First Pork Shoulder/Butt on pellet smoker

[muralboy]

Hey gang.  Once again I am turning to my fellow brother and sister smokers for a little advise. 

I am going to do a couple of shoulders/butts this weekend.  Although it's not my first, it's the first time on my pellet smoker.  I'm using a recipe for a Hawaiian style smoke pulled pork that I've used before with great success.  It calls for a rub of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and ground green tea.  I'm mixing in some mesquite smoke using my Big Kahuna cold smoker to provide a little more bark.

The big question is...at what temp should I put the shoulders/butts in at?  What is my target finished temp?  And any guess as to the approx time figuring a 4-5 lb chunk?

It goes without saying but I thank you all for any advice.

[teesquare]

There are a number of methods- and...they all work. You may want to see if Hub's section ( Burn it in the Backyard - near the top of the LTBBQ index page ) has some suggestions.

My favorite method is to allow at least 2 hours of cold smoke before firing up the pit. ( 4 hours for me in the cool part of the year.) Then I like to cook at 275F. Typically I pick Boston Butts that are 8-10 pounds. And, it can take 10-12 hours for them to hit the tenderness I want. As a reference,that is somewhere around 205F IT. *BUT* the probe test gets the final say. I will use a bamboo skewer for pork buts, and I want it to slide in and out with very very little resistance. Then I know they will pull without any issue. No claws needed.
Hope that helps....
T

[smokeasaurus]

Tee nailed that one. I think with pellet cookers you want to avoid putting in the meat until the pit comes to desired temp cause the warm up process does not really produce "clean" smoke.............

[TentHunteR]

I think with pellet cookers you want to avoid putting in the meat until the pit comes to desired temp cause the warm up process does not really produce "clean" smoke.............

I absolutely disagree!   I put meat on my pellet grill while it's still cold AND while the grill is still cold. Those pellets are very dry, you do not have to worry at all about the smoke not being a clean smoke.

Think about this: people (including me) use pellet tubes for cold smoking all the time without worrying about the smoke being clean!

The longer it takes for the outside of that meat to come to 140° the longer it has to actually absorb smoke. Starting with cold meat and a cold grill extends this time.

My favorite method is to allow at least 2 hours of cold smoke before firing up the pit. ( 4 hours for me in the cool part of the year.)

2 hours is a bit too risky, in my opinion, to cold-smoke uncured meat, unless it's cold enough outside to keep my pit temp below 50° F.  Otherwise 30 minutes or so is the most I ever cold-smoke any uncured meat.




I TOTALLY agree with Tee about the probe test having the final say. I've had pork shoulders done at anywhere from 190° - 212°.   However, that probe test never lies!  If that probe (or bamboo skewer) goes in with little to no resistance, then you know for sure that the connective tissues have broken down.   Otherwise it's not done, no matter what the thermometer says! 

[Smokin Don]

I always have had my Traeger smoker pre-heated to 180 to 200 deg. before putting my cold pork butts on and do a two hour smoke then go to 265 deg. for the rest of the cook. I have never done any cold smoking first. If I want extra smoke I use the tube smoker.
I have never had meat on during start up but the large amount of smoke then only lasts about 3 minutes and don't think it would hurt any meat.
I used to wrap in foil starting at 160 deg. to help it through the stall but I like the more crisp bark from not wrapping better now. I would only wrap now if I was pressed for time.
I agree the probe test is the only way to assure it will pull well. I start checking mine after it gets above 195 deg. Don