bark away and that is where most of the flavor will be. After cooking lightly cover and let it rest on the counter for an hour or so then remove the bark and pull the rest. Chop up the bark into small pieces and mix it into the pulled meat. Many on here FTC butts but IMHO it is not needed. When I FTC a butt it is to keep it hot until time to eat. You can easily keep it hot this way for 4 hours. Try to be patient. The beast will get done when it does. Easiest thing to smoke/cook and hard to screw up.

One more important thing - DO NOT close the vent on top. It will cause moisture to build up in the smoker and destroy your smoke generator. It will also prevent the unit from getting hot enough to cook the food. After you have been smoking enough to really get the smoker seasoned and black on the inside walls the moisture will mix with the seasoning and rain black stuff on your meat and cause it to taste really bad. I suggest that you keep it at least 1/3 open. I use different positions for various smokes. Many on here simply leave the vent wide open and this is probably the safest thing to do.

[beefmann]

agrees with  Wildcat, though i  generally  go at  225 Box temp and  shoot for 185 to  190 Internal temp, Also instead of  using water  after the  smoking process  change to a  flavored drink suck as your favorite  soda, or  juice...

[Saber 4]

Wildcat's got you going in the right direction with his method and the differences many of us use in our methods, just go with what makes sense to you and have fun.

[tskeeter]

Karaokegod, one of the rules of thumb used for pork butt is that the cooking time takes about 1 1/2 - 2 hours per pound based on the biggest piece of meat you are smoking.  If you are really loading up your smoker (due to the long cook time, I usually do four butts at a time and freeze the excess), your time may run longer.   

[dman4505]

You got some great advice here, so I 'll add just one small little item to your plate.

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures....let us know how it went.

Don

[Wildcat]

Forget the pictures, send the odor and if you have enough a small sample!

[Karaokegod01]

I would like to thank everyone for their replies!! I got a lot of good info on here and I think I got it now but one more question what is everyone's favorite wood to use for this? I was tghinking about using whiskey oak

[Karaokegod01]

Forget the pictures, send the odor and if you have enough a small sample!

Ha Ha Ha you don't know my family lol there will be no samples left sorry

[Tiny Tim]

Think the majority use Apple or Hickory, but as with most things food, there's no right one to use, except that which works for you.

[Tenpoint5]

Think the majority use Apple or Hickory, but as with most things food, there's no right one to use, except that which works for you.

Hickory is really good but you will enjoy the whiskey oak I use that if I happen to be out of hickory

[Saber 4]

We like mesquite or pecan best, but you'll just have to try several types of wood on different smokes and figure out what y'all like most.

[Wildcat]

I like them all, but generally use Apple the most since it works with everything and I keep a larger supply of it. I lean toward hickory, oak, and that Texas wood mesquite when I do beef.

[STLstyle]

Apple / hickory for pork and hickory / oak for beef is my preference...

[Grouperman941]

I would like to thank everyone for their replies!! I got a lot of good info on here and I think I got it now but one more question what is everyone's favorite wood to use for this? I was tghinking about using whiskey oak

My favorite is Pecan.

As for temp, I use 'HIGH'. It heats to around 250, then drops when the meat goes in, and then holds 200 to 220, depending on the load. When it starts creeping higher than that, the meat is probably done.