Guy I work with doing some butts.

flyin-lowe · BBQ Fan Joined: 23 Sep 2010 Posts: 323

I will be the first to admit I have never smoked a butt. I have cooked probably 50 whole hogs in my life and smoke my ribs but I have never done butts before. We have a lunch at work tomorrow and last year we did 15 turkeys. Tomorrow I am doing 6 turkeys and another guy is doing 6 butts. We are eating at 11AM and at first he said he was going to start at 4 AM and I told him good luck. Then he decided to get in at midnight and start cooking by 1 AM. He said they are 8-10 pound butts and he "smokes" them at 325 degrees and they are done in 7 hours. I am fairly new to this office and after I voiced my opinion once I left it alone. I was thinking 1.5 hours per pound but with the higher temps I don't know. He is planning less then one hour per pound, what do you old pro's think???

BluDawg · Posted: Wed May 09 12 12:02 am Post subject:

Sounds like he thinks Myron Mixon wrote the book on BBq and has adopted his Hot & fast way of thinking.
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El Ropo · Posted: Wed May 09 12 12:04 am Post subject:

I'm not an old pro, but will say this...

His cooking method works. There is no reason to spend more than 8 hours cooking butts. Hot and fast works the same as low n slow. The meat still renders, but there is more time to sleep.

IMO, the most important part of a cook is the rest period. Let 'em sleep for minimum 2 hours in cooler after probe tender, or bone wiggle test passes.

Just don't open up the cooker while the meat is cooking. You can listen to it sizzle, when the sizzling starts to die down, it's close.

When the bone wiggles, or it's probe tender, or poke tender, it's done. May not happen till "IT" hits 210 on a hot and fast cook, but the results will be awesome.

Many folks make it more complicated than it is in reality.
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k.a.m. · Posted: Wed May 09 12 12:29 am Post subject:

1buckie · Posted: Wed May 09 12 1:00 am Post subject:

As long as this is partially about temparture & not entirely about pork....
I've done Tri-tip for 25 years & hundreds of times @ 325�
It comes out fine like that, just like everybody else's........

But a whole different set of physics happens @ 190�
A long, long cook at that temp produces a whole other thing.....
Long shreaded strands of meat as tender as the very best pulled pork......
Unattainable at all at over approx. 220�
I've tried & you can't do it......

Not a pork butt example, but an interesting obsevation .....

Butts can work at the higher temp just fine, but after years of doing the different ways,
I believe 325� just puts a little too much tension in the air for me....
One other thing ~~~>
If the particular cooker used will run smoothly at a higher temp &
you can sleep thru it all, go for it, I guess
Seems somehow less enjoyable, BWTFDIK
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SoEzzy · Posted: Wed May 09 12 1:08 am Post subject:

Ditto 1buckie! Wink

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1buckie · Posted: Thu May 10 12 3:36 pm Post subject:

Wonder what happened, flyin-lowe ??

Turkeys ? Butts?? Pics???
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El Ropo · Posted: Thu May 10 12 4:55 pm Post subject:

It's a big hunk of pig meat.. It doesn't care what temp it's cooked at.

Rendered is rendered. When the bone is wiggley it's done.
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El Ropo · Posted: Thu May 10 12 5:05 pm Post subject:

FWIW 325 is not grilling temps, it's just getting 'er done faster.

If there is wood in the fire, and you are seeing thin blue, you're smoking.

I prefer 275-300ish for most of my cooking, but if it hits 325 I don't worry about it.

Grilling temps IMO are in the 500+ range.
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Jarhead · Posted: Thu May 10 12 5:33 pm Post subject:

I guess that I am just Old Skool in my ways, with new technology.
I crown and rub em.
Toss em on the FEC-100 about 8 pm set at 224 F, grab a cold one or three, watch prime time and go to bed.
Next morning, everything is ready to go in the cooler.
My boy says that I cheat. Shocked

Why? Cause I can. Laughing

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El Ropo · Posted: Fri May 11 12 12:26 am Post subject:

Double post, not sure what happened.

225 isn't the magic number. It's silly slow.
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k.a.m. · Posted: Fri May 11 12 12:33 am Post subject:

TrailerBuilder · Posted: Fri May 11 12 12:50 am Post subject:

k.a.m. wrote:

SoEzzy · Posted: Fri May 11 12 1:14 am Post subject:

flyin-lowe · BBQ Fan Joined: 23 Sep 2010 Posts: 323

Sorry it took so long to get back. There was a guy there taking pictures so I will post them once I get them from him. I got there at 6:00 AM to start the turkeys. I peaked into the cooker which was at about 330 degrees. He was not smoking them and each was wrapped in aluminum foil. I didn't ask why but the cooker he uses has burners and a center section for charcoal or wood. He had charcoal going and the gas burners on low as well. Either way after about 7 hours they were close to 220 degrees and he took them off and immediately pulled the pork. It did have a good flavor, nothing super special, and obviously not smoked. I did 6 turkeys, 2 marinated in butter, 2 in BBQ, and 2 in Franks hot sauce. They all turned out great. The turkeys were completely gone and there was about half of the pork left. I assume this is because they had the turkeys first in the food line so people already had that before they realized we had 2 meats. I wasn't in charge of the layout, just the cooking.

Just out of curiosity how long is a butt good in the freezer? I spit a hog with a guy last July and he told me he has one left, it has been in the deep freeze the entire time. I am assuming it still has some life left.

1buckie · Posted: Fri May 11 12 11:28 pm Post subject:

Thanks for checking back...Guess 330� is fine...
If the pork's wrapped tight, should be fine
I've had cryos for 18 mon. & be OK... after that it starts drying out / freezer burn....
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Have Fun Playin' with Yer Food !!!
"Dam Silly Sumbitch"-- Myron Mixon
"I will prevail. No pig will ever get the better of me." ~~> Italian Skewer
It's gonna say on my tombstone: Died of thick, heavy sauces ~~~~>K
" The Creepy Guy Down the Street With All The Webers"