Emergency, Emergency!!!


 
J

Jeff Rutledge

New member
I'm in the middle of a Pork Butt smoke right now, and it looks like a storm is eminent. Do I continue with the BBQ, do I pull the pork now and finish in the stove? What have the veterans on here done in similar situations. Thanks ahead for any advice.

PS, I have 3 butts in the WSM, current internal temps are 168, 163 & 170.
 
With those internal temps you have got the goodie out of the pit flavor by know, I would oven finish them.
 
Glenn, do you cover or just place inside a foil pan? Have never had to oven finish before so I'm not sure what the procedure is, and at what temp should the oven be? same as smoker (225)?
 
Got a patio umbrella? Take it from the table and set it up over the cooker. Put some bricks on it to hold it down! Or .... form some foil over the top vent hole so that it drains the water away from the holes. Or ... don't worry about it because the water will only hit the meat, thereby adding moisture. Kinda like an auto spritzer. Or ... you could put em in the oven if your temps start to drop too much, but I'd hold out as long as I could. Good Luck!

I just saw your temps. I'd foil em, or put in foil covered pan and put em in the oven. At this point it's okay to bump the heat up too. Either way, 225 or 300 would work. Depends on how soon you want them done. I like to bump it up at those meat temps just to push em through the 170* stall that occurs.
 
You could do in a pan with or without a rack or just double foil them with the seam semi open to check for done/tender. I would go at 250-300 deg.
 
Ok the rain has come and gone, and I ended up going with the umbrella. I didn't have brick close by, so I stood out under the umbrella next to the smoker until the rain passed (luckily no lightning was in the area). The rain got to the smoker before I did, so the temperature of the smoker dropped just a hair under 200 at the lid. I opened all vents, and stirred the coals to get the temp moving in the right direction.

I'm not sure if this is common, but all three butts seem to be warming up at a faster pace than I am used to. I put them all on about 4 1/2 hours ago, and have maintained a temp between 200 and 240 in that time. Before trimming the fat away, all butts weighed around 7.5 to 8 lbs. So now 4 1/2 hours later I have temps avg. around 170. I'm used to 10 and 12 hour smokes. Should I be concerned or is this nothing to worry about? Maybe I'm hitting a stall period in my cook. Also, I like to pull at about the 200 mark.
I won't be serving the butts until tomorrow.
 
Yes you are in the stall, could take 3+ more hours. However it sounds like you are going off of the factory therm and they tend to read lower than the grate/vent temps. So you probably are cooking at 250-275.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Glenn W:
Yes you are in the stall, could take 3+ more hours. However it sounds like you are going off of the factory therm and they tend to read lower than the grate/vent temps. So you probably are cooking at 250-275. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, I am using the factory therm. However, isn't there a post on this forum where a poster did some tests, and according to his tests, the temps at the grates were lower than at the lid? I just assumed that those findings were correct, and have been subtracting (rather then adding) temperature. If it's the other way around, then I'm better off at keeping the lid temp at 195 to 205? as far as lower and even slower?
 
I don't worry over grate temps because that is dependant upon meat load(s). I go by vent temp only (in the air stream) because that isn't as affected by other variables. My therms are close in boiling water and they all are 25-40 lower than vent during diff stages in the cook. Its not that the factory gauge is off its that it is in a different place. I don't cook at 225 anymore, I go 250+ depending on what I cook.
 
Wrap a double layer piece of foil around the lid handle and extend the other end over the top vent holes so rain is deflected. Then have another brew or three. So you'll have some moisture in the charcoal bowl tomorrow. No biggie. Wash out the mud with a hose
 
The picture of you standing out there with an umbrella protecting your WSM made me laugh. How stupid was that. What a fool you are.

Oh wait - I did that once.
icon_biggrin.gif


Sometimes you just have to give up your pride for the team. I'm sure your wife and/or neighbors got a kick out of watching that.
 
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