First Overnight- Pork Butt


 
G

George K.

New member
I'm smoking 2 butts using the Mr. Brown recipe. I've been reading up on the site this past week and am looking forward to the challenge.

I'm counting on the WSM to keep a consistent temp tonight. I got tired of playing around with the digital thermometers, so I'm going with an analog candy thermo in the vent and a basic meat thermo.

Any advice from the sage veterans out there?
 
A few questions:
Is this your first cook? Is this an overnight cook? How's the weather (windy?)?

My main piece of advice would be to not get excited about temp. A 10 to 20 degree swing during the cook isn't the end of the world, especially with a butt.
 
2nd cook
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Weather is cool for Florida (into the 60s tonight.) The wind isn't too bad and I'm smoking on my back porch protected by the house on one side and walls on two other.

Thanks for the tip on temp.

I've got Kingsford charcoal and a 3-2 ratio of sugar maple and hickory. Using the Minion method, got 15 coals lighting now.
 
I remember my first overnight cook a couple of months ago. It was also a pork butt. My temps got away from me at the very beginning (around 280-290 at the lid..pretty sure I started out with too much lit charcoal using the minion method). I never got them down and I fretted all night about it. A cook that I had planed on lasting 12 - 14 hours ended up taking only 8 hours. Took it off, let it rest a couple of hours, pulled it, and it was some of the best Q I've had. Jerry is right, don't spend too much time worrying about the temps, hard to go wrong with a butt.
 
Good luck. Get the temp stable and get some sleep. I usually take about an hour or two to feel comfortable that the temp is stable and then I sleep. I usually end up checking it just a couple times during the night (every 3-4 hours) and get as much sleep as I can.

A cool night is a good night for a over night. Enjoy.
 
Just got it up to 200 and closed the bottom vents to 25% (top vent still at 100% and will be throughout.)

Not sure how much sleep I'll get tonight.... I've got a cool night, country radio and the auroma of burning hickory in the air. Things could be worse.
 
George, the only problem is that, with the WSM, tending the cooker throughout the night consists pretty much of sitting, watching the stars, listening to the coyotes, sipping your beverage of choice, and staring at the cooker while she does what she does best - hum along with a bare minimum of help from the sidelines.
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Keri C, still smokin' on Tulsa Time
Hot Wire BBQ
 
Jerry,

Looks like things went well overnight. I woke up several times and the needle was steady between 225 and 250.

Internal temp in the smaller butt is 155. I just turned and basted, re-filled the water pan (which was empty) and stirred the coals.

Its taking some time to get back to the 225-250 range I am shooting for. I;ve got the bottom vents at 50% now, if that doesn't work I think I might open the at 100% for a few minutes.

Any thoughts?
 
Jerry is doubtless off cooking something wonderful, this response is perhaps a bit late, but for reference: After messing with the coals, waterpan, etc., expect 20-30 min to pass while things stabilize. However, at the beginning of this period keep an eye on things. You might see a quick uptick on the therm and then a leveling off; you might see little change; you might see a drop that doesn't recover. About 15-20 min in, check to see if the activity of the first 10 min has changed or not then decide if you need to do anything. Quick rises after stirring often mellow out, and little steady rises often do too. No changes oir drops often stay right there. If I desire a temp increaase, I usually open vents to a point halfway between where they currently are and 100% then during the next 10 min or so, judge the rise. If the rise is fairly rapid I scale back the openings; if slow but steady I leave them alone; if no change I open further.

All of this seems a little head-y, but it becomes second nature after a few cooks. Things become easy to predict.

Let us know how it's going.
 
Thanks Kevin.

In my 15th hour started at 10pm last night, stilling running between 225 and 250. Checked the internal about 30 minutes ago at was at 160+.

Any guess as how long that last 35 degrees takes? No rush, just need it off before kickoff of the FL/Auburn game at 7:45.
 
Somewhere between the upper 150s and mid 160s the butt will plateau, i.e., it will reach the stage where significant rendering occurs and the temps will stall, often for several hours. You might very well see a few-degree interenal temp drop during this period.

Figuring in time for resting and time for pulling, I'd say your butt's a bit behind if you're planning on eating prior to kickoff, probably fine if you're just looking to have it resting by then.

Are you measuring temp at the grate or lid? To have the butt finish sooner, bump the cook temp up to 265-275 grate. I'd suggest not less than 250 grate if a later finish is okay.
 
I'm measuring at the lid.

I thought I would have plenty of time, starting at 10 last night! Not sure the exact weights of each individual butt, however the cryopac was 16+ lbs before I removed the fat caps.
 
At 250 lid you're looking at a long cook; at 225 a very long cook. 280-300 lid, which is my preference, is a long (enough) cook that isn't unreasonable and still leaves time for good rendering. Feel free, if you wish, to bump the temps up to that range and take 'er home. I'd suggest a ~190 finish temp since the cook has been a long one. Wrap and rest a couple hours.
 
Thanks Kevin.

I knew that the lid temps ran a little warmer but didn't realize the cumulative effect on cooking time.

I just up'd the temps, per your suggestion. Hopefully I haven't screwed it up.
 
you can't screw it up.

ramp those temps up, and if you are running out of time, you can foil for a while.

getting ready for a garage-a-que and football.

good luck.
 
Internal on the smaller butt is 180. I'm showing around 280 at the lid. How long should I wait to check my internal again. 1 hour?
 
You still likely have a couple of hours of getting to a temp zone.

I'd check it in about an hour....I know mine are ready when the bone is ready to pull clean and the butt is ready to break in half when lifted.

I don't go to a specific temp on butts, I've probably pulled them from the mid 180's to mid 190's.

Good luck.....go Gators.
 
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