First Cook Pork Butt High Temps


 

MikeSid

TVWBB Member
Im breaking in the WSM today with a pork butt. I used the minion method to start and temps stayed around 275. After putting the butt in the temps started climbing to 300. Its been in for over an hour now and temp is staying between 288-297. I didn't use water in the water pan as it seemed such a big piece of meat would help drop temps. I have all the bottom vents closed now and temp is 289. I partially closed the top vent to see if it could help and the temps are hovering in the high 280s. How long should I wait with temps this high before the butt smoke is ruined? What else can I do to drop temps?
 
Im breaking in the WSM today with a pork butt. I used the minion method to start and temps stayed around 275. After putting the butt in the temps started climbing to 300. Its been in for over an hour now and temp is staying between 288-297. I didn't use water in the water pan as it seemed such a big piece of meat would help drop temps. I have all the bottom vents closed now and temp is 289. I partially closed the top vent to see if it could help and the temps are hovering in the high 280s. How long should I wait with temps this high before the butt smoke is ruined? What else can I do to drop temps?

Sounds like you have air leak
Door, lid, etc. Just setting lid on thermocouple wire accidentally, is enough extra airflow to drive temps far above your target.

Temp wont hurt anything
Until it finally dries surface after many hrs.
Most things are cooked in oven at 350....

When open lid, it introduces oxygen and fire spikes after
The longer lid is open, the higher the spike
Keep it short

Is this first cook? Did you season it to build up grease? That helps temp control, it seals things up
 
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As soon as I posted this temps have started dropping. Its at 273 now. I am using a probe thermometer at the grate to measure temps. Its my very first cook so maybe just a learning curve? It is a little windy and we are having a 'cold front' here in south florida with temps in high 50s to 60s. My other question is how do you determine how much coals to throw on if you decide you need more and at what point in the life of the current burning coals do you determine that?
 
I've done the high heat version of the Chris Lilly Champ injectiion cook that's on the Cooking Topics page, many times. In fact, on the WSM I prefer the high heat cook.

If you used a full charcoal ring of coals, you should not have to add any. Me, if I had to add coals, I would add 15 or so fully lit coals. But I've never had to do that.

As far as when, just monitor your temps and start gettin you coals ready when it starts dropping.

Don't be afraid of the higher temps your getting. Time and temps don't mean a lot, just smoke the pork butt till its done.
 
I agree with others' feedback that the higher temps you were experiencing will not create an issue with the quality of your shoulder; however, it's reasonable that you would want to be able to maintain some lower temps than the 290's. This holds especially true as we are starting out... we hear and read of low and slow and by gosh that's how we want to do our smokes. To that, my feeble feedback is that certain windy conditions can cause your temps to spike and I'd also be curious to know how many lit coals you started with. When I want to achieve lower pit temps it's not uncommon for me to start with as few as 8 lit coals. On average, I start with 8-12 lit coals. If you started with a larger quantity then you might consider changing that on your next smoke. Best of luck to you!
 
Don’t sweat the temp. I always cook mine hotter now. Yesterday I made a beautiful butt and ran the entire cook between 270 and 300. 8 pounder was done in 10 hours; that beats waiting 12! No water in the pan with bottom vents about 25% open.

But you should not have to close off all bottom vents. If I do that, I snuff my fire out. Once it is finished and the WSM is cool, spend some time checking the fit of the sections and the door in particular. You can gently use your weight to round the diameter of the sections against a piece of plywood if any are out of round. The straight cuts of the door opening also can be carefully straightened pressing with a small piece of wood. Just don’t go banging anything. The door itself is already TOO flexible, IMHO. That can also be easily adjusted and might be your problem.
 
Ok, Im sitting at around 258-260 at the grate. I do have one bottom vent open now 1/4. I think its just in windy area of my yard. The wind seems to channel along the sides of my house and being so close the the beaches there always seems to be a breeze. I will check for roundness after this cook. Should there be no smoke escaping from the lid? Only the top vent? Everything else seems tight. When I started the coals I used just under half a chimney, maybe 15 pieces? The unlit coals in the fire ring were filled about 2/3-3/4 then I placed lit coals in center using minion method. Just sitting here typing this I can see my temps climbing again from cracking that one bottom vent. 267 now. I'll try to concern myself less with perfect temps though
 
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Looks just fine so far, Mike! Follow Tim's advice and crack a cold one. I will join you guys!;)
 
Lookin good Mike!
May I suggest removing your bottom grate next time ( one less thing to clean) :wsm:

Tim
 
I tried looking at other threads but am having trouble determining if I should wrap at some point. I am sitting at 6 1/2 hours with internal temp of 164. When it comes to stalling, how long do you determine a stall and what do you do next?
 
I tried looking at other threads but am having trouble determining if I should wrap at some point. I am sitting at 6 1/2 hours with internal temp of 164. When it comes to stalling, how long do you determine a stall and what do you do next?

When I do the Champ Inject high heat, I wrap where you are right now. I wrap in foil and bring it inside and finish in the oven at 300*. Its not gonna get any more smoke on the WSM.

But wrapping is optional. Ya really have to find out for yourself if you like them wrapped or not. Wrapping has pros and cons.
 
I always wrap my butts!

I generally hit the stall between 160 and 165. Once it stalls for about 30 minutes, I spray it with butter spray, sprinkle a nice layer of brown sugar on it, then wrap it tightly with a few ounces of AJ. Put it back on the smoker if you have the temp, or slap it in the oven to finish.

Target 205F or until the probe goes in like butter.

Oh, and then I shred it, add a few ounces of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper plus a few shakes of the original rub. Mix it up and enjoy with your favorite BBQ sauce!
 
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Ok, so if I bring inside now and throw in the oven unwrapped at 225 I should be able to keep my bark and finish off inside. The key internal temp is still 195 right?
 
Don’t get hung up on temp...it will be done when it’s done. The best method is to probe it with your temp probe in several places. That probe should slide in like butter. 195 or 205, it is done when it is done! If finishing in the oven I’d run at least 250F; 275 to 300 if wrapped.

And wrapping does not destroy your bark; it’s not going anywhere. It will definitely soften it up some, which for me is preferable when shredding for pulled pork.
 
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