pork smokers…..

what internal temp do you get your pork shoulders up to when smoke cooking?

I did 200 last weekend, I’ve pulled them at 198ish to 205.

thank you!

Wrap in foil at 160*, pull at 204*, then let rest in the foil wrap for roughly 2 hours before shredding

190 is about as low as you can possibly pull the meat. I usually just let er buck overnight, foil wrap and cooler in the AM, pull it mid morning and serve for lunch.

I’ve smoked them to like 170 and chopped the meat and used it in chili too, if you’re feeling crazy

I just smoked two pork butts for Father’s Day. Took em off at 205-207. If the bone pulls out easy, they’re done. Just did a pork belly this evening. Look up pork burnt ends and make them, what a treat!

KPE wrote:

190 is about as low as you can possibly pull the meat. I usually just let er buck overnight, foil wrap and cooler in the AM, pull it mid morning and serve for lunch.

Yeah I open smoke them for however many hours until 160 degrees, then I wrap in foil add apple juice typically and leave on the smoker until internal temp has reached between 198 to 205. I pull and let rest in a cold oven still wrapped for 1 hour and then shred. The last one I pulled at 198 was so much more juicy and moist then the one I cooked to 205 just prior to that.

I go to 205 at least. Put them in a foil pan at about 160 but do not cover the pan. Pour a good dark beer in the bottom of the pan and let that mingle with all the juices while it continues to cook. I pull at 205 cover the pan with foil. Put them in a insulated cooler or I picked up a couple catering food keepers off FB some years back. They are the real deal. Let them sit overnight and pull the next day. They almost pull themselves.

I pull them right in the pan and the meat soaks up all those juices and beer. Here is a tip I learned after having done hundreds of pounds of pork butts. Don’t waste a lot of rub on the pork butts initially. I go with a very light coating if at all. Rub is expensive and it all cooks off on a long pork butts cook or comes off with the fat cap when you pull. Very little of it will be left to add flavor. Season it when you pull it and you get the full flavor of the rub.

You’ll want to get them over 200. I usually do mine to 205 and the fat really begins to melt and make them shred-able at the 190-200 temps.

If you want to get deep in the weeds about smoking meat, go to http://www.amazingribs.com

Just did two yesterday. Learned from the guy that got me started BBQ’ing it takes the same fuel to do 1 that it does 4 pork butts, and any decent BBQ’er should have a vac seeled bag of pulled pork in their freezer at all times! I coooked them at 250-275 until 155-160, then in a tin wit apple juice and wrapped, took them off at 198-200, left them wrapped in a cold oven for about 2 hours, then pulled. Now I have about 9 bags in the freezer. Great to pull out, thaw and reheat for things like nachos, chili, pita pizzas, loaded baked potatoes, etc.

Two places to look for BBQ recipes are Kosmos Q and Meat Church online. Scheel’s has a ton of different spices/seasonings as well as BBQ sauces and glazes.

Thanks every one. In all the years of my smoking adventures I have never done a whole butt. Ribs and my venison sausages out the gazoo, never a whole butt. Sort of funny….. Ma isn’t a huge fan of smoked anything but she’s stopped a few times walking past the smoker and commenting on how good the meat smells.

Its looking good! It just went in a pan and covered with heavy foil and a beer added to the pan for whatever. On track for dinner tonight at 6. I’ll be pulling it at 4:45, leaving it in the foil and shredding at six so people will be getting right off the bone so to speak.

I’m loving the ThermoPro. Sitting here with a cold beer in the computer room where its cool and watching the temp climb. I feel like I just walked out of the dark ages. lol I have three of the four probes in the meat and it seems to be cooking very uniform.

Mahtofire14, I’m reading the recipes on that link you provided. I used a rub on this chunk of meat that I made using a recipe from another site because it was handy, but honestly it appears to be very close to one of the rubs I just read. There’s a bourbon sauce going to be made tomorrow off this site.

Tlazer, I’ll be checking those sites out later. Thanks for the site info!

I just did a small pork shoulder today and tried Moe Cason’s Pork rub. It was a little peppery but I liked the rub. It really is key to get it above 200 and then let the pork sit in a cooler for a few hours or more. Really makes a difference when pulling it apart.

Did your butt make it to the dinner table in time? It takes 16 hours from start the smoker to putting it in a camo to rest for me. I always make it the day before.

It did and it was great with plenty to bag and freeze.

200-210 – but the key is the rest!!! Wrap them in foil with the juices and stick them in a cooler filled with old blankets or towels for 2-3 hours. Nothing more satisfying than pulling that shoulder blade bone out clean.

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I think a lot of people forget that it keeps cooking once you pull it off. Cooking over 200 would terrify me because it will likely be much drier. I have had excellent luck doing just as Bearcat has said. Cook to 198 and pull it off to rest. It will continue cooking for quite a while and reach over 200 most likely depending how you wrap it. I use blankets and put in a cooler. Never had a bad one and they are so dang juicy. I have also brined mine in apple cider overnight which is fantastic.

Just got done smoking two more. Pulled them off at 205. Juicy and delicious. For my rub, I do yellow mustard and a couple of my favorite dry rubs. I didn’t even wrap these ones, never did on grandpa’s old smoker either. Smoke for 6 hours at 200, then finished at 275 until internal temp was 205. Also attached a pic of my pork belly burnt ends, wishing there were leftovers right now.

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CaptainMusky wrote:

I think a lot of people forget that it keeps cooking once you pull it off. Cooking over 200 would terrify me because it will likely be much drier. I have had excellent luck doing just as Bearcat has said. Cook to 198 and pull it off to rest. It will continue cooking for quite a while and reach over 200 most likely depending how you wrap it. I use blankets and put in a cooler. Never had a bad one and they are so dang juicy. I have also brined mine in apple cider overnight which is fantastic.

100 percent. I won’t cook to 205 usually after the rest the meat is then begging for BBQ sauce. I pull at 198 to 200 and let rest and they are incredibly juicy and moist, no BBQ needed unless wanted. Pull at 198 and it will be 202 or 203 after rest. Pull at 205 and high and it will still gain 3 or 4 degrees during rest. For me that makes them to dry. I don’t want my pork to need BBQ. But honestly what ever works, to each there own.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I don’t want my pork to need BBQ. But honestly what ever works, to each there own.

This is key for me. I really don’t do a lot of sauce myself, so if it ends up dry at all I don’t care for it. If I’m being honest I do all of my pork butts in the slow cooker. We eat a lot of it in the winter in the fish house.

John pork butts in a slow cooker is fantastic! They turn out great you just arent getting any smoke which isnt a huge deal, but its so dang easy!
I generally dont sauce my pork butts but I have it out if people want to add some. I saw yellow mustard mentioned. I really enjoy the bark that I get when I use spicy brown mustard and then generously season it. I dont think the mustard is necessary, but the color is fantastic and it does help bind the seasonings along with the vinegar that is in it will help break down the fat.

I haven’t smoked one yet, just got the smoker a year ago and only used it a few times as the fam is just not into it. I just rub the butt with famous daves rib rub put it on thick and drop it in the slow cooker with a can of cream of mushroom soup and let it roll. My hams I use yellow mustard and brown sugar and do them in a bag in the oven.

Anyone do a chuck roast on the smoker? Wife pulled one out yesterday and was gonna put it in the crockpot and do a Mississippi style roast, but I decided to try it out on the smoker tonight when I get home. Was gonna do it to an internal temp of about 185-190, didn’t want it to be pulled like pork, rather more of a brisket consistency for slicing. Any tips, I’d take as it’s my first one.

How many of you remove the butt from the wrapper, rinse and dry, then let it come up to room temp before putting in the smoker? Maybe add whatever rub you want right after the rinse/dry.

I let my shoulder come to room temp, then put in the smoker and it really shortened the cook time. I have a gas smoker and started at a temp of 175, then slowly moved the temp up after four hours and stopped the smoke after placing the butt in a pan with a half bottle of beer. When the internal temp hit 195 I put the pork in a couple heavy towels in a cooler for about an hour, then tore into it. After having our meal I still got five decent packages for the freezer. Ma said there was a perfect blend of smoke and juiciness.

I know some people probably smoke thru the entire cooking time, but I didn’t want my pork to taste like a fire pit. Smoke was rolling when the pork hit the rack and was ceased when I put the meat in the pan with the beer and covered. 4 hours of smoke was just right.

Jimmy Jones wrote:

How many of you remove the butt from the wrapper, rinse and dry, then let it come up to room temp before putting in the smoker? Maybe add whatever rub you want right after the rinse/dry.

I let my shoulder come to room temp, then put in the smoker and it really shortened the cook time. I have a gas smoker and started at a temp of 175, then slowly moved the temp up after four hours and stopped the smoke after placing the butt in a pan with a half bottle of beer. When the internal temp hit 195 I put the pork in a couple heavy towels in a cooler for about an hour, then tore into it. After having our meal I still got five decent packages for the freezer. Ma said there was a perfect blend of smoke and juiciness.

I know some people probably smoke thru the entire cooking time, but I didn’t want my pork to taste like a fire pit. Smoke was rolling when the pork hit the rack and was ceased when I put the meat in the pan with the beer and covered. 4 hours of smoke was just right.

Any meat I cook I try to let get to room temp before cooking, steaks, pork shoulder, brisket and anything really.
As for smoke, I put heavy smoke on it for the first 6 hours and then dial it back, after I wrap it then no more smoke at all. It only takes so much smoke any ways. And after wrapped it isn’t taking smoke. I have never tried the beer thing, maybe if I remember I will next time. I’m a fan of apple juice or cider. And for rubs I start with spicy brown mustard and then I heavily rub with multiple things depending on my mood. Some times more spicy and some times more sweet like brown sugar and maple syrup. Then add syrup to it every hour. There is really so many ways to skin this cat, I don’t think you can go wrong besides over cooking it.

Steven Krapfl wrote:

Anyone do a chuck roast on the smoker? Wife pulled one out yesterday and was gonna put it in the crockpot and do a Mississippi style roast, but I decided to try it out on the smoker tonight when I get home. Was gonna do it to an internal temp of about 185-190, didn’t want it to be pulled like pork, rather more of a brisket consistency for slicing. Any tips, I’d take as it’s my first one.

I have not done one but let us know how it turns out. Sounds delicious

Chuck roast on the smoker is poor man’s brisket. I have done many and they turn out fantastic! Do it just like you would do a brisket if you have done one of those before.

Steven Krapfl wrote:

Anyone do a chuck roast on the smoker? Wife pulled one out yesterday and was gonna put it in the crockpot and do a Mississippi style roast, but I decided to try it out on the smoker tonight when I get home. Was gonna do it to an internal temp of about 185-190, didn’t want it to be pulled like pork, rather more of a brisket consistency for slicing. Any tips, I’d take as it’s my first one.

I do “poor mans burnt ends” with chuck roast fairly often. Never understood the terminology as Chuck costs more per lb than brisket…but I digress. Heavy Salt_Pepper-Garlic rub, Smoke at 250-275 until IT 160-170, wrapped in a tin with beef broth until about 190, cubed, sprinkle brown sugar (not much) and favorite BBQ, mix it up, leave in tin but uncovered and kick the temp to 350 until carmelized (usually about 30-45 minutes).

I do “poor mans burnt ends” with chuck roast fairly often. Never understood the terminology as Chuck costs more per lb than brisket…but I digress. Heavy Salt_Pepper-Garlic rub, Smoke at 250-275 until IT 160-170, wrapped in a tin with beef broth until about 190, cubed, sprinkle brown sugar (not much) and favorite BBQ, mix it up, leave in tin but uncovered and kick the temp to 350 until carmelized (usually about 30-45 minutes).
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That sounds delicious, I’m going to have to try that soon.