# Pulled pork question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777 "2012-07-29T16:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/21 "2012-07-30T03:07:30Z")
> [@oreally](#): > > Man thanks y’all for talking me out of doing this. It’s worth a few extra bucks to buy it. 🙂 I dunno, man. It just seems to taste so much better when you do it yourself. While it does take some experience to get it right consistently, it’s not _that_ hard. It does depend on your smoker. Something like a Weber Smokey Mountain maintains a pretty steady temperature on a load of coals, and requires very little fire management. Offset smokers usually require a little bit of finagling, but once you get used to yours, it shouldn’t be too bad. It’s more the pit smokers and such, where you’re burning whole logs in a firebox or underneath the meat, that test your fire and temperature management skills. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/22 "2012-07-30T04:49:02Z")
FWIW butts take between 14-18 hours on my Big Green Egg. This is running at a steady 200-225 temp. You can do a turbo butt at 300 in a lot less time, but I have never done one that way. I usually cook mine to 200. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/23 "2012-07-30T05:52:16Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not really. Chefs routinely cook Boston butts in the oven for 6-7 hours for other applications, and they turn out with basically the exact same texture as pulled pork barbecue. > > ETA: Rye! As you pretty much said, chefs don’t barbecue. So it’s really apples and oranges. I use a Boston butt for pork and sauerkraut in about 8 hours, and it does shred, but not at all the same in texture. My NC pulled pork takes 12 to 18 hours depending on weight and how long it takes to break the plateau. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/24 "2012-07-30T13:22:55Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > As you pretty much said, chefs don’t barbecue. So it’s really apples and oranges. I use a Boston butt for pork and sauerkraut in about 8 hours, and it does shred, but not at all the same in texture. My NC pulled pork takes 12 to 18 hours depending on weight and how long it takes to break the plateau. We’re talking about getting a pork butt to shred. That is the primary problem of the OP. Some people are telling him he can’t get to 195 that quickly, which is totally false (especially since it was in foil for 2+ hours). I have done shoulders and butts at 300 degrees multiple times on my egg, and ended up with fantastic results. Pulykamel seems to have had a similar experience above. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/25 "2012-07-30T14:46:56Z")
Yeah, doing pork butts at 300F is not uncommon, and there are a few Texas joints that do “high temp” brisket in the same manner. I don’t quite go that high usually, but 250-275 is my range and I prefer the product to that done lower and slower. That’s my preference, of course. I have done a direct heat (without waterpan) pork butt on my Weber Smokey Mountain, so that was temps closer to 300-325, and that was my favorite pork butt of all. The problem is this requires a lot more attention to the fire. You can’t build a full ring of coals–it gets too hot, so you have relight coals ever few hours to keep the temps under 325. That’s the great thing about making barbecue yourself–you can play around with various techniques and do it to your tastes. I like mine done at higher temps, and I prefer to take it off before it’s pullable (I like the texture of chopped pork better, but I don’t much like sliced pork, which is cooked to an even lower temperature.) But you can absolutely, positively make good pulled pork, even great pulled pork, in 6-8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/26 "2012-07-30T14:48:22Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > Once the shoulder has come up to temp (~195F), how long does it need to rest before, well, pulling it? 🙂 > > This is my third try, and both previous times I had to return it to the smoker for 1-2 hours before it would shred (however I only rested it wrapped in foil for 15-30min) > > Thanks in advance! I smoke them for 1.5 hours per pound (and when the temp hits 195)… Then as soon as it is cool enough to shred…bazinga! ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777/27 "2012-07-30T15:12:54Z")
Like others, I think the OP’s cook times are a little short. I usually plan 10-12 total hours of cooking for pork butts. Say 200-225 degrees. They will sort of shred after 7-8 hours but large chunks will need to chopped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-pork-question/629777.md?page=1)