Problem with my first cook

I received an 18.5 for Christmas and finally got around to firing it up yesterday. I smoked a 7-1/2 lb pork butt all by itself on the bottom shelf. Although the dome thermometer said I was in the zone most of the time (dipped to 200 once or twice when I was out running errands), the internal temp of the roast never got above 180 degrees F on my Polder (verified by an instant-read thermometer). I finally gave up after 14 hours(!) and popped the sucker in the oven at 250 and it completed in an hour. Amazing taste, though!

Can anyone help me figure out what to do differently? Here's what I did:
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<LI>Rainy day, low wind, temps in the 50's.
<LI>Minion Method: new Kingsford brickets to top of ring, hickory chunks, 30 lit brickets. Started with bottom vents open 100%. Top vent open 100% for the entire cook.
<LI>Controlled temp per dome thermometer 230-250 with difficulty. Maybe the thermometer reads high, giving me a reading that is hotter than it really was?
<LI>Added 30 more brickets at the 10-hour mark without lighting them first when dome temp dropped below 200 with all vents wide open.
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I had invited a number of friends over and fortunately the only folks who showed up (it was a big football day) didn't eat pork, so we ordered pizza!

Anyway, I'm a little gun shy at this point - the brined and rubbed chicken I had planned to add at the 6-hour mark is going to be oven-roasted today.

Any insights?

Michael:

1) The bottom rack is going to run a bit cooler than the top rack. Only in the event of needing the extra space do I use the bottom rack.

2) Butts will have a plateau where the temp in the butt will seem to stall, and even at times go down a few degrees, this is normal. Sometimes they will sit at the temp for a couples hrs or so, this is normal, too.

3) It sounds like you are using the stock thermometer that comes with the new units, so I'm not sure what the 'smoke zone' temperature relates to in actual degrees. I cook my butts at ~275 lid temp, so don't worry it seems a little higher than what the stock therm recommends.

4) Butts take a long time to cook, for some reason mine always end up about 1.5 to 2hrs per pound - so this normally equates to a ~15 to 18 hr cook.

It sounds like for the most part you are doing all the right things, just need to switch a couple variables. I'd recommend raising the temp a bit, cook on the top rack, and give ample time. The important thing is being comfortable in managing cooking temps.

And trust me, it's VERY difficult to mess these butts up, I've yet to ruin one no matter how hard I try.

EDIT: I just reread and saw you were cooking 230-250 lid temp. After a few cooks you'll see where the WSM really likes to settle in, temperature wise. Many folks on here start with a few less briquettes than you and I (15 or so) and catch the temp on the way up. I used to do that but now I start with a 1/2 chimney for just about everything. Once the dome temp reaches ~230 I'll shut all 3 vents to about 15-20% open and she'll start chugging away.

That's not out of line with what you might expect. A couple of things: Cook on the top rack whenever you can. It's easier and may be hotter. It's certainly closer to your thermometer probe.

Since the pork turned out OK, it sounds like you basically ran out of fuel faster than you expected, yes?

You didn't say if you used water in the pan, but I'm going to guess you did. If you switch to a waterless method you'll get more burn time from a ring of charcoal. This is especially useful when it's cool outside. With a little experience you'll find the temperature easy to control. Otherwise you may have to add more charcoal for long cooks.

Another advantage to going waterless is more flexibility in controlling temperature. Many people cook butts at higher temperature. It's not traditional, but 275-325 does a fine job in a lot less time with a lot of the modern, relatively lean meat that is available today.

If you still want to shoot for 225-250 while going waterless you can do that too. But when dinner time starts to get uncomfortably close and the meat's not going to be done in time, you can open the vents and let her rip. Water in the pan limits your ability to do that.

It's all about getting to know your cooker, how it works with your choice of fuel, and how you like your meat. It's not rocket surgery, though. All we're really doing is heating meat and adding a little smoke.

Thanks Mitch, you have no idea how helpful your response is. If it wasn't raining cats and dogs, and if everything I owned didn't smell like a campfire, I'd run right out and try it again!

Butts frequently plateau a second time ~ 180, especially when cooking at lower temps, and this seems likely in this case.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Butts frequently plateau a second time ~ 180, especially when cooking at lower temps, and this seems likely in this case. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree...at least that has been my experience too.

Been there, done that, Michael. Don't be gun shy about it. Thats part of the fun of learning.

Thanks everyone. I think I now understand how my experience, frustrating, fits into the way things generally should work. Next time I cook pork butt it will be on the upper rack, at slightly higher temperature, and I'll be prepared for a longer cook.

My fiance found the "Renowned Mr. Brown" bark too spicy. <sigh> Can anyone point me to alternate recipes?

Thanks again!

That's what I like about this forum - nice, solid, spot on replies that are actually useful.

Anyway, re: recipes - reducing the procedure to the absolute minimum it's apply rub, cook it. So you might just want to try some different rubs and bag any kind of mopping step until you get something your wife likes.

If you hit the spicewine website http://spicewineironworks.com/ and look for the seasoning and sauces page their rubs are very good and they carry the excellent Plowboys rubs including Yardbird which is fantastic on pork. They have good sauce too. Their site seems to be a bit wonky at the moment (or maybe it's just me) so if so just make a note and try later.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Can anyone point me to alternate recipes? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Here (just sub the hot NM chile for something milder) and here.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PeterN:

Originally posted by Carl H.:
It's not rocket surgeryQUOTE]


I am sorry, but it is not in my nature to let this go. Rocket surgery? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You know - surgery on Roger Clemens !!

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