I was given a Smokette in November of 2001 but because of the uncertain weather during the winter I only did beef and pork ribs and sausages; things that would take a few hours. A week ago I finally was able to try a butt. I used a recipe given in one of the fora here; the one that used molasses on top of the rub. It weighed just under 5 pounds and I began smoking at 0600 thinking that, at 1.5 hours to the lb. it would be ready mid afternoon in plenty of time for my guests who would be arriving at 1900. Starting temp of the meat was 44.By 1300 the temperature had reached 140 and then it really stalled, by 1800 it had only gotten to 169, by 1900 it was at 176. Folks began arriving by 1915 and so with drinks all around I had maybe 45 minutes to an hour more before I put food on the table. At about 1745 I took the meat out and served it at 2000; it had reached 183. It was tender and quite delicious (and I'm my own worst critic) however, it wasn't quite yet shreddable so I chopped it. My question (finally) is this reasonable? 14 hours for a 5 lb butt that wasn't quite yet finished? Any help, reassurance or encouragement would be appreciated. I want to try a brisket next and need to know whether a 24 hr run up is necessary.
Thanks in advance
Original Post