Pork butt stalled at 143

[Tex_77]

lkrfletcher smoke at 225, wrap at 160, should easily be done in under 8 hours.

[lkrfletcher]

Tex_77
That’s what I thought too.

[lkrfletcher]

[Chef]

lkrfletcher Lots of variables involved. Did you allow the meat to come to near or at room temperature before smoking? Might want to calibrate the thermometer 32’F in an water/ice bath and 212’F in boiling water ( or adjust for the boiling temperature depending on altitude.

Above all, don’t get discouraged. Good pork but is worth the learning curve. Some variable will show up.

[lkrfletcher]

Chef
https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/577/how-to-make-pulled-pork-recipe

This is what I followed.
Had both a meater plus probe and a Weber i-grill in the meat and in ambient ( I wanter to compare them side by side)

[Chef]

lkrfletcher Maybe the pork gods were angry at something.

[lkrfletcher]

Moving onto 16 pounds of smoked colby jack.

[twilliams]

lkrfletcher you got a smoke tube for cold smoking cheese?

[lkrfletcher]

twilliams
Nope. I just use the PK100 on low temp. It’s looking good. Another hour and it will be done. I’ll send a post.

[no_eyes_processor]

lkrfletcher I am by no means an expert. I would have bumped the temp on the pk100 to about 225. I’d spray the butts with apple juice after wrapping them in foil. I use the grill eye pro and set a target temp and drink beer or take a long nap. They should eventually be done and the closed foil with the apple juice will keep them from drying out.

[gus4416]

I always put the pork butt in around 8 or 9 pm for a 8 pound butt then it is usually done around noon the next day then I let it rest for about a hour then it falls right apart don’t give up it is worth the wait

[KenfromMI]

I’ve done 100’s and they all stall at a difference place and get past at a different pace. I would have foiled it and bumped my smoer up to 250 or 275 degrees and that should help a lot.

[Bob Stehlik]

KenfromMI That’s the method I use. I’ll put the butt in a pan with some beer or apple cider vinegar and cover with foil and bump the temp up 25-50 degrees and it will come out tender and moist in no time.

[marvsBBQ]

It’s probably too late to help you with this one but with a few questions & answers, I think I can help with any future smokes…if you want??

[folsomwest]

Been there, done that, and more often than not with a smaller butt. I don’t know if those smaller cuts just lack the thermal mass to evenly get it up there but whenever I hit a stall, although I’ve only had a few stall at anything less than 150, that last for more than two hours I just go straight to the pink butcher paper wrap and 225 to 250. Once the temp starts that nice upward line again you can back the heat off if you are worried about drying out, but I trust the butcher paper to stop that. It goes long, especially if you go for a long rest time like me (2 hours plus). It will work out next, just try a bigger one.

[KenfromMI]

I’ve never tried the butcher paper but my buddy loves it. I just buy the giant food service rolls of heavy duty foil at Costco. Its a lot cheaper than the pink butcher paper as well.

[folsomwest]

KenfromMI I can’t speak to the price difference but I switched from foil to peach/pink paper a few years ago. I really like the results I get–it’s a little messier on a pork butt due to the paper basically becoming an fat soaked rag, but the meat just seems better and I’m guessing it is because water vapor gets away but that flavorful fat still is retained. But to the original posters concern—crutching it can help in tough situations–paper or foil, either will do.

[KenfromMI]

Yeah I’d probably try it but I think I’ll be dead before I can use all this foil I bought. The roll weighs about 30 pounds. LOL

[Chef]

folsomwest I agree with the butcher paper. The pink variety became popular from James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Franklin BBQ, Aaron Franklin… He uses it exclusively, and does a great job for a commercial BBQ joint.

That being said, as long as the weight of the paper is the same, I notice no difference for the purpose of smoking meat. From what I read, it was initially used by butchers to mask the red juices of the meat. Pink paper seems to always have the same weight, where white seems to come in several weights.

In a pinch, you can use just a heavy brown paper bag from a grocery store.

I use pink since it seems to be a more consistent product. After the smoking, it works great to start lump charcoal in my Primo grill.

[KenfromMI]

Would it leak in a cooler if you were trying to keep it warm in that paper?