BBQ Lodge - Smoked Pork Butt

Barbecue Pork Butt

The preparation for this cooking session was about as simple as it gets.  The pork butts were rubbed with Wild Willy's Rub the night before, covered and placed in the fridge.

I also cooked a batch of Kansas City Baked Beans(Smoke & Spice) and chicken wings with the pork butts.  This was the first time I tried the Kansas City Baked Beans recipe and I like them.

The KC Baked Beans recipe is tangier then what most people are used to. Give it a try.

After mixing the ingredients, the KC Baked Beans were covered and baked in the oven for 90 minutes at 325*.  Then the beans were uncovered and moved to the WSM at the time noted in the cooking record below.

The cooked pork butts were good.  The bark was crisp, the oak smoke and Succor mop mixed for nice a nice flavor.  The pork pulled easily and was served with Vaunted Vinegar Sauce(Smoke & Spice) on the side.

I also did some chicken wings.  See the BBQ Lodge Chicken Wings web page for more details about cooking chicken wings.

Homemade potato salad was served as a side dish.  Good eats happened this night.

Pics and Notes

#1	#2	#3
#1 is a pic of one of the pork butts waiting for a rub. #2 is a pic of the Kansas City Baked Beans just before removal from the WSM. #3 is a pic of the pork butts after several hours on the WSM.

#4	#5	#6
#4 shows a Polder temperature probe inserted into one of the pork butts. #5 is a pic of the pork butts just before removal from the WSM. #6 is a pic of the pork butts after resting.

#7	#8
#7 and #8 are more pics of the pork butts after resting.

Cooking Record

Time	BG	TG	Lid	Vent	Comment
					BG=Bottom Grate temp. TG=Top Grate temp. Lid=Lid temp. Vent=the setting of each bottom vent. The top vent is always open 100%.
					Two pork butts, about 4.5 pounds each. Butts are rubbed with Wild Willy's rub.

7:35 AM				50%	Assemble WSM and fill water pan. 3 good sized chunks of white oak. Pork butts go on the bottom grate of the WSM.
7:55 AM	226*	246*	245*	50%	Temperature check.
8:33 AM	251*	273*	255*	33%	Temperature check. I reduced the vent opening to slow temperature rise.
9:11 AM	264*	291*	255*	5%	Temperature check. The bottom vents are closed almost all the way to stop the temperature climb. I don't want to close the bottom vents all the way because the fuel will start to smolder producing bitter smoke.
9:55 AM	260*	284*	255*	5%	Temperature check and water pan check. The lid thermometer seems to have gone belly up. I have another Polder somewhere.
10:54 AM	257*	278*		10%	Add 1 quart of water.
11:52 AM	251*	269*		10%	Add 1 quart of water. Temperature check.
12:30 AM	242*	266*		10%	Temperature check.
1:12 PM	239*	249*	282*	10%	Finally found my spare Polder thermometer. Temperature check, water check and fuel check. The remaining fuel won't go the distance so I start 3/4 chimney of briquettes and 2 pieces of white oak. I thought a 3/4 ring of charcoal would be enough. Oh well, another learning experience.
2:03 PM				10%	Add chicken wings on top grate and chimney of lit briquettes and oak.
2:17 PM	235*	206*	282*	100%	Temperature drops because of cold wings. Open bottom vents to raise temperature. TG temperature is lower than normal because of the cold chicken wings.
3:17 PM	244*	237*	292*	100%	Add 1 quart of water.
3:46 PM	257*	255*	304*	50%	Temperature check.
4:23 PM	249*	251*	282*	50%	Temperature check.
5:13 PM	253*	287*	300*	50%	Add KC Baked Beans. Mop butts with Succor mop. Mop wings with Bulls Eye bbq sauce.
5:30 PM				50%	Remove chicken wings. Stir KC Baked Beans.
6:02 PM	242*	246*	283*	100%	Internal temp of pork butts is 192*. Stir KC Baked beans.
7:15 PM	250*	260*	294*	100%	Beans and pork butts removed from Weber. Internal temp of the pork butts is 199*.
					The pork butts rested for about 35 minutes then I start pulling the pork.