Friday, 9p.m., I prepped two pork butts with rub. Planning to start the smoker about 12 hours from now at 9 in the morning.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m., the meat is in the smoker, Pecan chunks are in the firebox or soaking in a bucket, the temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit; my goal is 190, just 144 short degrees to go.
Saturday, 10:30 a.m., something is wrong here, the temperature had come-up a few degrees but there’s no smoke, the smoker is cold.
Saturday, 10:32 a.m., the smoker was plugged into a non-functioning outlet. I have now plugged it into a working outlet.
Saturday, 11 a.m., still no smoke, turns out the GFI switch on the new outlet was tripped. I reset the outlet and “babysit” the smoker until I can smell smoke.
Saturday, 3 p.m., after three hours and several additions of wood I check the meat and refill the water. The temperature is about 136.
Saturday, 6p.m., 7 hours in to the cook, temperature is in the 140’s.
Saturday, 8 p.m., I hit 160 degrees and stop adding Pecan to the fire, just heat from here out.
Saturday, 10, p.m., I check the meat expecting to be in the 170-180 range, it’s not. The temperature has dropped down to
155.
Saturday, 11 p.m., Temperature is now in the low 140’s. I am worried and decide to switch to an outlet where an extension cord is not necessary. Maybe this will help.
Sunday, 12:15 a.m., Temp is now 147 and climbing slowly.
Sunday, 2 a.m., I have once again hit the 160 mark.
Sunday, 3:15 a.m., the temperature is at 167, my goal is 190, this is ridiculous, I am going to bed and will set my alarm to check the meat in a few hours.
Sunday, 5:30 a.m., 176 degrees, my pork butts have been smoking for 18 and a half hours and are still not done. I decide to check again in an hour or so.
Sunday, 7 a.m., still about 175-177, at this time I jam an instant read thermometer in the lid of the smoker and find out it is only cranking out about 190 degrees of heat. I make the executive decision to remove the butts, wrap them in foil and finish them in a 225-degree oven. Back to bed.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m., my alarm goes off on my meat thermometer, I have hit my mark the butts are at 190 degrees Fahrenheit. A smoking process that should have taken 12-14 hours had lasted 23 hours and 30 minutes. I am exhausted. I remove the butts from the oven and set the timer for a one-hour rest.
Sunday, 11:30 a.m., I open the foil, remove the butts, take some photos and begin to pull the pork. The bones just fall out and the meat is delicious. All in all I think the 24 hour pork butt is worth the effort but I will have to do some serious R&D to figure out why it took twice as long as necessary.
Enjoy!
