The all-important internal temperature gradient chart. When
you start out, the internal temperature is going to be shockingly
low for a couple of hours. If you didn't know better you'd think
nothing was going on. It takes a while. Not New York time,
but something more suited to a lazy afternoon.

Low and slow is what it's all about, and right now, I'm er stuck on slow. Getting that internal meat temperature up to 160 then eventually, 195 looks like it's going to take half the night.

But then, I began at 12:30, so I knew I was in for about an 11-hour barbecue smoke-fest. And that's what my shirt and T-shirt and jacket smell of—smoke.

The chart (right) has proven to be more or less in line with what's taking place.

Right now the meat is at 163 F in the thickest part of the meat and 152 in the thinner end of the pork butt. My goal is 165 before I take it out and wrap it in aluminum foil for the final tenderization.

You will end up night cooking. A foil 'floor' (decorated
with cooking juices), and a two-piece vertical foil dam, help
shield the meat from direct heat, sort of ... converting the
humble Weber kettle into something akin to a smoker.

Modern technology is allowing me to stay indoors, monitor the temperatures using a Weber 6741 Dual Probe Wireless Thermometer. I'm venturing out every hour or two to baste the pork butt with a mopping sauce of:

1/3 cup rubbing spices, 4 oz cider vinegar, 4 oz vegetable oil, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tbs worcestershire sauce, 1 tbs soy sauce, and 8 oz. or so of water.

Another useful guide to cooking time and
temperature, from SmokingMeatForums.

Periodically tossing on some hickory chips onto the coals. But they're not just hickory chips, they're doused in a mix of water and Buffalo Trace bourbon. Not to much of course, I don't want hyper-inflammable chips, of course.

If I'd had more time I might have set up another (new) probe for the ambient temperature, but didn't want to get bogged down in setting up a new device, however, for now I am using an old fashioned standup dial inside the grill to get the grid temp. At one point, while I was walking the dog of course, the heat turbo'd up to 325, but for the most part I've kept it in the 200 - 250 range.

RUBBING START

To start out, I put dry rub right on the meat (after removing most, but not all, excess fat), but ... I forgot the mustard. No problem, after it smoked for 20 minutes, I squirted on some Grey Poupon, slathered it over the meat on both sides and shook on a good dose of dry rub to cover the entire butt (a mix of PickyPig and Stubbs to give it some variety).

In a couple of places that corresponded with where I held the meat with the tongs, I lost the rub bark. What to do? I made a thick "repair paste" of dry rub mixed with mustard, and spackled it back on. Within an hour it looked just the same as the rest of the bark.

Today was the first time I used a Lodge coal funnel to get the coals going. They were ready in no time. Too soon, in fact. I wasn't ready. I used paper towel soaked with vegetable oil as my firestarter. A bit nasty-smoky but better than lighter fluid by a million miles.

Another person's recommendation of 13 coals for the indirect heat source turned out to be inadequate...maybe because it's 36 F outside? Maybe because it's a Weber kettle. I'm not sure. My 1/4 bag of charcoal was finished sooner than I expected, so I went back to my local hardware store, picked up a bag of better quality hardwood charcoal.

This one has now had about 7 hours of smoke.
As the hours of darkness roll on, I may take this inside to the oven to finish the last 30 or so degrees to fully tenderize [although my goal was 195 - I sailed it to 197 and 203]. There were a couple of stalls in temperature, so I am not expecting a competition winning butt, this time out.]

Tomorrow the sauce. A mix of Stubb's sweet and heat added for depth, and the following with some improv variations as the base:

2 cups ketchup

1 cup dark agave syrup

1/2 cup spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons garlic salt

2 tablespoons paprika (or 1 tablespoon smoked paprika)

1 tablespoon ground mustard

1 tablespoon onion powder

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons hot cayenne pepper sauce [Tar Heels Cayenne Hot Sauce]

Sauce based on: http://www.sogoodblog.com/2014/04/20/incredible-pulled-pork-bbq-sauce-recipe-authentic-fresh/#ixzz3KW22Vghw

RESOURCES
http://howtobbqright.com/pulledporkrecipe.html

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/49593/pork-butt-cooking-time

I'm not using an Egg, but for a quicker finish in case of time issues, there are a few tips here:
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1150356/pork-butt-what-is-your-grid-temp-of-choice

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/447582

How to set a probe for ambient temperature without a clip:
http://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/thermometer_buying_guide.html

Some thermometer science
http://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/thermometer_buying_guide.html

http://killerhogs.com/thebbqrub