When you do your pork Butts on the smoker, do you wrap them at that 160ish mark or just do the full cook open?

Ever done 2 side by side and just wrapped one or just tried them both the same way other than wrapping not wrapping?

Pork but going on the Yoder shortly. It’s a smaller one so we should be good for this evening.

quote:

Originally posted by BRL:
When you do your pork Butts on the smoker, do you wrap them at that 160ish mark or just do the full cook open?

Ever done 2 side by side and just wrapped one or just tried them both the same way other than wrapping not wrapping?

Pork but going on the Yoder shortly. It’s a smaller one so we should be good for this evening.

I’ve tried it both ways on my Yoder. I prefer to wrap at 165. The biggest improvement I’ve experienced is to do a long rest, while wrapped.

I’ll rest it for 3-4 hours in a Cambro box.

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I like to wrap mine in 3 layers of foil at about 160. once I have it all pulled, I take the juices & pour them over the pulled meat.

I always wrap my pork butts at 165, or a few degrees earlier if it already appears to have stalled out.

After the first few hours, your pork butt isn't going to absorb any more smoke flavor anyway.

If you prefer slightly drier pork with a harder bark, you can leave it unwrapped, but understand that you're then at the mercy of the stall, which could throw off your timetable by as much as an hour or two. And bark texture is less important on shredded/pulled meat anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
The biggest improvement I’ve experienced is to do a long rest, while wrapped.

Yep. While wrapping is optional (but recommended), resting at the end is a must.

Let it rest in a closed cooler filled with old towels for insulation for at least one hour minimum (wrapping it first if it isn't already wrapped). And you can let it rest in the cooler for up to 4ish hours if needed, depending on your timeframe.

I typically run smaller Butts as Mrs BRL is vegetarian so it’s just me I’m feeding. This one is only 3 lbs and there is really no fat cap so it’s really more of a roast. That said with some of the reasoning above it probably is best to wrap. A smaller cut may be more inclined to dry out. I did inject it though but again with that smaller cut it does not have the ability to retain those fluids.

Im wishing now I’d have bought a bigger one and just frozen or shared the excess.

End result will show up in the BBQ thread.

I wrap at about 165-170 also and don't take it off the smoker until 205, then rest as time allows.

Yes I wrap it and let it rest minimum for an hour.

Here’s a 10lb I did for Super Bowl.

I do not wrap. I just wait out the stall. I feel like I get better bark that way and I prefer to chop my butts so that the bark gets mixed in a little better than it does when pulled.

At about 165 when all those juices start dripping I put them in a foil pan but I do not cover them. I put several ounces of beer in the bottom of the pan to mingle with the juices. Then I let it finish cooking this way checking to make sure the pan does not go dry. When done take them out still in the pan cover with foil and rest as long as you can let them.

When you pull the meat it will reabsorb all the juices still in the bottom of the pan. You will never have dried out pulled pork.

I wrap my pork butts once I get a nice split in the fat cap. I've never actually temped the butt at that point. I wrap in foil and dump in the remainder of whatever spritz I'm using to help the process.

I usually wrap in foil at about 160* but this season I’m going to try butchers paper. Apparently when you wrap with that the meat still absorbs smoke. Just bought a pair of smoke tubes as well as I find my pellet smoker doesn’t give me enough smoke flavor. I always let in rest for an hour or two in a towel and wrapped in an insulated cooler as well.

I wrap mine at 165. Difference is that I put in aluminum half pan, pour about 8 ounces of seven up over the butt then cover the pan with foil. Pull at about 190-195 and let rest still covered.

Did these 2 yesterday on a friend's pellet grill.
He's laid up a bit after knee surgery so his wife and I did the cook. Left unwrapped and took about 11 hours.
I've wrapped(foil and butcher paper) and done unwrapped. I prefer no wrap but both are good.

I have yet to wrap, but I’m going to try it the next time. The stall is real and variable which has killed me every single time. I think I started the last one at 5am and it wasn’t ready until 8pm.

My understanding of butcher paper is that it lets some of the moisture out, so the meat and bark isn’t just steaming in water. I don’t believe the meat will gain any more smoke after being wrapped in butcher paper. I’ve been meaning to get some butcher paper.

I think the next time, I’ll wrap it in butcher paper when the stall starts and just finish it in the oven. I think once it’s wrapped, heat is heat and I might as well save some fuel.

The other thing I’ll do is prepare the meat the night before. Is there any reason not to prepare the meat the night before? Pork butt, brisket, or whatever?

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I have yet to wrap, but I’m going to try it the next time. The stall is real and variable which has killed me every single time. I think I started the last one at 5am and it wasn’t ready until 8pm.

My understanding of butcher paper is that it lets some of the moisture out, so the meat and bark isn’t just steaming in water. I don’t believe the meat will gain any more smoke after being wrapped in butcher paper. I’ve been meaning to get some butcher paper.

I think the next time, I’ll wrap it in butcher paper when the stall starts and just finish it in the oven. I think once it’s wrapped, heat is heat and I might as well save some fuel.

The other thing I’ll do is prepare the meat the night before. Is there any reason not to prepare the meat the night before? Pork butt, brisket, or whatever?

Butcher paper is better than foil IMO. If you want softer meat that's juicy including the bark, foil is the way. The paper will be soaked through if you wrap with that. Just enough juices out but still good bark.

I always put the rub on the meat the night before if I can. Loosely cover and throw in the fridge.

I don’t wrap. I turbo cook butts and brisket so that pushes through the stall already

I do a lot of pork butts in my smoker, and I do NOT wrap them. I just use the temp probe and remove the heat once they reach being done, and let them rest. Plan to do another next week.

I don't wrap. I cook at 225˚ until ~200˚ internal temp with the final test being a probe that inserts without resistance into all areas of the pork. If there's a tight spot in the meat, I bring it up another degree until it passes the probe test. I double wrap in foil and let it rest for at least an hour in an empty cooler.

I recently did two large butts for a church event and one finished at 11 hours and the second at 13 hours. The first was in the cooler for four hours and the second for two. I unwrapped them at the event and they were both still steaming hot and not dry at all. I gave them a dusting of pork seasoning and a drizzle of BBQ sauce and let the group have at it.

Those two butts were among the best I've ever done. I had one quart sized zip lock bag worth of leftover pork which I used to make cheesy pulled pork french fries for a smaller gathering a week later. It was a huge hit and nothing was left of it.

Tony.

The last pork butt I did I decided to try wrapping in foil. Sure, it is juicier but the flavor was so bland compared to my normal pork butt with a nice caramelized bark. I may try peach paper but I did not like foil wrapping at all. Might as well make it in a crockpot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SIG4EVA,

Yes but always peach paper. Never foil.

I’ve also started letting cool down to 180 or so before putting in cooler to rest. Way better results than it continuing to cook if plopped in the at 200ish.