hnf pork butt question

I cook mine @300 for 4 hrs Wrap it in Foil to finish usually another 1-1.5 hrs until the bone slips out. I Don't do meat temps.

Bludawg said:

I cook mine @300 for 4 hrs Wrap it in Foil to finish usually another 1-1.5 hrs until the bone slips out. I Don't do meat temps.

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^^^ this IMO.

Though, to OP, if you're looking for a guideline you'll be happy to know that finishing temps for HnF are essentially the same as LnS (which vary based on purpose obvious if you're looking for slicing vs pulling, etc).

For a Hot and Fast Pork butt, I do several things differently than low and slow.

1. I trim almost all the exterior fat off.


2. I will wrap the pork butt once it gets to the color I want. The picture below is just a tad darker than I want. I got to it a little late. Some of my pork butts don't get wrapped because they don't get darker than the color I want.


The next steps I do with all my pork butts.

I consider the pork butt done when you wiggle the bone and the meat releases it.


If you have wrapped the pork butt, open the foil/butcher paper and let it vent for 15-20 mins. If you did not wrap it, let it rest ontop of some foil/butcher paper for 15-20mins to vent off the heat and stop the cooking process. After the 15-20mins of venting, wrap tightly and allow it to rest for minimum 2 hours.

After I pull the pork, I reintroduce the fat back into the meat to help it maintain some moisture when it is sitting on the table.

The bone test does semi-work, but I have had bones pull clean at 185 when the middle of the butt didn't fully pull apart. So I don't subscribe fully to when the bone pulls clean is it "done". It is simply another "indicator" like people call a temp range an "indicator". I guess this mostly pertains to when you want to fully shred it. Do you guys that do the "bone test" simply tug on that thing every 30mins towards the ends or something? Obviously the more it cooks the more the bone protrudes which is what I'm guessing is an indicator or when to pull it.

But more to the OP for home cooked butts I'll shoot for right around 195-200 even with hnf. They normally rest for an hour or more and they always pull perfectly even without touching that bone for any type of test. If i drink too many beers and stop paying attention to temp and it gets to 205 they still pull perfectly.

We don't cook BBQ to time or temp though; we cook it until the meat is done. There is a range of temps that are generally true but feel is the key. I like to slide a probe into the meat. It should go in like butter. If you're hitting resistance then it isn't done. The bone test is an excellent in most though not all cases.

That said I've also had butts nearly turning mushy at 185-190 deg F that had to be taken out while other butts in the same cook went over 200. Every piece of meat is different and the best way to tell is by feel.

To aawa's point there are some differences in the cooking process because of the higher heat and all but the ending range of temps is still the same and feel will be the ultimate test.

I generally don't temp butts, I'll probe for tenderness in 2-3 places. If I get resistance I put he lid back on and let it go for another hour. For an 8 pound butt I probe after 6 hours at 300°, they usually go for 8 hours on the kettle. I like crunchy bark so no foil for me.
The usual description for tenderness is that the probe slides in like "a hot knife thru buttah", but it feels to me like it is sliding in to a wet, mushy sponge. At that point the bone will pull out cleanly. YMMV.

I go by the Pull back hard to describe it when its poking out like this it will wiggle loose lie a 6 yr old chilerns baby tooth. And that is done.

fnbish said:

The bone test does semi-work, but I have had bones pull clean at 185 when the middle of the butt didn't fully pull apart. So I don't subscribe fully to when the bone pulls clean is it "done"...

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when have some of the center that is a bit stubborn on pulling I will do a course chop on it and mix it up into the rest that pulled easy. I find that it gives a nicer overall texture when I do that.

I go by the bone wiggle, and how the butt feels when picking it up wit the tongs. does it want to try and fall apart when picking it up? you can see the the different muscles ant to try and separate

aawa said:

For a Hot and Fast Pork butt, I do several things differently than low and slow.

1. I trim almost all the exterior fat off.

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Why is that? I would think you would want more of the fatcap to protect from the higher temp.

Just asking because I'm going to do my first hnf butts (3) in two weeks for a friends party. I'll be using a uds and usually smoke fatcap down.

The fat doesn't fully melt away when cooking hot n fast because the stall/rendering period is a lot shorter.

On the subject of finishing temps. I've always found that cooking hot n fast will push finishing temps well north of 200 F, around 205-210 typically. This is for the same reason people trim the fat cap/skin. It simply doesn't render as well because of the shorter breakdown period (stall).

So yeah, saying that internal finishing temps are going to be the same cooking at 230 vs 330 is quite a stretch.

I typically do 275 to 300 range and start probe testing at 195 IT. If it doesn't probe like butter, I check back at 200 IT and so on. I wrap in foil once it probes like butter.