Smoking a Butt on friday evening (first time) on a Kettle


 
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Dennis Fraley

TVWBB Super Fan
This is my first shot at Pulled Pork. I was planning on waiting for my WSM which I plan on buying next month. But after reading how great it is I cannot wait anymore. I know it'll be tough to regulate temps. But I think I can get it done. I'll be using about a 5 or 6 pound butt most likeley (that's about what I can find around here). I'm going to put a rub on it thursday night and let it sit in the fridge all night. I'll have my wife pull it out before I get home from work to help bring it up to room temp. I get home at about 3:15 PM. I'm hoping to have everything on by 4:00 or 4:30 pm. So I think it'll be a late night. I'll be using the minion (sp?)method. And I'll be using chunks of Apple and pear wood.
I've never done this before so if anyone has any tips let me know.

Thanks

Dennis F.
 
Dennis-

Go for it!! I've done ribs on a kettle, but never tried a butt (mostly because I didn't know what a butt was until after I had my offset...and then I figured I might as well monkey with the fire in the offset....) /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Try this link. It's for ribs, but should give you some ideas for the butt since they cook at about the same temp.

Ribs on Kettle

Make sure you have a therm setup somehow (I mounted one in my kettle lid.) Good luck!

Rich G.
 
Thanks Rich.
That first pic in the link you gave me is exactly how I was going to do it. I've always set up my kettle that way when I've smoked before. Only I've never put the water (or sand) pan above the coals on the cooking grate. I'm going to do that this time though. I really believe that will help control the temps alot. Especialy by using the minion method. I don't have a chimney for starting but I'll just use my 18 1/2" Weber Kettle to start about 15 or so coals to throw on top of the unlit ones.

I really think It's gonna be fine. I've smoked tons of turkey's on my kettle before as well as a chuck roast. The roast was good only I cooked it to long. But it was still very good and very tender. came apart like pot roast.

Thanks for the tips. I'll let you guys know how it turnes out.
 
Ive used my kettle for a 7 lb brisket, and a 6 lb chuck roast. They both turned out excellent!!! It took some time for them too cook.Approx 1 1/2 hours per pound.. So you indeed will have a late night. Slow cooking on your kettle, i would close all of the bottom vents and open the top 100%. It should stay between 250 and 280. Good luck... Sounds like your gonna have fun!!!
I ordered a WSM and it will be here tommarrow, so I will No longer have to use the Kettle for Long cooks. If your a player.. enbay has them for 169.00
 
Yeah I'll be getting a WSM next month when those tax rebate checks come. The wife already's know's so it's pretty well a done deal. Unless some sort of disaster happens (which usauly does when I run into extra money).
I actually think I'm gonna try and get the smallest cut I can get just to try and cut down on the cooking time. Maybe I can get a 4 pound butt. That would be nice. Atleast for my first run at it. I'd do it on saturday instead but I've got a B-Day party to go to at 4:00pm Sat. Or I suppose I could get up early Sat. morning and start it so it's done before we go. But I'd probobly have to get up around 3:00am to make sure I got it done in time. I suppose I could and then go back to bed once the temp stabilized. But what if I have to keep baby sitting it. Then I'll be one craby guy all day /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif . Even if I'm up till 3:00am sat. morning I'll still be able to get around 4 hours of sleep or so so I'll be alright. I'm a late night guy anyway.
 
BTW what do you guys recomend for a mop. I was thinking of using apple juice. That's normaly what I use in brines and stuff. That should be fine right? I will be using apple wood and pare wood to smoke anyway.
 
Hay Dennis
Your right on with the apple juice. Some like to add olive oil and cider vinigar to it too. It is recomended not to start mopping untill you reach the half way point of your cook so you don't wash off the rub. Good luck with your cook I'm sure it will be great. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Dennis:

Glad that link helped. I haven't mopped in a while (lazy), but when I did, straight apple juice worked for me. Just make sure you wait until about half your cooking time is done so the bark can set up nice. Otherwise, your mop will only serve to wash off the rub that you put on....

Have fun!

Rich G.
 
Instead of a mop, I have been using a cheap plastic squirt bottle. Easy to use and clean.

I have been experimenting with apple juice with some Old Bay Seasoning in it. Not bad results.

Sonny (Pork Eat World)
 
I've read here that you should'nt mop untill half way thru the cook because of washing away the rub. So I was aware of that. But thanks for bringing it up incase I did'nt know. You guys have been a great help. I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Well I went to the store tonight to get my pork butt and there were'nt any in the display. So I had to settle for a pork shoulder. Should cook and pull the same right? The good news is it's only a little over 3 pounds. So it should'nt be such a late night after all. Which considering it's my first time trying it that's plenty big enough. And I've found out my wife is working tomorrow so I have to pick up the kids from DayCare. So I wont get the shoulder on till atleast 5:00 pm.
I've already made some Smokey Mountain BBQ Sauce today so I'm ready (GOOD STUFF)! I cannot wait. I hope I can manage the temps good so it does'nt dry out.
 
Hi Dennis-
If you bought a 3+ piece of pork shoulder, it is most likely a butt that has been cut down. So yes, it will cook the same. The butt is the upper part of a whole shoulder, a picnic is the lower part. Market descriptions can sometimes be confusing; there are often several different terms for the same thing.
Good luck with the pulled pork /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif .
 
Thanks Jim. It does have a bone in it (don't know if that makes a difference or not). Do I trim all the fat off? I've read in recipies that you do cause the fat thats in the meat will keep it tender.
 
Just a warning: don't count on a quick cook. The rule of thumb that it takes 1 1/2 hours per pound doesn't hold true for smaller cuts. Last weekend I smoked a 2.6 pound pork shoulder roast, and it took 9 hours to get to temperature -- approximately 3 1/2 hours per pound. That was with a steady grate temperature around 250. Oh man, did it taste great, but it was dinner instead of lunch as I had planned.

I think that with a big thick lump of meat, there's only so fast that the heat can penetrate. Even when the overall weight is smaller, it's not a simple pounds-to-hours formula to reduce your cooking time. The shape of the meat is just as important as the weight, maybe even more when the weight is lower.
 
Geoff is right - don't get impatient and take it off early if you can help it. If you can let it get into the 190's however long it takes, you will be most handsomely rewarded with delectable meat and continuous compliments on your cooking skill. Don't forget that, even though it is a smaller cut, there will be a time frame of possibly a few hours that your temp will not move. That plateau usually hits somewhere in the 160's. That's when the connective tissues are melting and fat is rendering, ie magic is happening. When you come off that plateau, your meat temp will rise comparitively quickly.

Just remember that your magic number lies somewhere in the 190's. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

We look forward to hearing your report.

Keri C
Smokin on Tulsa Time
 
Thanks for the warning. I wont take it off early. I really have no reason to. I should be getting it on around 5:00pm. And I stay up late on the weekends anyway. As long as it's done by 1 or 2:00am that'll be fine. If not I guess I'll get less sleep /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif .
 
Looks like you are going to have a great time having a late night. I think the hardest part about a late smoke is waiting for the temp to actually get to the mid 190s. The last smoke I did on my kettle took until 1:00 AM to get to 195. I was so tempted to take it off before that, but it was worth the wait.

The next toughest wait is after you take the meat off the kettle. I could only wait a half an hour before pulling it. It was a little hot at first, but since it was so tender, it wasn't hard to pull.

Have fun, enjoy, and based on all the posts about people smoking with kettles, feel comfort in knowing there are others like you just chomping at the bit to get WSMs. In the meantime, we are still smoking and still loving the advice in these forums.

My key advice to you is keep the bottom vents closed except for maybe at the beginning or you will struggle to keep the tempatures down. Also, because of the confined space in a kettle, it is fairly sensitive to being in the sun. If you can find some shade, it will help a ton.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jon Liberman:
[qb] Also, because of the confined space in a kettle, it is fairly sensitive to being in the sun. If you can find some shade, it will help a ton. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Actually now that will not be a problem. I have a change of plans! I'm doing a all night smoke with my kettle /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Well sort of. I started thinking about this and realized I could be up till 3:00am if things stretch out. So I thought I'd just throw the shoulder on around midnight. Then I'll stay up for an hour or two till temps seem some what stable. Then go to bed around 2:am (or earlier if it lets me). My wife is getting up around 5:30 to go to work. So I'll get up then and check everything out and tend to it if needed. Then I'll go back to bed for a couple of hours till the kids get up. They usually get up around 7 or 7:30am and I'll watch it from there. I think that'd be better. That way I can eat it for lunch tomorrow! My daughter loves when I smoke stuff so she's looking forward to it (she's 9 years old).
I did get up at 4:00am this morning to go to work. The thought of being up just about 24 hours just is'nt good (although I've done it before). I'm going to use sand in the pan instead of water to be safe. I don't want to run out of water when I'm sleeping.

I want to thank everyone for all of your advice. I'll let you know how it turns out. Seeing as the wife will be gone at work tomorrow I'll even takes pictures of the shoulder when it's done and when it's pulled to show you guys how it turned out. Unless it's a disaster. Then I'll take a pic of me crying /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif I can't take one when she's home. I catch to much static when I do that. She thinks I'm REALLY strange when I do stuff like that. She does'nt understand or get into the BBQ thing. And when I try and explain it to her she does'nt even want to hear it /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif Oh well to each there own right.
 
Dennis, A word of warning...

I also have a kettle, and although I have not been slow cooking for long, I CAN tell you that getting a kettle to "settle" on a consistent temperature is much more difficult than people describe for the WSM. When I cook on the kettle, the temp is always either slowly climbing or slowly falling, therfore, I'm always have to make a minor adjustment about every 15-30 minutes. (usually on the upper vent only) Unless you know that your kettle has a "magic setting" where the temp is consistent, I would suggest doing it the way you first were describing.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the warning. I've smoked on my kettle before so I do know how hard it is to keep it at a contant temp. But this is the first time I'm monitoring the temps this close. It's never gotten over 285 or so that I know of tonight. I Just woke up and it's hangin around 210. I just stirred the coals and added more wood. Seems to be burning a little better now. I'll probobly have to go out and shut the vent again in a little while cause I'm sure it will warm up a bit now.
 
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