First butt on my WSM


 
Matt Gard

Matt Gard

TVWBB All-Star
I just threw my first butt ever on my WSM. Its an 8lb bone in butt. I injected it and slathered it in mustard and then applied a simple rub. So in about 12-14 hours I hope all turns out well and tasty.

Here it is about to go on the smoker.

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3 hrs into my first overnight cook. Temps holding steady at 250. Gonna catch a few hours and check it then.
 
I threw a couple on mine for the first overnight cook and watched it like a hawk the first few hrs and it stayed dead on with temps. Took a nice snooze and woke up in the morning and it was still dead on...LOVE the WSM. What kind of run did you end up going with?
 
It's 5am and 7 hrs into the cook. Internal temp as measured with my thermapen is 161. Had to refill the charcoal as it was almost gone. I have the 22.5 wsm and I started with minion method and a full ring. Anyone know why I'm going through so much charcoal? Some temp was only 200 when I came out at 5. Had been rock solid right around 250 up till 2 when I last checked on it.
 
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Matt if you were using the water pan and filled it there is a lot of energy consumed in getting it up to temp especially if the water was not hot to begin with. When I had a 22 and was learning to operate it I was still using the water pan and 7-8 hours was about right for me. The operation changes quite a bit when you are not heating 3 gallons of water.
 
The wind and temps can play a role in fuel consumption. I have experienced similar results with my 18in. All part of getting to know your WSM.
Good luck and enjoy the pork this afternoon.

Mike
 
Yeah I am using the water pan. I did use hot water to fill it. I just keep reading other people talking of getting 14+ hours without refilling charcoal. I was hoping for more than 7 hours.
 
But the cook is still proceeding. 11.5 hours into the cook and meat is up to 181 degrees. Looking good with a beautiful bark. And I did not use foil on this cook. I plan to try that next time to see the difference.
 
Should be ready to come off soon. Once you pass that time where the temps plateu for awhile, the temps will resume rising fairly fast after that. Post some pics of the finished butt.
 
Pulled the meat at the 14 hr mark. Temp reached 198 in the meat. It's resting in foil and will post some pics before I pull it.
 
I'm not sure but I ended up using almost two full charcoal rings to keep the temp right at 250 for that long. I used hot water. It was blowing about 20mph and temps were in the 50's. I had a wind screen up. I'm hoping that it was the wind but that's a lot of K to burn on one cook IMO.
 
Matt Gard said:
I'm not sure but I ended up using almost two full charcoal rings to keep the temp right at 250 for that long. I used hot water. It was blowing about 20mph and temps were in the 50's. I had a wind screen up. I'm hoping that it was the wind but that's a lot of K to burn on one cook IMO.
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20 mph is pretty good wind. I lost 50 degrees in my smoker over 30 minutes with similar wind gusts. In your case it's probably a good thing you had the water in those conditions.
Matt your PP looks great. Chalk this one up to experience. Check out some of the posts using a dry pan and or the clay saucer. You will find lots of the members here do that. I prefer the clay saucer myself using it as a heat sink. A wind break is a must in the conditions you described.
 
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