First Overnight Cook - WSM 22.5 - Two $0.99/lb Butts

[Mike_Y]

Since I can't smoke anything on Saturday (hanging out with the wife, kid, and in-laws ), I decided to try my first overnight cook on my WSM 22.5. Last night I thawed out 2 butts I bought for $0.99/lbs (8lb and a 7lb)



I bought my WSM in June and have about 12 cooks, so it should be seasoned well by now. My plan is to put them on around 10pm and get her dialed in. Wake up around 6am to check it and will spray with Apple every hour until it's done at 195. Will be using Apple chunks.

Initial concerns:

1. Once I have it dialed in between 225-250, do I need to adjust my vents before I go to bed, or just roll with it? I am doing the minion method with a half-filled lit chimney and the water pan filled 3/4.

2. I haven't bought a Maverick yet (I have a probe thermometer, but not wireless). So I'll have to trust the smoker's design and everyone's comments that this bad boy will hold heat for a long time without having to mess with it.

With an 8lb butt, I'm predicting around an 11-12 hour cook.

Once I get started tonight, I'll be sure to take more pictures and will upload them to this thread over the weekend.

Thanks everyone!

 

[BJSteere]

given that you will have two in there it should be about 11-12 hours however, if you put one in there your looking right around 8-9 hours. Usually one hour per pound is the rough amount. I would put it on and make sure it is always sitting at 225 AFTER the meat it on there, alot of times your temp will run 225 but when u put the meat on there it drops to under 200. That is why most smokers will tell you to start at 275, that way even if it drops 25+ degrees your still in your 225-250 range. I wouldnt use the minion method, I would use the snake method, minion method you have the chance of getting to hot at the beginning and having to refuel after 6-8 hours. Snake method doesnt utilize all your briskets at once like minion method does. Remember the smokers design is very good however, most have noticed that there is about a 25 degree difference between the thermostat on the smoker and your grates, so if it says 250 on the therm most likely your grates are sitting at 225-235. Keep this in mind when smoking overnight because you dont want to go into the freeze period where your smoker sits at 190 and your meat doesnt cook instead it just gets tough from the moisture coming out.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Generally when I do an overnight cook and have the temp stabilized with 2 vents closed and 1 open maybe 1/2 to 1/4 the temp starts to drift up to around 260 around 3 in the morning or so and I have to lower it the top vent a tad to get it down to 225 to 250. I usually overcorrect and my maverick goes off at 215 at 6 in the morning or so. My 22.5 just like to drift in temp so it's hard to dial it in. The good new is 260 isn't that big of a deal I'm just being anal.

With the minion method you should be fine. With a full ring I've kept mine running for 24 hours but that's without water. You'll be able to do it. I'd just get up at some point and check it. That's just me though.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

given that you will have two in there it should be about 11-12 hours however, if you put one in there your looking right around 8-9 hours. Usually one hour per pound is the rough amount. I would put it on and make sure it is always sitting at 225 AFTER the meat it on there, alot of times your temp will run 225 but when u put the meat on there it drops to under 200. That is why most smokers will tell you to start at 275, that way even if it drops 25+ degrees your still in your 225-250 range. I wouldnt use the minion method, I would use the snake method, minion method you have the chance of getting to hot at the beginning and having to refuel after 6-8 hours. Snake method doesnt utilize all your briskets at once like minion method does. Remember the smokers design is very good however, most have noticed that there is about a 25 degree difference between the thermostat on the smoker and your grates, so if it says 250 on the therm most likely your grates are sitting at 225-235. Keep this in mind when smoking overnight because you dont want to go into the freeze period where your smoker sits at 190 and your meat doesnt cook instead it just gets tough from the moisture coming out.

I have a hard time doing that long a cook with snake method but I've only tried it once and had to add charcoal a lot. The key with minion method is to use a small number of lit briquets (12-15) and let the temp come up slowly (I'll let it take an hour) and getting those bottom vents shut down with only your front open at all about the time it comes up to temp.

 

[Dave Russell]

Yes, for an 7-8 pound butt I'd plan on 12 hrs or so if cooking the entire cook at 225-250 by the gauge or grate temp with water in the pan. EDIT: (However, it wouldn't hurt to plan on 14 just to be on the safe side if not foiling. For whatever reason, seems like a lot of my overnight water pan cooks with 8 pound or so average butts went about that long.)

On the other hand, for pork butts I've been using an ATC with my 18 lately so I'll defer to this guy I met at the county fair this morning. He had an 18.5" wsm with a couple of pork butts on he was finishing for the 1:00 turn-in. Anyhow, this guy keeps it simple and old school, except for his use of pans and foil. He used water in the pan and told me that one chimney of lit KBB over one chimney of unlit will last 12 hrs as long as he shuts the vents back to 1/3 open when he reaches 225. That's how he rolls unless he's smoking chicken, and then he leaves out the pan altogether. The guy talked like it wasn't the first BBQ comp. he's entered, either.

 

[S.Six]

given that you will have two in there it should be about 11-12 hours however, if you put one in there your looking right around 8-9 hours. Usually one hour per pound is the rough amount. I would put it on and make sure it is always sitting at 225 AFTER the meat it on there, alot of times your temp will run 225 but when u put the meat on there it drops to under 200. That is why most smokers will tell you to start at 275, that way even if it drops 25+ degrees your still in your 225-250 range. I wouldnt use the minion method, I would use the snake method, minion method you have the chance of getting to hot at the beginning and having to refuel after 6-8 hours. Snake method doesnt utilize all your briskets at once like minion method does. Remember the smokers design is very good however, most have noticed that there is about a 25 degree difference between the thermostat on the smoker and your grates, so if it says 250 on the therm most likely your grates are sitting at 225-235. Keep this in mind when smoking overnight because you dont want to go into the freeze period where your smoker sits at 190 and your meat doesnt cook instead it just gets tough from the moisture coming out.

If he's getting only 6-8hrs on the minon method he's doing something wrong. I'll get around 10hrs w/water, and around 12hrs w/o water. Sometimes I back my vents down just a little more before I go to bed. As more of the charcoal becomes lit your temp will start to rise. Thats on my 18.5"wsm.