Advice on tonights butt fuel


 
K

Kyle H.

TVWBB Fan
That topic is wrong... but should be taken in a serious context because this is a serious question!

I will be making Chris Lily butts tonight for the second time. I'm expecting a smaller crowd this time around so when I was at BJs I picked up two cryopacked butts weighing in at a combined 12 lbs. So my question is since I'm using smaller butts than last time and my WSM ran high last time (a steady 270*) How much fuel should I use?

I guess I'm uncertain on the ratios here. When dealing with smaller poundage should I cut the fuel, the cooking time, or both? Ideally I would like this cook to run long since I will be starting it tonight and the BBQ isn't till 3pm tomorrow.

Thanks for any advice. I can't wait till I have enough experience to where I can be advising other newcomers...
 
Hey Kyle,

There's many factors that can affect fuel consumption other than length of cook and food poundage. Winds, ambient temps, etc. I don't mess around, and whenever I do any kind of long cook, I just fill her right up. It's easy to re-use left over charcoal, so it doesn't go to waste or hurt to use more than you need, and this way I don't have to worry about having to reload in the middle.

I'd fill up the whole charcoal ring to the brim and start it minion with 10-20 briqs.

If I wanted it to go long, I'd try to keep my temps at 225. I did this last time with 2 - 9lbs butts and they ran 16 hours.

Just a guess, maybe your 6 pounders will get done in 8-12 at 225 - 250 temps.

Remember, butts hold temp great after taken off the wsm if you double wrap them in foil, place them in a small dry cooler (I put them inside disposable pans too with a few sheets of newspaper under it to protect the bottom of the cooler), then dump as much newspaper as you got on top, and/or fill the remaining space with old towels. Those babies would probably stay hot for 3-4 hours no problem.

Start pulling an hour or so before you want to eat.

Hope that helps some.

Todd
 
Kyle,
I would go with the same amount of fuel as you used last time. In order to decrease the temperature that the WSM settles at you just have to control the vents a little more. If you want to extend the cook, you can smoke on the lower range of 225-250 degrees. The biggest thing to remember is that each butt is different so you need to look and take the temperature of the butt instead of relying solely on time. Hope I didn't confuse you.
Lance
 
One more vote for a full ring of unlit briquettes or lump. Since you're overnighting it, that eliminates one thing that could go wrong. Just shut down all the vents after the meat is cooked and it will save a good portion of what fuel is unburnt.

Since you ran a little high last time, try starting off by only lighting 10 coals, then toss them on the unlit and assemble the cooker. If it struggles getting up to temp in 30-60 minutes (it shouldn't) you can always light 5-10 more coals and toss em in the door.

Happy cookin!
 
Full ring.
I found that keeping a close eye on the thermometer as the WSM is coming UP to temp is the key for me. When it gets to 210, start shutting the vents down..240 I pretty much close mine all the way. I did butts for July 4th and most of the cook was done with 1 vent open only about 10-20%...Held right around 240.

OH also, if you are using water in the pan, make sure it's full before you go to bed and check it again as soon as you get up. I use the Brinkman pan and it still will run out if I don't top it off before I go to bed.
 
I've decided to start this time at 1am. I figure I can't go wrong that way. If it takes 8 hours to reach the desired temp then thats 9am and I can still foil until 1ish and pull and be good. If it takes 12 hours then I can foil for an hour and pull right away. Even if it takes longer than that if I can pull by the latest 4pm, I should be golden.

I think I am going to do a full ring and 10 lit. I am a little worried about these butts though. The seem a lot more... segmented? than the last ones. I worry that my therm won't be in a good chunk of solid meat. I will take a few readings before I consider them done. They're currently rubbed and injected and ready to go. They're in the fridge till I get up at 1230 tonight.
 
Things were going well. Butts went on at 1:15am. I get up and check and its still running high (262*) even with only 10 lit and a full ring... I get up for my 6am check and whats the first thing I see? The entire room lights up after a very large lightning strike. Yep, its raining!

I ran downstairs and my first inkling was to move the WSM under the small overhang right against my house. Well every inch was pure agony as I could hear the water pan splashing down and knew that that was doing more damage than the rain. So I scrapped that idea and started looking for a makeshift shelter. I decided that since I keep the WSM near the corner of my deck I got our folding table and balanced it on the railing using the trash can to support the fourth leg. This might just work! I checked the weather and while although its supposed to rain all day, theres no wind. So if this shelter holds up I may have saved the butts. But if the damage has already been done... Then welp I guess all is lost. Last I checked the lid temp was around 248* and the internal is at 165*.

Now, only time will tell.
 
Welp its my 8am checkpoint and the shelter worked! Shes sailing at 260*. One thing I did discover is that my probe thermometer read the same temp that it did when I last checked it. I found this a little suspicious so I dried it off and unplugged it and took the battery out. When I put it back in it went haywire, so as I suspected the rain fried it. I assumed it was waterproof. I guess I was wrong. Checked the hours for the local Kitchen & Co. and I have to wait until 10am to get another one. But I'm just glad the cook persevered! Not even mother nature can stop the WSM!
 
I was very surprised how this turned out. The cook ran much longer than I had anticipated, but I had no qualms whatsoever pulling them off when I did. I started them at 1:15am and plateaued for a looooong time at 165* but finally pulled them off at 3pm with an internal temp of 184*. No foiling since it was time to eat so I just pulled them right there in front of my guests. Well they turned out utterly fantastic. They pulled off like butter. They tasted infinitely better than my first attempt. After I pulled them I sprayed some organic apple juice over the pan and then sprinkled some leftover rub on them and tossed. It turned out truly terrific. As always, pics for your enjoyment! And yes, if you saw the pics I posted of my first butts those are the same sides as last time. If I find a good recipe I stick with it!

Oh yes, one more amusing thing to note. The rain fried my probe thermometer. So I had to run out at 10am to get a new one. Just one more bump in a crazy bbq ride!








 
Beautiful results, Kyle!!

That's a perfect pan of pulled pork, and the plated meal looks great! Glad the WSM "weathered the storm"... that's one of the toughest things to deal with on an overnighter. That plateau in the 160s is common... sometimes it can hang there for hours and hours, then finish the rest of the way in just few more. You did the right thing, just let it keep chugging, test the internal temp and check for done-ness, and pull it whenever it decides it's ready.

Nice job!
 
Great Job, Kyle! Next time, if it seems to be taking too long there's nothing wrong with opening the vents to raise the temperature for the last hour or two.
 
Yeah the cooks have definitely thrown me a few curveballs. The rain probably had something to do with it. But... I mean the WSM was running at a consistent 260* and the butts were a combined 12 lbs. before any trimming. And they were only at 184* internal after 14 hours. Boggles the mind.

In this biz you definitely have to master the art of rolling with the punches!
 
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