I have to work this weekend, so put this pork butt in the Cookshack yesterday at 1800, so I'd have some pulled pork for the weekend.

Nothing new here, I just used my normal rub, put it in the Cookshack, set the smoker at 225 degrees and set the target temp on my remote thermometer at 195 degrees. This was a big butt and took longer than usual to finish, so I was late getting to work, but no one minds as long as I bring enough to share. This took about 21 to 22 hours to finish which was longer than usual, so maybe it was the size. Next time I'm going to do it at 250. It will finish faster and I doubt that there will be any difference in the results.

Several pictures. #1 is just after it was rubbed and ready for the smoker.

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#'s 2 and 3 are the pork butt hours later when it hit 195 and I've just opened the door of the smoker.

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4 and 5 are on the cutting board after I finally got if off of the grate and I have just pulled the bone out. As you can see, it just fell apart when the bone came out.

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#6 Is the bone, right after I pulled it out. As usual, clean with no meat attached, just like it's suppose to be. #7 shows why you want to cover the smokebox and floor with foil.

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# 8 is in the kitchen and the bark that has survived the moving and bone removal. Man that's tasty.

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Normally I would double foil wrap the whole thing, then wrap it in a towel and put it in a pre-warmed cooler for 2-3 hours, but I had to get to work, so I just foiled, towel wrapped and stored the remainder for when my wife comes home.

Not much more to say, the pictures just about say it all. My family likes it pulled, but next time I'm going to experiment a little and do two, so I can take one out earlier to slice and compare them.

What's everyone else got planned for the weekend?

Pat

OK, I've edited the pics since I must have done something wrong the first time. I've also eliminated 2 that I didn't think were necessary.

Hope this is easier to view.

hey man that looks awesome.

i just did my first pork butt with the bone in a few days ago on my cookshack. i think thats called a picnic?

it weighed 8lbs.

i set the cookshack at 225 with some hickory. i put it in around 1130 am. i thought it would be done by sleepytime, around 11pm.

by 10pm it was at 167 degrees. at 1130pm still at 167, i assume it was at the plateau? i had to work the next day so i pulled it out and just shredded. lot of juice ran out and plenty of fat.

i wanted to wait till 195 but i was way too sleepy. i assume since i didnt wait till the 195 mark thats why the meat just tasted too fatty?

i am almost finished eating it but i have to cook it a while to get all that fat out. way too greasy.

i will have to plan my next one better.

Pat,

Could you post your next set of pictures as "jpeg" files? I'm not sure of others, but my Mac does not display bmp without me having to open them in a graphic program, they are not showing on your post as pictures, but rather as file names.

Are others seeing these as pictures on his post or as a bmp file name? I'm on the way back to my shop - I'll see how they appear on my more powerful and much newer computer there (I'm on a nine year old iMac here at home).

I did view them though - and you have a fantastic piece of meat there! Wonderful shots, I just finished dinner and you have me panging for more food now!

Mike

Okay - I'm back to work and starting my six hour shift with a "coffee and Source break"

My Mac G5 Tower also displays the bmp file names only. So, I would assume it's better to post jpg files rather than bmp.

Mike

Thanks Mike,

I noticed that when I posted it, but I have no idea what happened there because I sized and uploaded the pictures just like I always do. I didn't do anything different. Same camera, same settings, same sizing procedure and same upload process.

I'm sure it's probably something I did, but to the best of my knowledge I didn't do anything different. I have noticed that occasionally, the forum seems to do something unexpected, so I'm still scratching my head a little on what happened.

I think I'll try to edit the post and see what happens.

Thanks

Pat

Pat,

Much better! As a jpeg file they show up as thumbnails now, rather than just a bmp filename. Appreciate the extra work to do this! Thanks, Mike

Mike,

There isn't anything about this I consider work. This is my therapy group.

By the way, your last post just showed up twice. This thread is snake bitten.

Later

Pat

"This is my therapy group" I hear you! I feel the same way!

Okay - I deleted the duplicate. Just after midnight this place comes to a crawl, and if you refresh your screen during a reply - duplicates occur. Gotta stay on top of it - I just get too impatient...

Thanks for pointing it out to me..

Mike

Thanks for that info about refreshing during a reply. I didn't realize that would cause a duplicate, so I'll keep it in mind.

Pat

For a good BBQ you need a long slow and low cooking. For BBQ in a rush which 12 hours or less cooking would be a rush in my book. It needs to be cooked at 275 to 325 degrees. When I cook BBQ I cook it at 225 to 250 for 19 to 24 hours.

Luis,

The Boston Butt and Picnic are two different cuts of meat that come from different parts of the shoulder. I've smoked both and they both come out delicious. They both come with bone in, or bone out, but I prefer the bone in on almost all meat I fix. If I remember, the picnic's I've done had more bone and they had more fat and connective tissue than the butt. The Picnic is considered lower quality and is usually less expensie. Both are delicious, but more people seem to prefer fixing butt's. Personally, I think the picnic has a little better flavor and can come out more moist due to the extra fat content, but I usually just fix whichever is handy at the time.

Pork Butt
Picnic

MotorMouth, pretty much nailed it.

I can't remember which model Cookshack you have, but I think it's the newer version of mine with the digital display. The time will depend mainly on the size of the meat and how much fat and connective tissue has to be rendered. When you're smoking however, time is pretty much meaningless except as a guide for how long the next one may take. Temperature is more important, but is still just a guideline for when to check it. For sliced pork, about 185 to 186 degrees is usually about right. For pulled, or chopped pork, I usually take it out around 195 to 196 degrees. Also, probe placement is important. Try not to let your probe get too close to the bone, it should be measuring the meat temp, not the bone. I like bone in because no matter if it's pork, beef, chicken, or whatever, the meat just seems to be more tender if I cook with the bone in.

With the butt's and picnic's, I just use it as another indication of doneness. If it's done, it should either slide, or twist out easily and cleanly, with little, or no meat attached.

Unless it's a very small roast, I have never had one hit my preferred pulling temp in less than 15-16 hours and most take 18 to 22 hours. They take a little planning. I usually put one in around 6 PM, get to bed about the time it's hitting the plateau, and it's still going when I get up in the morning. They usually hit 195 in the 2 PM area. I take it out, wrap it in 2 layers of foil, wrap it in a towel and put it in a pre-warmed cooler to rest till my wife gets home around 6 PM. 24 hours total and they're always delicious. The foiling and 3-4 hours resting usually isn't all that necessary unless you're wanting to keep it warm for a later time. It's much better to have it sit for 3-4 hours until you're ready to eat than have everyone sitting around waiting for it.

Depending on your work hours, with the Cookshack, you could probably put that 8 pounder in around 8-9PM at 200-225 and it should be about ready by the time you get home from work the next evening.

This will take some experimentation, because all smokers cook differently, so you'll just have to do a few to get use to the timing of yours. Mine isn't digital, so that may make a little difference also. Try it the first 2-3 times on a weekend, when you can keep an eye on it, then you'll have an idea how long yours takes to finish and you'll become more confident in setting it and just letting it go without watching it, or worrying about it.

One last thing that is very important with the Cookshack, don't keep peeking. Just put it in the smoker, put in your therm probe, close the door, set the temp and go take it out when the thermometer says it's done.

All of the above also pretty much applies to large packer cut briskets.

Hope this helps

Pat