Low & Slow

[chromestacks]

Hey Gang,

Just curious what the lowest running tempature for smoking pork butts? I know this is probably a huge debate! Like as to mop or not mop, foil or not, wood or charcoal, internal temp of finished meat. Lots of debates. But the idea is low and slow. What low tempature would you say the food safe barrier is crossed?

 

[bigabyte]

225 is the lowest I've heard a concensus call safe.

 

[Midnight Smoke]

225º - 240º is where you should cook for a smoke.

 

[JD McGee]

225...:thumb:

 

[Papa Payne]

225.....

 

[Rib Fan]

225.5.......Sorry been a while since I posted and decided to stoke the fire.

 

[Low-n-Slow]

225* is plenty slowwwww for me....not even having to get into all the usda technical stuff. :mrgreen:

 

[blackdog043]

Another one for 225

 

[Mister Bob]

Consensus around here is 225, and it's certainly good advice to stay well on the safe side when dealing with food safety, however........(ready for some controversy?).........If your cooker can maintain temperature very consistently within a couple of degrees of your target (like the BGE), 225 may include an excessive margin for error.

On the EGG I've cooked at 205 on many occasions (yes, on purpose) with great success. The danger zone for food is above 40 degrees F and below 165 degrees F. 225 is considered a safe cooking temperature because so many smokers have spikes in their temperatures, occasionally flame out or just don't hold steady temps, and some cooks just don't pay careful enough attention to their craft. An experienced cook on a well designed cooker can go lower and slower. Many will argue, but facts are facts. Let the arguments begin...

 

[HarleyEarl]

My vote is for 225º - 250º.

 

[SmokinAussie]

Even I'd say 225.

Give that a go. Give it a long cook time and let it rest.... NOTHING like a tough butt if you try and hurry it up... yuk!

 

[aquablue22]

I've done butts on the Egg around 200 degrees and they came out fine, But i usually try to hold right around 225 - 250 degrees.

 

[Stacks]

I'm going to be different and say.... 225* :bow:

 

[Bill-Chicago]

220* if I can hold that in the Summer, 230* in the Winter as I don't want it dipping below 220* as the wind blows

 

[Brauma]

A Boston Butt is a very forgiving hunk of meat. I dont freak out if the smoker falls below 200 but I try to maintain 230... ish.

Ever since I learned how to cook BBQ (from the guys on this site), making great BBQ has become 2nd nature. I can make better BBQ than any local restaurant even on a bad day.

Cook a lot and take notes: times, temps, rubs, mops, sauces... It's all good.

 

[1FUNVET]

Another vote for 225.