Smoker at 180

10lb butt, fat side up checkered with a few pinches of Kosher salt

Yes... Works well for us because we don't like a hard bark.

I wrap whenever my bark is the way I want it and that depends on what kind of smoker you are using and temperature. I have a Kamado Joe, so cooking at 225 doesn’t provide enough airflow to have a good bark. I’ve found 275 and wrapping between 180-185 is perfect. So just play around with it and see what works best on your setup.

This was a different cook compared to others. As I said this was a smaller 3 lb cut. I’ve got to wonder if the type and size of this cut had something to do with it.

One strange thing was the stall happened at about 150 or just shy of that. Once it finally hit 160 I glazed it (while in the stall) and wrapped it. This was it at the wrap. I actually was tempted to just pull it and slice it and serve as a roast.



After the wrap I pulled it at 205, wrapped in towels and it went in the cooler. One hour later I opened it up. While the bone came out easy enough it didn’t seem like it could fall out on its own like it should. Pulling apart with two forks was work. It just didn’t seem it had broken down like it should. The taste was phenomenal, just not the perfect desired texture. I put apple juice in the pan (put in foil pan and then wrapped) and those juices mixed in well with the shredded meat. It makes me wonder if I had poor temp probe placement. Mental note to next time double check the temps with my thermo pen.

I’ve done a number of these in the past but this was the smallest and the first on the Yoder. All others have been on the pit barrel cooker and usually around 6 lbs.

I've only done one other butt and it was long enough ago that I don't remember much of the process.

Today I put a 3.5# bone-in butt on at around 0830 and it appears to be stalling at around 140. I assume that the wrapping is to get it through the stall quicker, so would you guys wrap it at this point or wait it out to 160ish before wrapping?

Wrap it now.

Also check that your probe isn't in contact with the bone. That can cause funky temp readings, potentially mimicking that low stall.

Cool, thanks.

If pink butcher paper was 18" wide 200ft long roll for $27 and white butcher paper was 18" wide 1000ft long roll for $27, which would you buy?

I wrap mine after it has fully cooked, as I like the bark on the outside. I usually wrap it for about an hour and put it in my cooler to rest, prior to eating.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
If pink butcher paper was 18" wide 200ft long roll for $27 and white butcher paper was 18" wide 1000ft long roll for $27, which would you buy?

I've always used pink, because that's what my Dad always used, and his dad, etc.

But I'm not sure that there's any functional difference between white and pink butcher paper, provided they're the same specs, including thickness and (lack of) coating, not just width and length.

And I use foil on my pork butts and ribs, not butcher paper. I use butcher paper for briskets.

Generally pork no and brisket yes. It all depends on what the bark looks like though, if it's setting early in the cook I'll wrap and if it's not where I want it I don't wrap.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
If pink butcher paper was 18" wide 200ft long roll for $27 and white butcher paper was 18" wide 1000ft long roll for $27, which would you buy?

It's very difficult to find white butcher paper that is unlined.

Unlined is absolutely what you want, not lined. This allows for some continued but moderated air exchange, which is part of what keeps the bark intact and continuing at much lesser rate.

Also, take a moment and find some that is 24" wide instead. You don't think it will make much of a difference, but this is way easier to wrap with. Especially if you ever do a brisket, but even for butts easier to have a solid overlap and coverage.

A roll is going to last you a pretty long while, don't worry about the price. Just the paper.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I assume that the wrapping is to get it through the stall quicker...

I've only had a smoker for a little over a year, so I'm no expert.

My understanding of the stall is that it's evaporative cooling similar to sweating. At some point in the cooking process, water is reaching the surface of the meat and evaporating. There's not enough heat at 250 degrees or lower to overcome the cooling effect of the evaporating water. The meat will stop gaining heat will and the temperature will stall, until the amount of water reaching the surface decreases enough that heat from the smoker is greater than the cooling effect of the evaporating water.

Wrapping the meat stops the water from evaporating. Foil keeps all of the water in. The water just gets hotter. It's practically a wet cooking method at that point. Paper is porous though, so wrapping in paper allows the water to evaporate, but slows the evaporation process enough that the meat still gains heat and it's temperature keeps rising.

I have yet to wrap, but I have tried raising the temp in the smoker. The problem is I'm using a Weber Smokey Mountain and lowering the temp back down is not quick and easy.

The last butt I did took so long, I ran out of charcoal in the smoker, and I finished it off in the oven. My wife and her foodie sister said it was the best pulled pork they had ever had. Everything I've read says the meat isn't going to pick up any more smoke flavor after the first few hours. It won't pick up any once it's wrapped either, so I'm thinking of finishing it in the oven where I can easily control the temperature.

The other thing I've read is the collagen and connective tissue in pork butt or brisket don't start to break down until above 165 degrees and that continues to about 200 degrees. This leads me to believe that time meat spends in the stall is wasted.

Up to 186. It's going to be a late dinner tonight.

The slaw and the buns are waiting....

When mine hit 175 I turned it up to 275.

I need to update. The night I did mine I wasn’t overly impressed, mostly that it wasn’t fall apart tender at 205 after resting an hour. Never had to peel the meat off the bone. Shredded it anyway (it had great flavor), bagged it up. Made some sammiches the next night and damn, that pork straightened itself out in the fridge. Super tender now and tastes amazing. Been feeding off this every day in one way or another. Had BBQ Pork eggs Benedict for lunch today, amazing!

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
If pink butcher paper was 18" wide 200ft long roll for $27 and white butcher paper was 18" wide 1000ft long roll for $27, which would you buy?

White butcher paper has a coating on one side

Pink butcher paper does not. Why’s it’s preferred

Well, it took 12 hours (and I cheated a little at the end and bumped it to 275 to get that last ten degrees), but man oh man did it turn out good. Didn't even need a fork, it just fell apart.

quote:

Originally posted by snwghst:

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
If pink butcher paper was 18" wide 200ft long roll for $27 and white butcher paper was 18" wide 1000ft long roll for $27, which would you buy?

White butcher paper has a coating on one side

Pink butcher paper does not. Why’s it’s preferred

According to the Sam's Club description there is NO coating on this Kraft butcher paper. Several reviews say they use it successfully for wrapping BBQ. You must be confusing white butcher paper with freezer paper but it is not the same.

This is copy/paste from Sam's Club:

White Kraft Butcher Paper (18 in. x 1000 ft.) is perfect for wrapping fresh meat and fish. It's also useful for packaging deli meats or sandwiches. It is non wax coated, therefore, can have a wide variety of purposes including arts and crafts or table coverings. Teachers can allow students to color and create art masterpieces. Or use it as an easy and fun way to serve a cheese platter or board.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/dur...00?xid=plp_product_2

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
It is non wax coated,

No wax, but many of them are coated with polyethylene. Not something I'd want to put on the grill for a few hours and then eat what's inside.

Not to mention the chemicals used in making the paper itself. I know this stuff doesn't matter to most, but I try to avoid any unnecessary exposure to that stuff if I can.

I've never wrapped a pork butt on the smoker. I usually do 3-5 pounders. When they get to temp, I take them off the smoker, then cover them in foil & let them rest for about an hour before tearing into it.