2lb butt takes over 6 hours?


 
R

Richard Sharpe

New member
Hi Guys -
Trying my first butt today. Started the WSM at 7:45 am (UK time) butt on top shelf at 8:30. WSM constantly between 230-250*F. It's only a small 2-pounder, but over six hours after I started, it's still only at 165*F.

I'm following the 'Renowned Mr Brown' recipe from the Smoke and Spice book, which says that I should only be cooking for 1.5 hours per pound. I'm over twice this now. Missed lunch already. Am I likely to be ready for dinner?!

cheers
 
The size of a butt does not really matter until the internal rendering process begins.

You can speed it up by increasing the the temps, but right now it's at its plateau. Once it breaks plateau, temps will increase slowly....but not as slow a a larger cut.

If it were me and I wanted to eat soon, I'd open up the vents and get the lid temp to near 300. That should give it a faster finish.
 
Yeah, small butts are tricky. You'd think that they'd cook a lot faster, but there are certian things happening at these low & slow temps that just take that long. The smallest butt I have ever tried was my first one, about 3.5 lbs, it took almost 9 hours, just under 3 hours per lb.

The whole "XX hours per lb." guideline is pretty much worthless when doing barbecue, it's done when it's done!
 
Richard, I agree its done when its done. My wife has to be the worst at scheduling. She tells me that she wants to eat a 6:00pm for example, so I try my best to time everything for that but it don't always work. Sometimes I have to crank up the heat to finish on time and other times its resting for 2 hours. Luckily most BBQ can rest and keep warm for a few hours before serving so I figure my time and add at least a hour to that, that way if I get done early I can relax a bit and have another beer.

With practice it gets easier and you can tell where your at by the meat temps and if you need to speed it up or slow it down based on when you are eating.

Enjoy and have fun.

Randy
 
If you're running out of time, just double wrap in aluminum foil till you get to your target temp. It will really speed things up.

Al
 
So next time go to Costco and buy one of those packs with the 2 biggest butts you can find. Allow 12 to 14 hrs and that way you have leftovers... maybe freeze a little. Make it worth burning all that charcoal and time.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. After waiting for 9 hours with the butt showing 185*, I decided enough was enough. Butt was not too bad - perhaps a little dry and overdone, but still very tasty.

When I went back to the Smoke and Spice book, it mentioned aiming for between 170-180 degrees, although I had been aiming for 190 (as per this site).

BBQ is always about learnin'! I'll know better next time.

Cheers
Richard
 
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