Drew-B-Que


 
A

Andrew B

TVWBB Member
Just put a 5lb butt on the bullet for my first overnighter. 274 and dropping. 250 and I set the vents and hit the couch (Not allowed to sleep in the bed while smelling like a "firefigher") Barbeque for breakfast!! WooHoo!
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Should be ready by then. (Love leftover pork scrambled with eggs and cheese.) Let us know how it comes out.
 
Drew,
I'm with you. Just put a 9lb butt on a few minutes ago. Mustard slathered and rubbed. I'll wait a little bit for the temps to settle in and then hit the sack. I'll keep you posted and you do the same. Good luck.
 
Ken,

I'm fighting to keep the lid temp at 250 (all vents closed still). I am wary of keeping all the vents closed for too long b/c I've had fires go out on me before.

On the plus side, no Fire Department yet, so I guess my neighbors are'nt as nosy as I thought!
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If it's not already, open the top vent all the way. Then play around with the bottom vents some. You may have to take the door off for a few minutes to get the fire up again. Another thing to try if the temps start to bottom out is adding some lump charcoal if you have any. I've found that it burns a little hotter. I use kingsford as a rule but keep some lump around for adding during long cooks.
 
Just "sopped". Waterpan nearly empty! Filled w/ cool tap. Had vents all at 20% before I drifted off, and awoke to a 270 lid temp. Top vent full open. Meat temp holding steady at 168. We'll see!

MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWAKE BEFORE YOU TURN THE MEAT!! I just gave myself a little barbequeing.
 
It will be just fine. If you want to eat with everyone else, dont do what happens to me everytime I start pulling. I wind up to full to eat at dinner time.
 
Drew,

Sounds like you got it under control.
The wsm decided it wanted to run at 260 so I let it run at 260 all night. I was using a Maverick to keep an eye on it from the bed (lazy). I got a temp spike to almost 297 around 8:30 when the water pan ran empty. Took the lid off, filled the pan, found my gloves and sprayed the butt down with apple juice and turned it. Also inserted the meat probe. Things have settled down nicely and quickly. Smoker is running at 235 and meat is at 178. We're making que. Gonna do a beer butt chicken around noon. Company coming for dinner. I might even sneak in a slab of ribs if I can find room.
 
Ribs are gonna have to wait. The 6+ lb chicken was too big for the lower grate when it was standing up on the beer can. I have it and the butt on the top rack. I thought about ribs on the bottom but have heard too many on here warn about chicken drippings spoiling what is underneath. Had to add some more charcoal about an hour ago. Smoker is puffing along and meat is at 182. Hope it doesn't stall.
 
Good Heavens! I'm working hour 16 and I'm stuck at 177!! The cooker ran out of fuel at hour 14, and I refilled with a lit chimney. The ash is so high now, the max temp I can get is 250 at the lid.

I don't think I'm going to have enough heat to get to 190, any major detriment to removing at 180?
 
Still well and stir deep. See what happens. 250 lid is fine though, you don't need it hotter. I run mine at 240-250 throughout the cook. Sometimes you'll plateau a second time, which seems to be happening. If you pull soon you'll have slice-able butt. Leave it alone if you want pulled pork. If you're short of time you can foil it and return it to he cooker or stick it in the oven till you hit your target internal.
 
Just re-read your first post. Is your butt bone-in or boneless? And, are you sure you've not hit an internal of 190, say, already, and now it's dropping? Or are you confident that the 177 is the highest it's hit?
 
Might also want to try repositioning your therm in the butt. May find you're further along than you think. You can also stick a meat fork in the butt and twist. If it moves fairly easy you're ok. You'll still get some cooking when you wrap tighly in the foil and hold. Wrapping tighly in the foil, closing all vents and leaving it in the WSM will also bring it along.

Good luck. I really don't think you have a problem.

Paul
 
Kevin,

Come to think of it, before I mopped I was pushing 181, perhaps I missed the first highpoint before it fell into a lower plateau?

I finally pulled the butt when the cooker gave up and fell to 200 at the lid. Butt was completely cooked but with very little fat (some pulled pieces greasier than others) but no noticible globs to pick out. Some parts were pretty dry, although the meat pulled clean off the shoulder blade. Mr. Brown has got some heat to it, Whoo-whee! Perfect for me, but may have others runnin' for the keg. Would the rub be somewhat enhanced by Foodsavering the butt w/Mr. Brown rub overnight in the fridge?

I'm assuming that I overcooked as some of the meat was neither tender nor juicy. It was my first time w/ the Minion Method and I used the coffee can. My first mistake was letting the cooker rise to 300 before putting the meat on, when I looked at the coals, it appeared they were all glowing bright orange, and there was fire licking up above the waterpan. Second mistake, was breaking the cooker, in that it wanted to run 270 and I smothered it to keep 250. 16 hours above 225 seems excessive for a 5 lb butt, anyone want to confirm or refute my assumptions? I would appreciate the input, because next time is for real (25-30 hungry guests). Thanks!
 
When I re-read your post and thus remembered you were doing a 5-pounder I thought you may have missed it's high point because that many hours at the temps you were running is excessive to me. I think Paul might have been thinking along those lines too when he suggested repositioning your therm. It's possible you hit your temp without noticing (perhaps some time before you ran out of fuel?) then, with the extended cook time,it dried out. Though butts in particular can take higher heat, judging from your description of the cooked butt it cooked too long. Note though that it is possible for the meat to overcook without hitting your target temp. If it goes too long the moisture is going to evaporate out. You can end up with meat that's neither tender nor juicy, as you say.

I would definitely agree that there was a problem in letting the cooker get to 300 before you put the meat on. Butt, like I said above, can take higher heat (and can be cooked at a higher heat successfully), but variables change if you do so, especially your ability to control the cook, imo. (Running out of fuel is case in point.) I think a gentler cook is easier and more forgiving, especially with butts as they are fairly forgiving on their own.

Next time: Start with a full ring and 15 or so lit coals. I spread my lit out, some put all theirs on one side; some all in the middle; your choice. Put very hot water in your pan; assemble; put on your meat. When your lid temp nears 200 start closing bottom vents. Everyone has a different preference here depending on circumstances and taste but I close the windward vent all the way and the other two 2/3 closed. (This depends on weather and ambient temps.) Your temps should continue to rise slowly; give it 20 min to see the flow. Open one or two slightly more if your temp stalls or the rise slows dramatically; close slightly if the rise is fast or you overshoot 250. Try getting to 240-255 or so, somewhere in there; once you hit a spot in that range and it's stable there, you're fine. Remember you need to allow 20-25 min for a vent adjustment to be fully realized so be patient. If you need to close the bottom vents all the way don't worry about it. If you don't start with too much lit you probably won't but it happens sometimes like on windy days (a good windblock is a good idea). If you can keep your top vent open your cooker will be fine even if you have to close the lowers to keep your temp where you want it. You will want to watch things though, after the coals do without much air intake for a while, you'll likely need to open one or two slightly.

The rub should taste approximately the same after chilling and re-heating, though this depends somewhat on the moisture left in the meat, whether or not you chill with any added liquid, and whether or not you add any liquid for the re-heat. (Chopped butt scrambled with eggs and cheese and onions is great for breakfast.)

You obviously have thought about your first overnight cook and learned a lot from it which is great. And you have cooked butt, perhaps not exactly the way you wanted it, but cooked, tasty, and useable nonetheless. Add some moisture (and perhaps a touch of fat) during the re-heat and you're good to go.
 
I wouldn't be too bothered when a cook didn't go perfect. Especially while fairly new to this type of cooking. My theory is that you learn more from mistakes than from successes. When everything comes out fine, you often don't really know "what you did right." However, when there are problems, you analyze, posts questions here and then learn and remember what not to do. Thus, it makes more of an impression on you when you let temps get too high early in the cook and see the results, than when you read someone else's post about it. However, it's always a learning process and I expect the real "experts" are continuing to learn something with each cook. I suspect that's part of the joy.

Paul
 
Drew,
Did you foil the butt and let it rest in a cooler before pulling? I think that helps with distributing moisture throughout the meat. One other suggestion I might make is maybe get a bigger butt next time. My experience is they are a little more forgiving if you have to start chasing temps. And don't forget. they don't call 'em "stubborn butts" on this board for nothing. I've had them finish anywhere between 8 and 18 hours.
 
Bone-In butt, BTW. I double-foiled and wrapped in three blankets and then placed in a styrofoam cooler for 90 mins. Temp reading was at 160. I placed the thermometer probe near the bone (the fleshist part of the butt) to make sure I got 'er done thoroughly. I'll be stepping up to a two probe thermometer soon. I place the probe before putting the meat in the cooker for convenience, anyone else do it this way? Any negative experiences?
 
I put my therm in the thickest part of the meat, in the middle, not near the bone. Once I get near my target I check in a couple places, plus check with a fork.

Ken's suggestion to do a bigger one next time is a good one. I'd go with a 7-8 lb bone-in. Mine of that size usually take 16-18 hrs @ 240-250 lid.
 
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