first time smoker here

oops...i forgot to add that this cut of pork included a bone...couldn't get it boneless. does this to the total smoking time??

A few ideas:

1. Wood: I know nada about mesquite, but if you're smoking with a cookshack, you will want wood in chunks, and a small quantity will be plenty for several cookings. In Kentucky, hickory chunks can be found in bags in places like WalMart, KMart, Meijer, or hardware stores near the grill stuff.

2. Time: Bet some experts on pork will give more detail, but as a start, you should go by temperature rather than time. Most here use a cabled remote digital thermometer available at discount stores for $15-20. Cook to somewhere around 190-200F. The experts will say more about exact temperature. As an alternative, you could check the tenderness by jabbing with a fork - if it feels ready to fall apart, it's done.

3. Read Smokin's Pork Butt 101 at http://www.cookshack.com/barbeque_guide/bbq_guide.htm

Good luck! Hope you're hungry - that's a mighty big piece of pork.

Hi vic and welcome!

Not sure where you are picking up this info. I may have missed some of these discussions so, a couple of my thoughts...

Not sure what cut of meat you have....the size is confusing me. Most butts are 7-9 lbs. Most whole shoulders are 13-16 lbs. Both will have bones in them. You may have a whole shoulder which includes the butt and the picnic.

I am not aware of anyone marinating a butt overnight. There is simply no need to do this as this cut is very fatty and does not need any additional moisture. Also, marinading will penetrate less than 1/4", so on a large roast, there will be very little flavor imparted.

I am also not aware of anyone foiling a butt for 8-10 hours. Again, no need unless you want to hurry up the cook OR you are holding it after it has cooked fully.

Finally, most people pull/shred the pork. There are others that do slice it, but slicing is a pretty challenging task. Why? No matter how you slice it, you will always have a vein of fat running thru the sliced portion. That is because the butt has 7 major muscles that run thru it and each muscle is wrapped in a "layer" of fat(collagen). I know it can be done, as we slice for contests, but it is quite a bit of work.

I would avoid mesquite on these long cooks and use anything else. Look around your yard or neighborhood for hardwood trees. I use branches from my trees. Or, you can take a ride into the forest and gather some good hardwood and the cut into small chunks.

Here is my simple advice for butts......

2 hours per pound at a temp of 225�. The internal temp will need to reach 190-200�. The only reason you need to rest it is because it will be too hot to pull.....you will need to let it cool for much longer than 15 minutes before pulling.

Not sure if I helped or further confused you! Others will be stopping by tonite so be patient.

Howdy,vlc1960.

tjr is from your neck o' the woods,and Stogie is just up the holler a mite.

Stogie is touching on the methods to get you on the right track.

I'm from there, for at least four generations,so I can make comments and accept any flames.

There has always been a belief that "there ain't no Q east of I-65".

There is good Q and meat cutters that understand the products.

There ain't no mesquite in KY,but there is hickory and pecan on every corner.Look for every nut and fruitwood tree,and usually they're free.

Home Depot is the usual seller of mesquite there and you should usally save it for quick grillin'.

Tell us where you are and we can get you to a butcher and good source of wood.

Stogie has thinned it down a mite,but sounds like folks are tryin' to get ya to use too many techniques at one time.

Ask more questions and we'll try to help.

Welcome Vic, you've come to the right place, we'll help. Read the advice above and ask any questions. Butts are the easiest thing in a CS, don't try to over think this. Get some success first, then start worrying.

quote:

Originally posted by vlc1960:
[qb]butcher sold me 15lbs ...telling me this makes the best brisket/pulled pork.[/qb]

Did you guys NOTICE this. My first suggestion Vic is to get another butcher. Brisket is Beef and Butts are Pork so you can't get the "best brisket" our of a pork product. ROTFL.

quote:

[qb]smoke 8 hrs @ 225degree, foil, smoke 8-10 more hrs, 4. remove from smoker, let sit 15mins b/4 slicing. what confuses me is...am i really going to have to smoke this for a possible 18 hours??? [/qb]

Good with Stogies suggestion. Do a simple 2 hours per pound, don't open the door and the darned thing will fall apart when you finally take it out.

quote:

[qb]some places i see that smoking over 8 hours w/mesquite (i can't find hickory) may cause a bitter flavor. [/qb]

If you just put a couple of chunks of mesquite in initially, you'd be fine (smoke won't penetrate the foil) but if you're adding new wood every few hours, then Mesquite may indeed cause problems. Personally, having lived in Texas and using a lot of mesquite...it's good for grillin' because it burns hot. Find another wood and I think you'll be happier with the flavor also.

And thanks to TJR for reminding about the 101 article. It's a good place to start. You can also check the photos and tell us what you actually got from the butcher. It would be H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S if he actually sold you a brisket. Then you'll have to give us the butchers name so we can all call him.

These guys have a good idea in just gathering some wood instead of buying it. You don't need much - a couple of coffee mugs of chunks would be more than enough. Maple is another good choice as it's common in town and is really easy to identify.

Wouldn't the "brisket" of a pig normally be used for bacon?

vlc1960,I don't know what smoker you are using but I have a model 55 and I just put the butt or a brisket in and just go to bed and let cook over night. I guess if you have and electric smoker or even gas and can
keep the temp at around 225 you still can do it over night.Butts have so much fat that they are very forgiving.