Boston Butt

[aljr59]

Hello all, I got my Bradley 4 rack digital the other day, and seasoned it per the instructions yesterday. I purchased 13 pounds (2 pieces ) of Boston Butt today and rubbed it per the recipe in the small Bradley recipe book. The recipe says 220-250 for 8 hrs. for 6 lbs. How long should it take for 13 lbs. ? What temperature works best ? This will be my first attempt at smoking with the Bradley. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Al.

[icerat4]

Your temps are a little high most go 205-215.Its going to take about 18 hours for both.Here is my butt recipe in the bradley



Pulled Pork Ingredients



7-8 lbs. Boston Butt – bone-in

1 Large Bottle Yellow Mustard

2 Bottles of Grill Mates Pork Rub

1 Bottle of Apple Juice and Spray Bottle

1 Box of Tin Foil

1 Box of Cling Wrap

Internal Temperature Gage



Tom's Pulled Pork for the Weekend



Thursday



1.                 Slather yellow mustard all over Pork Butt

2.                 Coat Butt with Pork rub

3.                 Wrap in Cling Wrap plastic

4.                 Put in fridge over night



Friday at around 4:00p.m.



1.     Remove butt from fridge and remove wrap; coat butt with more Pork Rub



2.     Let butt sit 1-2 hours at room temperature



3.     Start the smoker with 4-5 hours of whatever smoke you will use



4.     Place butt on middle shelf



5.     Make sure the slider is all the way to the right on high with top vent open all of the way.  Shut the door and wait until the butt has been smoked for 3 hours



6.     Open the door and check the water in the bowl; fill bowl with water if needed.



7.     When the butt has been smoked for 3 hours, spray apple juice all over the butt. 



8.     when smoke is done at the 4-5 hour mark, put new water in the bowl and then spray the apple juice on the butt again.



9.     Shut door and GO TO BED!!



10. At around 7-8 a.m., check the temperature.  If it is not 195 degrees, do not remove.  Spray some more apple juice on the butt and wait until it reaches 195 degrees



11. When the temp reaches 195 degrees, remove the butt from the smoker and spray again with apple juice.  Then wrap it in foil and place a dishtowel or regular towel around it and place in a cooler or microwave.



12. Wait at least two hours to take the butt out of the foil and remove the fat.



13. READY TO EAT!!





hope this helps ya out.Do a search on pulled pork weekend here there is a nice pic .Also with the digital 215-225 is ok because there more of a temp swing in that unit.Any other question feel free to ask lots of folks will chime in also with great advice  ;D.

[West Coast Kansan]

There are a lot of techniques and much reseach that can be done on the forum.  For me 210 to 220 for 12 hours will be pretty close to a 185-190 internal target temperature on the butt on the lowest rack. As you use your Bradley you will learn how it behaves. Good luck and let us know your approach and how it turns out.  Butts are pretty forgiving of most anything  you try.

[icerat4]

Your times are going to to be all over the maps with different temps and all these machies are sligtly different in the box temps .Ie with vent open or shut or half way.I leave my vent open this is IMO.The main thing is to go slower and have a internal temp guage to check the meat after say 12 hours.Once you hit 190-195 wrap in foil and let sit .Some here will wrap in foil and wrap with a towel and set it in a cooler.This is known here as ftc.This adds a nice finishing touch to the meat.

[iceman]

Icerat4;
Your step by step instructions have me a bit confused. I make it a point to read and re-read instructions before hand so I don't mess up. In this case it could have been a disaster for me had I not done so. You see my friend, not one single time did you manage to tell us where the cold beer fits into the picture. :D :D ;D ;D ;)
Have a good one rat and thanks for the post. ;)

[icerat4]

hummmm. :o :P ;D

[Chez Bubba]

In between every step silly. That's why he double-spaced. ;D ;D

Kirk

[icerat4]

Another chimer i see. ;D ;D ;D

[aljr59]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'll post how they turn out. I've got plenty of Mich Ultra on tap next to the smoker, so I should be O.K.!!!!!! Al.

[asa]

aljr:
Buried in icerat's recs is one that is most important: that is, get an internal thermometer probe so you can monitor the temp of what you are cooking. Your local kitchen store will probably have several. I, and others here, use something called a Maverick ET-73 Wireless Remote Smoker Thermometer. But monitoring the internal temp of what you are smoking/cooking is really important. If you don't have one, I suggest you get one or two. Also, I usually don't like a cabinet temp over 210 or so for any length of time, at least toward the end. Early on, it probably doesn't make a great deal of difference, but you don't want to overcook it and dry out the outer layer of meat after it gets up to temp.

And good luck - have fun.

[iceman]

In between every step silly. That's why he double-spaced. ;D ;D

Kirk

Duh on me!!! ::) I should know that by now!!! :o Thanks for the reminder Kirk.

[aljr59]

Well, my butts cooked all night. At 4 a.m. they were up to 184 degrees. At 7:45 they were up to 189. I took them off at around 9, at 194 degrees. ( I was waiting for 195, but what the heck ). They sure smell and look good, and there still was juice running out. I wrapped them in foil with apple juice, then towel, they are now in pre-warmed cooler. I am getting ready to pull them, and am hoping for the best. Will advise on finished product. Al.

[owrstrich]

aljr... im hungered in anticipation... snap some pics and post them here so we can see what we are missing out on...

you gotta eat...

owrstrich

[icerat4]

Sounds like your going to have yummy in your tummy.lol.

should look something like this

[aljr59]

Ice, it looked exactly like that!! It sure is good!!! I am impressed with my smoker. I am taking a tray of pork to the tailgate party tomorrow. Should go over well. Thanks for all of the advice everybody. Al.