All Day Pork Butt

Low and Slow, that’s the way to do it. Looking at the pictures tells you that this is one very juicy and tender pork butt. You’ll have to take my word for the fact that it was very tasty too!

So, here’s how it was accomplished. The night before, I injected it heavily with my Orange & Honey Pork Injection. I put it into the refrigerator to soak all those juices up overnight.

After 11 hours in the refrigerator, I pulled it out and poured off the juices that seeped out of the pork butt. I would say that it held about 70% of the injected juices.

Now for the rub, I rubbed it heavily, covering the entire butt with my favorite rub for pork. I then put it back into the tupperware container and left it sitting on the counter for about 45 minutes to come closer to room temperature.

I got the fire started in my 18.5 Webber Smokey Mountain, (WSM), and let that sit for about 15 minutes until just enough of the lump charcoal on top was burning white. I put the cooking chamber on and then I like to mount a thermometer near the  top grate where I will be smoking the pork butt. I’ve found that on my WSM, the gauge mounted in the top of the dome reads about 20 degrees cooler than the actual temperature at the grate. I could just compensate, but it also seems to be undependable as it fluctuates. At times during the cook, it’s been almost identical to the near grate temperature, and at other times, it’s been 35 degrees cooler.

Once the temperature has settled in around 250 degrees, I put the pork butt on the top grate, and just checked on it from time to time, tweaking the vents as necessary to maintain 250 degrees.

Here is how it looked after 3 hours into the cook.

Specific details of the cook:

1)  I used lump charcoal in the fire along with 70% (fist sized) chunks of pecan, and 30% apple chunks.

2)  I maintained, or tried to maintain 250 degrees throughout the cook. It fluctuated from 230 to 275 degrees, as I am still learning my new WSM. No doubt as I learn to start with the perfect fire, and find the right vent tweaks near the beginning of the cook, it will do less fluctuating.

3)  I won’t bore you with all the details of what I did while this was cooking, the total time for the cook was 9 1/2 hours. I pulled it off the smoker at an internal temperature of 201 degrees.

4)  I put it immediately into a tupperware container and closed it up tight. I let this sit on the kitchen counter for 45 minutes to let the juices redistribute nicely inside of the pork butt.

Last but not least, time to carve it up. I never have to do this part alone, because my eager, hungry little helper named Rocky is always there to help.

The pork butt turned out extremely juicy, tender and very tasty! I don’t speak cat very well, but I’m pretty sure this is what Rocky is saying also. That, or he’s say Gimme Gimme!

What a guy, that Rocky Boy!