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!
7 comments:
Man, that looks good. What kind of wood are you using? Good luck.
hysterical! hopefully delicious and worth it!
MJS
D-man, Pecan.
MJS, Best I've ever made (it was my first) and totally worth it.
I have many, many questions. Bear in mind I know nothing about smoking pork butt.
1. Why does your smoker have to be plugged in?
2. Why did you cook to 190 degrees? That seems high to me.
3. Well, I guess I only have two questions.
Congrats on the delicious park. I would have liked to try some.
I plugged the smoker in because I can.
It is a Brinkmann Electric Gourmet. It uses an electric element for heat, wood for taste. It is a lazy way to smoke once you are familiar with the rig.
Although pork is cooked at 160 but all of my research has told me pulled pork must reach 190 degrees to be fall apart tender. Apparently around 170 all the connective tissues and what not begin to breakdown and at 190 the meat falls off the bone. The bone in both of my butts all but fell out of the meat with little or no help from me.
As far as a sample you should come find us at Buzz B Q at the river in NLR on Saturday May 9. I am sure there will be plenty o' Q.
Wow that looks really good! I'll bring the beer if you're smoking the meat next time... :)
Rock on, man! The bark looks excellent, and tasted great. Thanks for the bag. Made lunch great.
Congrats on your first solo flight! It had a good, robust, smoky taste. Still haven't gotten the hang of the electric smoker, so my previous efforts using the grill and yours from this weekend had more hickory flavor. The key seems to be like Ramone, from Disney-Pixar's Cars, "low and sloooowww."
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