A 5 pound pork butt at 225°F takes about 10 to 12 hours if you leave it unwrapped. A 7 pound butt on the same plan is about 10 and a half hours, because the rate per pound drops as the piece gets heavier. Wrap in foil and you can cut about two hours off, since the wrap stops the surface from cooling itself. The meat is done near 203°F, when the bone wiggles. The timer is only there so you light the fire early enough to reach that feel.
The window, in plain numbers
These match the cook plan on this site, which follows the Amazing Ribs pulled-pork timetable.
| Piece | Grate | Wrap | Cook window |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 lb | 225°F | No | About 10 to 12 hours |
| 5 lb | 275°F | No | Slow end about 9 hours, fast end about 8 |
| 7 lb | 225°F | No | About 10.5 hours scheduled |
| Any of the above | Same | Foil | About 2 hours less |
The stall on a 5 pound butt at 225°F is plotted around 4 hours in. That is a planning mark, near 150°F in the meat, not a promise. Read pork butt stall when the graph flattens so you do not assume the fire died.
Heat the pit for about 45 minutes before the meat goes on. Rest for about an hour after the pull. A faster cook becomes a longer hold. It does not become permission to serve early if you wanted the bark to settle.
Pros
- The 225°F plan is the one with the most room if the stall runs long.
- A foil wrap is a real time cut, about two hours, when the afternoon is disappearing.
Cons
- 275°F is shorter and less forgiving if you are not watching the grate.
- A per-pound rule from a 5 pound butt will overstate a heavier one. The 7 pound rate is slower per pound on purpose.
What to do with the time
Pat the butt dry and use the pork butt rub. Put a probe in the thick meat, away from the bone. Bone conducts heat, so a probe against it reads hotter than the meat you'll actually pull and the cook looks finished early. Meat thermometers for smoking is how to pick that probe. On a kamado, the lid gauge sits in the dome and usually runs hotter than the grate, so the number in this plan is a probe at cooking height.
Wrap when the bark is set and the center is near 160°F if you want the shorter clock. That choice is when to wrap pork butt. Paper versus foil is butcher paper vs foil. The foil row in the table above is the tight-foil, Texas-crutch cut. Paper will not be quite that fast.
Pull around 203°F and then check the meat. The feel is internal temp for pulled pork. The full timeline, with your serve time, is the pork butt smoking time calculator. If you only remember one thing: start earlier than a brisket slogan told you, and do not slice the moment it hits temperature. An hour of rest is part of the cook.