10 Pound Butt done in 8 hours! What gives?

[tjkoko]

10 pound butt with the fatcap removed (approx 1/2 pound) slathered with mustard and rub and allowed to set in the frige for 12 hours.

Minion method using 10 lit coals to ignite a heaping full charcoal ring.

Waterpan filled with hot water.

Both thermometers, the TelTru and the ET73, are calibrated.


At the 4 hour mark here were the temps:
1. meat 179
2. grill temp 285
3. lid temp 250 deviating 5 degrees either way

At the 8 hour mark here were the temps:
1. meat 197
2. grill temp 250
3. lid temp 250

Note the lid and grill temps. Somewhere at this site it states that lid temp should be 225-250. Should I pay more attention to the grill temperature? Should I adjust the vents to achieve a grill temperature of around 200-215 degrees regardless of lid temp?

Again, I've checked the calibration of both thermometers and this isn't the first time that the grill temperature exceeded the lid temperature.

Should I try repositioning the lid so that the TelTru sets elsewhere to monitor the temps?

 

[ERIK MITCHELL]

Your temps may have been a bit high but no highier than what others have done.

Even at those temps I still find it odd that you'd be done so quickly. Did you take any temps before 4 hours? Maybe you started out much higher and the temp was on it's way down at 4 hours.
Were you using lump or briquettes?
I think the big question was how was the pulled pork? If it was good then I think your fine (nless it messed up your schedule).

 

[tjkoko]

Yes, temps taken before the 4 hour mark were approx 225 lid and 250 grill. And Kingsford notched briquettes were used as the heat source.

Well, my schedule was really messed up to say the least! Anticipating an 18-hour cook time, I put the butt into the WSM at 9 p.m. to be finished by 3-7 p.m. the next day. Instead it finished cooking by around 7 a.m.. Arrrrrgh.

I just can't trust the 1.5 - 2 hours per pound of meat as far as cooktimes go.

The morsels that I tasted were quite tastey but perhaps felt a tiny bit dry. In reheating the pulled meat I'll add some of the oil that accumulated within the foil and some of the apple cider/vinegar mixture/sop as well as a bit of leftover rub - to restore moisture.

The ultimate question remains: should I shoot for a grill temperature of 200-215 degrees? It seems that I should ignore lid temps from now on.

 

[Doug D]

I've always been a fan of measuring at the grate rather than extrapolating from lid temp. There's also no worrying about the odd thermal inversion some experience. As to 200-215° grate temp, IMO, that's too low, especially when speaking of pork butt. 250 to 275 is perfectly acceptable, and the results are not in any meaningful way different from cooking at lower temps (except how soon you get to eat).

 

[Randy Dowden]

Cook time sounds more like a whole pork loin rather than a butt! I've never had a butt cook that fast, pretty wild!

 

[tjkoko]

Trust me, t'was a butt and when it finished cooking, the scapula (aka the number 7 bone as in 7-bone pot roast) removed quite easily. The butt literally fell apart when I placed it into the cooling pan.

 

[ERIK MITCHELL]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tjkoko:
And Kingsford notched briquettes were used as the heat source.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It must be that new Kingsford. The root of all evil.

Did it seem to lose much weight, maybe it was really lean. Then again if it was it probably wouldn'y have fallen apart.