My pork butt took 14 hours and I almost threw it out at hour 12

I was chasing a 225 degree pit temp for HOURS only to find out my brand new thermometer was off by 40 degrees the whole time. Has anyone else had a cheap probe ruin a whole cook?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencerm461mo ago

225 is pretty low for pork butt anyway, most folks run 250-275 and it turns out way better. Bet that thermometer wasn't doing you much good even before you caught the error.

the_logan1mo ago

Wait @spencerm46, you REALLY think 225 is too low? Because I've had the EXACT same thing happen. I used to smoke everything at 225 religiously, thought that was the only way. Then I tried a pork butt at 275 on a whim and it was night and day. The bark was way better, the fat rendered way more evenly, and it took like 4 hours LESS. My thermometer situation was similar too - I was using an old probe that would randomly jump 20 degrees, so I was second guessing myself the whole time. Now I swear by 275, no looking back. That extra heat just makes everything work better, especially for something as fatty as pork shoulder.