Help with Pork Butt Boston Roast

[UGator]

I've also stopped wrapping. A couple weeks ago I smoked two butts (one was 6.75# and the other 8.5#) and just for fun set the Smokefire temp at 210. It took 18 hours and a whole lot of spritzing, but pulled both off at 205 internal. Wrapped them in foil and shoved them in a cooler with towels and let them rest for about 4 hours. They were falling apart as I removed them from the grill and both shredded really well and tasted great!

 

[SteveSpy]

I've also stopped wrapping. A couple weeks ago I smoked two butts (one was 6.75# and the other 8.5#) and just for fun set the Smokefire temp at 210. It took 18 hours and a whole lot of spritzing, but pulled both off at 205 internal. Wrapped them in foil and shoved them in a cooler with towels and let them rest for about 4 hours. They were falling apart as I removed them from the grill and both shredded really well and tasted great!

That's just it: I don't want to have to be spritzing. I'm going to get a larger butt and smoke it to 205, I'm also going to set the temp to 220 this time and cook it all night. We'll see how it turns out!

 

[UGator]

That's just it: I don't want to have to be spritzing. I'm going to get a larger butt and smoke it to 205, I'm also going to set the temp to 220 this time and cook it all night. We'll see how it turns out!

Gotcha. I like the bark too much and am willing to spritz so I don't have to wrap. My understanding is that the added moisture from the spritz helps the meat pass the stall, which can also be achieved by wrapping with the liquid of your choice. So, if you're going to forego spritzing, I suggest adding some sort of apple juice-apple cider vinegar-bourbon-butter concoction to the butt when wrapping. Pulling it from the wrap at 190- 195 internal and placing it back on the Smokefire till it hits about 205. And letting it rest in the cooler for at least 1 hour before trying to pull. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[emilchik]

I think you did everything right, except for keeping it wrapped longer. I usually wrap it when it hits the temp stall (around 150-165), increase the temp to 275 and keep it till it falls apart. Test it with the instant temp probe - it should go in like in soft butter. Don't go by temp, go by feeling it.
BTW, for those connecting tissues to become soft and jealous you need 3 things: temp, time, and moisture. That's why you usually need to add some liquid into the foil when you wrap it.
Those hard connecting tissues need to be above 170 F° for at least an hour in the presence of liquid. If you're missing one of those 3 components, it will stay hard and dry. Some acidity in the liquid also helps to break them down. That's why you might need to add some apple cider vinegar with some juice or water. I tried tamarind juice with excellent results.
Another thing is, your meat piece could be very small and dried up too quickly. I this case I would start it with the SmokeBoost for an hour or two, then wrap it. You might lose some bark, but still will have some smoky flavor once you pull it apart.