A couple of temperature related questions


 
J

Jim Rutter

New member
Hi all,

Have a few questions that I'm trying to answer.

I have two delicious 7lb butts smoking right now. Started them at 10:30pm last night. I figure they should be done after around 10.5 to 11 hrs, so roughly 9:30 this morning. They're sitting in the stall right now, about 170 degrees. I will be very surprised if they finish "on time."

Question 1. The last two butts I did (in February) were also around 7 lbs.. and took 18 hrs at 225 to complete. The butts were not touching, so again, they should have only take 11 hrs or so. Why the huge discrepancy? Is that normal? I know that all cuts of meat are different, and some take longer than others.. but that's a huge difference from predicted.

Question 2: I use both a DigiQ DX2 and a Maverick ET-732. I clip the DQ to the top grate in between the butts (probably 1-2 inches from either butt). I mount the Maverick probe on the underside of the grate using the provided clip. When the cook starts, with the pit sitting at 225 via DQ2 control, the Maverick reads over 270 degrees. The dome temp and the DQ2 probe agree. This morning, the Maverick has fallen back in line and is sitting at 225. My question is, why the initial large discrepancy?

Thanks!

Jim
 
Question 1.
It's normal no 2 butts will cook the same. Be patient they will be done.

Question 2.
I don't know. I don't have DQ or maverick.

But what I do know that if you have a temp between 225-275 you will be fine.

Are the butts wrapped during the stall?
 
Tony R said:
Question 1.
It's normal no 2 butts will cook the same. Be patient they will be done.

Question 2.
I don't know. I don't have DQ or maverick.

But what I do know that if you have a temp between 225-275 you will be fine.

Are the butts wrapped during the stall?
Click to expand...


No sir, they are not. Time is not a crucial for me, I was just curious as to why the large difference. I'm happy to wait for perfect pulled pork :)
 
I see... I hope your taking pics. We got some smart guys here. I hope they can answer your question... Have a great weekend :)
 
225 is on the low side, nuthin wrong with that but it does take longer. 2hrs+ per lb is a good ball park number @ those temps. Two Seven pound butts can go 14-16 or even 18 hrs I guess if the BBQ gods threw you a curve.
I run natural and only temp at the top-vent so no help on Q#2:wsm:

Tim
 
Jim,

For #2, it's basic thermal dynamics. Your Maverick is located in a spot that is measuring air temperature before (heat rises) being influenced by the cooler meat where heat is removed from the air and absorbed by the meat. Your DX2 probe is located between those cooler pieces of meat and in an area in which the heat is being absorbed by the meat (ps... not a good location to place a control temperature probe!). The WSM temperature gauge is located at a location where heat has already been removed from the air.

note: a better location to place your controlling temperature probe is in the air stream before being influenced by the cooler meat. Also, as your meat's temperature increases, the temperature difference between all measuring devices will decrease.

Bob
 
I ran into a similar issue the first couple of times doing butts. I posted virtually the same questions, and one of the best responses I got was to double check my probe placement.

Because I too was concerned about the cooler meat effecting the probe, I was attaching the Maverick probe about 3" in from the edge of the grate. Then I just attach the DX2 probe clip to the Mav grate clip. My cooks were taking 20+ hours. While the result was great, it did turn out that I was too close to the updraft along the sides and the probes were readiong artificially high. Also note that I don't use water, and just wrap the pan. I had noted that my dome was running around ~200. I was shooting for a 225 cook, and was just chalking the dome being off as 'normal'.

So I made a longer grate clip for the Maverick, which I mount dead center, but it drops the probes to about 3" under the top grate. That immediately solved the problem. I will note that I do notice that the Maverick will read about 5 degrees higher than the DX2, I normally just set a range of approx 220 to 240 on the Maverick for an alert, and keep the Mav remote near me. Once I get to about the 1/2 way point, the dome temp generally starts syncing up with the grate temps, so now I am finally running accurately.

My last cook about 2 weeks ago I started the 2 butts around 11:00PM that Friday night, and they were done around 3:00PM on Saturday. Let them set wrapped for about an hour, then pulled them. Perfection!
 
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