A "what did he do wrong" question -


 
R

Richard F

TVWBB Member
I did a cook with 4 butts this weekend. Outside temperatures were very cool - 30's, but very little wind. I tucked the cooker in a protected place - house on one side (within inches) and another equal block on another side. There was almost zero breeze to affect the cook.
The butts were approximately 6 pounds each and I had two on each level. I used the same amount of fuel as on many other cooks and tried to control the heat. I would guess most of the cook was about 245 degrees on average. I cooked the butts for 12 hours.
At the end of the 12 hours, the two butts on the outer side, facing away from the house were both in the high 190's (197 and 199). The two butts on the house side, were in the 170's (177 and 176).
What happened? I checked the charcoal and it looked flat and even, as if it had burned evenly. I am totally confused about this cook.

Any ideas?
 
Were the vents open the same amount around the bottom? Which side was the top vent on?

Maybe the butts just cooked differently due to different fat content, etc, and the side they were on was just a coincidence? Every piece of meat is different.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Richard F:
At the end of the 12 hours, the two butts on the outer side, facing away from the house were both in the high 190's (197 and 199). The two butts on the house side, were in the 170's (177 and 176). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Probably nothing unusual happened. Just two butts will be ready before the other two. No worries. Deal with the two that are closer to done, then deal with the other two. The butts won't care.
 
It doesn't sound like you really did anything wrong. Obviously there was some kind of draw going on inside the smoker. Would be curious to hear if the top vent and the door was on the "hot" side. Only thing I can suggest to do different next time is to monitor the meat and rotate if the temps start to move apart.
 
I've seen charcoal burn to one side, mainly well into the cook when ash clogging can get to be an issue and due to the use of say a single bottom vent at 100% instead of the vents being used evenly ... but even when that's happened it hasn't manifested in grossly uneven temps up top that I was aware of.

Really don't know but I have two guesses:

-the lid was askew causing massive change to airflow

-if you foil the water pan perhaps a large piece of it was sticking out to the smoker edge enough to really affect the heat flow inside


What is your water pan config? Foil covered, water, sand, saucer, other?
 
First,

I did all opening and closing of vents equally and the door would be considered "middle" and mostly so would the top vent. I have a lid therm that I center on the door so that I can see it easily as I come out of the house.

I do wonder, I am using a clay pot in the water pan. I wonder if that blocked the air flow on that side. I don't know.

Also, looking at the responses, would the closeness of the house mean the air was not flowing in from that side? But always flowing in from the open sides?

I will move it farther away and I will get a smaller clay pot that fits more inside the water pan.

Thank you everyone.
 
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