beerco
Senior Cook
When smoking brined pork butt, is it o.k. to go by time rather than temp?
I ask because I've smoked pork butt 3 times now. first time I smoked for 3 hours until a temp probe read 170o and it was o.k., but didn't fall apart when pulling. Second time I went for 4 hours (at a lower temp) and it again hit 170o but was much better. Third time (and third smoker) I again went 3 hours and the butt hit either 160 or 170 before we served and again, it wasn't falling apart.
Normally when I cook pork, I don't like to go past 150 (I usually stop cooking at 145 and let it drift up to 150) but now I'm wondering if I should just let the thing go for 4 or 5 hours to get it more tender.
I'm preparing the brine according to Alton Brown's recipe and brining over night. The smoker I use now is electric and unfortunately, I can't afford a thermostat right now so temp is pretty much fixed at between 250 and 300.
So, can I let it go longer and hit a higher final temperature, or am I never going to get good results until I can control my temp better?
I ask because I've smoked pork butt 3 times now. first time I smoked for 3 hours until a temp probe read 170o and it was o.k., but didn't fall apart when pulling. Second time I went for 4 hours (at a lower temp) and it again hit 170o but was much better. Third time (and third smoker) I again went 3 hours and the butt hit either 160 or 170 before we served and again, it wasn't falling apart.
Normally when I cook pork, I don't like to go past 150 (I usually stop cooking at 145 and let it drift up to 150) but now I'm wondering if I should just let the thing go for 4 or 5 hours to get it more tender.
I'm preparing the brine according to Alton Brown's recipe and brining over night. The smoker I use now is electric and unfortunately, I can't afford a thermostat right now so temp is pretty much fixed at between 250 and 300.
So, can I let it go longer and hit a higher final temperature, or am I never going to get good results until I can control my temp better?