Pork Pulled Pork Butt: To wrap, or not to wrap. That is the question!

[Parrothead1809]

I’ve never done a pork butt on the Traeger. I’ve watched a few YouTubes and they vary by technique. Some comments even say it’s unnecessary to wrap since the pork butt is so juicy. I’m leaning towards not wrapping as Malcom did on his Traeger:

So, what’s your favorite technique?
-PH

 

[MidwestSmoker]

Pork butts are very forgiving and can be made in numerous ways, all of them delicious! Try it with and without wrapping to see which you prefer. I personally preferred the wrapped version, but many on this forum prefer not to wrap.

 

[GrillMeister]

I did these two recently and wrapped them at 165 by placing them in a foil pan, then foil tightly wrapped on top. They turned out great and was easy to transfer to larger pulling pan without leaking and spilling juice everywhere. After pulling each pork but, I seasoned with Bad Byron's Butt Rub and transferred to a clean foil pan. I then drizzled some of the juices back on and recovered with foil. After cooling for a while, I then put the pans in the fridge overnight. The pulled pork and juices coagulated which made bagging for souse vide reheating easy peasy and the result was juicy pulled pork just like it was pulled two days before.

 

[Timmy]

Here is a thread that may be of interest.
Thread 'Pulled Pork Test This Weekend'
https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/pulled-pork-test-this-weekend.3472/

 

[RayClem]

The primary reason that many people wrap pork butts is to shorten the cooking time. Due to the amount of moisture in the meat, once the butt reaches the stall, it can take quite a while for enough moisture to evaporate so that the internal temperature starts to rise again.

You have three options:
1. Leave the temperature around 225 F for the entire cook and just wait out the stall. It will eventually get there, but could take a while.
2. Leave the temperature around 225F until it hits the stall and then boost the temperature up to 275 F to power through the stall.
3. When you reach the stall, wrap the butt in foil or butcher paper and put it back on the grill. You can either leave it at 225F or boost the temperature to 250-275F if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

Whichever way you chose, when the pork reaches its final temperature, wrap it in foil, wrap the foil in a towel and place it in an insulated container for an hour or longer to let it rest so the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. thus, always plan for the cook to finish well before dinner time.

 

[GTDjr]

I wrap mine in aluminum foil when they get to about 170 degrees. After wrapping them, I put them in the oven. Electricity is cheaper than pellets and once the but gets wrapped they are not going to get any more smoke anyway.

 

[Big Man Dan]

I never wrap my pork butts and have had great success. I rub them with Ozark Heat the night before and leave them in the fridge in foil overnight. My local grocery store sells half-butts so I normally smoke two of those. The cook time is much shorter and the surface area with all the delicious rub and smoke is doubled. It's a big hit with my family and friends.

 

[RayClem]

I normally cook full pork butts around 8 lbs. We also eat dinner early (around 5:00 pm). If I cooked without wrapping, I would have to start very early in the morning to be able to pull the pork off at 4:00 pm to allow an hour of resting before dinner.

If I were doing a Boston roast weighing 4 lbs. I could do it without wrapping. Usually, Boston roasts are about 25% more expensive than a full butt. I guess I could purchase a full butt and cut it in half and accomplish the same thing.

The nice thing about BBQ and smokers is there is no "right" way to do things. There are options and you can do whatever seems best.

 

[HHI6818]

I smoked 3 or 4 that I wrapped and then I watched the video. Bark was unbelievable and had much more smoke flavor. These two smoked for 18 hrs @ 210 degrees.

 

[imjustabill1970]

The primary reason that many people wrap pork butts is to shorten the cooking time. Due to the amount of moisture in the meat, once the butt reaches the stall, it can take quite a while for enough moisture to evaporate so that the internal temperature starts to rise again.

You have three options:
1. Leave the temperature around 225 F for the entire cook and just wait out the stall. It will eventually get there, but could take a while.
2. Leave the temperature around 225F until it hits the stall and then boost the temperature up to 275 F to power through the stall.
3. When you reach the stall, wrap the butt in foil or butcher paper and put it back on the grill. You can either leave it at 225F or boost the temperature to 250-275F if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

Whichever way you chose, when the pork reaches its final temperature, wrap it in foil, wrap the foil in a towel and place it in an insulated container for an hour or longer to let it rest so the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. thus, always plan for the cook to finish well before dinner time.

I always go with Option 1 for both pork and brisket. I never wrap...I just wait it out and tell people that we'll eat when we eat.

 

[RayClem]

I always go with Option 1 for both pork and brisket. I never wrap...I just wait it out and tell people that we'll eat when we eat.

If you typically eat late in the evening, that can certainly work. Being retired, my wife and I usually eat around 5:00 pm. If the cook is going to finish much later than 4:00 pm, I have to find something else for that night's dinner.

 

[imjustabill1970]

If you typically eat late in the evening, that can certainly work. Being retired, my wife and I usually eat around 5:00 pm. If the cook is going to finish much later than 4:00 pm, I have to find something else for that night's dinner.

Totally agree with eating at a certain time when it's just me and my wife.

 

[Parrothead1809]

If you typically eat late in the evening, that can certainly work. Being retired, my wife and I usually eat around 5:00 pm. If the cook is going to finish much later than 4:00 pm, I have to find something else for that night's dinner.

This brings up my second question: We're empty nesters as well... and I can only find rather large pork butts in the grocery. So should I smoke the smallest roast I can find, and then just freeze the final product, OR should I cut the raw pork butt in half and smoke half for us to to eat that day, and freeze the other other half until "next time"?
-PH

 

[RayClem]

Since pork butts are cooked to high internal temperature to render the fat and connective tissue, the meat freezes well and reheats well. I cook an entire butt, shred the meat and divide it up into portions sufficient for the two of us. I find that pint size freezer bags or vacuum seal bags are ideal for this.

I have a sous vide circulator and drop the bags into it for reheating. It is not even necessary to thaw out the meat first. If you do not have sous vide, you might want to thaw the meat in the refrigerator first and then reheat it in a pot of water somewhere below boiling. You can also dump the meat out from the bag into a sauce pan and reheat it that way. Either way, it should be just as tasty as it was when first cooked.

You can certainly cook two smaller pieces of pork, but that just ends up being more work overall. So ultimately, it is your option.

 

[Parrothead1809]

I just got back from Wegmans (grocery) and found a nice looking 7# bone in, so I'm going to smoke it tomorrow. Now for all the other religious questions:
1. Cooking temp: 200°F or 225°F ? I'm going to use the Traeger Hickory pellets.
2. Fat side up or down?
3. I want to eat around 7:00 PM and have enough time to let it rest for an hour (or more), before pulling. So start time around 8:00 AM? I'll season it tonight before bed and leave it in the fridge.

Thanks for all the input!!!
-PH