Am the only one whose butts take forever?


 
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Dave Lewis

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Post and after post mentions how your butts are done in 1.5-2.0 hours per pound. I have cooked probably a dozen butts in the last year, all have been about 7 pounds each before trimming, all have had the fat cap and other large chunks of fat trimmed, all cooked at 240-260 dome temp, and all have taken over 2.5 hours per pound to reach 195. Every butt cook is at least an 18 hour adventure whether I have one butt or two in the WSM. My thermo is accurate (boiling water tested several times). I've used sand. I've used water. My other meats take longer than advertized, but not inordinately longer.

Also, I've noticed an internal temp drop when I flip the meat (no matter what the meat) My last butt was at 188 until I flipped it and without moving the probe the temp dropped to 183 internal!?!? I finally said "screw it" and pulled the butt when I could twist the bone even though the internal temp was only 185. What gives?
 
Hey, Dave. Not sure this'll help you much, but I have had them take anywhere from 12 to 19/20 hours to finish (talking about butts in the 7 lb range.) I have also had them fall apart at low 180s internal temp, and not feel quite ready at 195. That's why it can be frustrating to plan a dinner around the darned things, and also why I ALWAYS start them at about 8p the night before and just hold 'em when they are done.

This Q thing is an adventure every time out. Each piece of meat is different, each cooker is different, ambient temps and wind are different, etc, etc. It truly becomes more art than science, with experience being the only thing that you can rely on to give you clues on how long will it take this time (and even THAT will trip you up on occasion.)

It is interesting that you are consistently seeing longer times. What other things about your cooks are consistent that may be different than others are doing? Do you always cook on one rack or the other? Temp of the water in the pan when you start? Location of the cooker? Tested the therm? What kind of charcoal?

In the end, it doesn't really matter, I guess. It's consistent for you, so you can just plan ahead, and the WSM will take care of the rest for ya.

I'm sure that wasn't helpful at all! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Rich G.
 
I also have longer BUTT cooks.
I did a 3.67 lb. pork butt yesterday.
The temp held steady at 240-250 (grate level)
throughout the cook. Had the butt on the top
grate with water in the pan.
Came out to exactly to 3lbs. per hour
to reach 190 internal meat.
Not a huge deal, but assumed 2 hours per lb.
was the norm.
 
A quick scan of Chris' pork butt cooks documented in the Cooking section of the website reveals that the meat was removed from refrigeration anywhere from 30 minutes to 2-1/2 hours before placing it in the smoker. Could this be a consideration in your case(s)?
 
Saturday night was my first attempt at cooking pork butt. I had two 7 pounders going. The top grate temp was at 235-250 during the entire cook. Finally after 13.5 hours & the meat temp at only 170*, I foiled them for 2 hours & got the temperature up to 189*. I unfoiled them & let them cook for another hour, at which time the meat temp was only 185*. They turned out great, but it looks like I had the same trouble that you have been having. Whenever I turned the butts, their temp would drop & not recover for about an hour.

Jeff
 
ditto on all points Dave. I just finished a 7# butt that went 22hrs. Pulled it at 186 and it was falling apart tender with all the connective tissue broken down. I don't think I have ever cooked one that was done less than 2.0hrs. I usually am cooking around 240. Glad you posted I was wondering the same things myself. Checked my thermommeter also. Also, I have had them pulling tender anywhere from 183 to 200.
 
I've never done a BUTT (plan to do one next week end)but I seem to remember somthing about using sand in the water pan instead of water. Could that be a factor?

-Craig
 
Hi Dave,

I have cooked several butts on the WSM in the 7-8 lb range. It's a crap shoot as to how long each will take. I've had them in for a long as 18-19 hours or as short as 15 hours. I usually pull them around 190-195 degF. I think the best thing to do is to plan for a long cook and if it turns out shorter then pull it and foil it until dinner time.

-mc
 
I've cooked several butts myself and it has never taken less than 15 hours. Just remember one thing. There done when there done. But it's worth every minute. Can't rush superior Q /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Craig,

Sand in the water pan, most likely, would NOT be a factor. The primary function of the sand/water is to provide a heat sink to help regulate temps. Sand has a couple of additional advantages in that 1) you do not have to refill like you do with water and 2) clean-up is much easier with sand if you cover the sand with foil.

My last butt was done overnight using sand...it took 15 hours to get to 195.
------------------------
Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Hey Doug D.
That's a good point about the amount of time the meat sits out before it hits the grate. I think I only let the butt sit out maybe 1/2 hour before throwing it on. I'm sure that delayed the initial rise in temp quite a bit.
 
Mark,

I was thinking about the evaporation of the water. It takes a certain amount of heat to convert water to steam. The amount may be insignificant here (like I said, I have never done a Butt so I really don't know what I'm talking about).

Do you use sand for ribs as well?

Thanks!

Craig
 
I usually plan on 2 hours/lb. to get to 185 - 190 internal temp. I have had some to take 2.5 hours/lb. I've cooked a lot of butts and your experience seems like my normal cooks, including a temp drop when the meat is turned. My pork butts are never done in 1.5 hours/lb when I maintain a 225 - 250 temp.


S.C. Que
 
I must be lucky. My last butt was 6 lbs and took a total of 9 hrs to get to 195 int temp. Dome temp was 250 throughout the cook and had water in the water pan.
 
Craig,

I have not used sand when cooking ribs...yet. The last set of ribs I did, I used water to get the temp in range where I could put the meat on.

Howeverrrrr...from now on, I will be using sand along with the Minion Method of charcoal lighting. Just plain quicker all the way around.
-----------------------
Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Craig Brown:
[qb]I was thinking about the evaporation of the water. It takes a certain amount of heat to convert water to steam. The amount may be insignificant here...[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>It takes 5x the energy to raise 1 pound of water 1*F in temperature than it does to raise 1 pound of sand 1*F in temperature. Not only does it take more energy to heat water, but it also evaporates, so by replenishing water you have a continual consumption of energy in the cooker that would otherwise go into cooking the meat.

The WSM Owner's Manual suggests keeping the water pan full at all times and adding 12-14 briquettes an hour. I think this is Weber's way of providing a fail-safe method of temperature control. But with careful vent control and use of the Minion Method, you can do it with sand, an empty pan, or no pan at all.

Regards,
Chris
 
are you saying that I could get and keep a 220 grate temp with no water pan using the minion method....for a long cook?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian Campbell:
[qb]are you saying that I could get and keep a 220 grate temp with no water pan using the minion method....for a long cook? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes, there are people who do this. It requires starting with a very small number of hot coals and very careful control of the bottom vents.

Regards,
Chris
 
Butts always take me forever...way longer than 1.5-2 hours/lb. Another thing I noticed is that they get up to 165 degrees very quickly, take a very long time to get from there to 180, and then seemingly hold at 180 for hours on end. This is with a cooker temp of 225-240.
 
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