Getting ready for my first long cook - any last minute advice?


 
L

LarryL

TVWBB Member
Hi.
I recently acquired a WSM14 and have cooked some chicken thighs on it. I'm taking the plunge and will try to cook a smallish pork butt (5lbs bone in) tomorrow. Since it's my first longish cook, I'm a bit nervous 😬 . It feels like the night before a big test or a big game!

I've read various articles and a lot of posts, watched way too many videos and formed a plan (minion method, hot water in pan, try to keep the smoker at 225-250, spritz with beer and a little prayer). I'm set to the charcoal somewhere between 8-9. Any last minute advice?

Thanks
Larry

PS - thanks to everyone that's contributed to these forums. The mix of well seasoned experts to my fellow noobs has made this a great community and resource.
 
You probably know the fundamentals.
You probably don’t need my advice.
Don’t sweat minor temperature fluctuations.
If it’s running late raise the temperature.
If you run out of hot coals finish it in the oven.
Foil it and rest it for at least an hour.
 
you got this.....run the butt, smoke at 225-250, ok even if a little higher.....go till about 200 degrees, pull and let sit for at least an hour and shred. Then mix in sauce, i am very partial to a vinegary carolina red but you can use any bbq sauce. once your temps settle into target range the wsm will take care of itself....

really doesnt need much more, you can experiment with wrapping etc. another time, just sit back and enjoy!
 
Thanks. The butt has been cooking for about 4 hours. Temp was a bit out of control for a bit but it seemed to have settled in. I’ve got an afternoon of yard work while I wait. Hope to have an update for you later.
 

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Update - things were moving until about 1pm. I measured the temp of the butt and was about 168. I basted and continued cooking. I measured again at 2 and the temp was 173. I figured I hit the stall and would ride it out. Checked each hour and barely moved. I got to 180 at 5pm (9 hours after I started).

By this time my fuel was almost burned out so I wrapped the butt and moved to the oven. I guess I should have wrapped it around 2.



Also how can I make the KBB last longer? I was cooking around 270 most of the time. Seems like I’ll have to clean out ashes and add new charcoal for a cook longer than 9 hours.

It was a good day and enjoyed the experience. Hopefully the pork tastes good and it was all worth it!

Picture: about to wrap in foil and finish in oven.
 

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I cooked a 5.25 lb butt using B&B briquettes. Started at 7:15 AM and took it off at 5 PM when the internal temp was 200. I'm also using the 14 WSM. I ran it at about 250 most of the time and a little hotter the final 30 minutes. I did not wrap in foil and used water.

I included a picture of what the ash looked like the following day. The heat shield is still in place. I started it full with three chunks of wood.

I've used regular kingsford for ribs and it worked fine using the 3-2-1 method. However, it noticed a lot of ash when done.

20200613_113120.jpg20200613_113545.jpg
 
Thanks. What is the first picture? Is that the left over charcoal and the second picture is the ash?

I’ll be interested to see how much ash I have tomorrow when I clean up.
 
Yes, the first picture is what it looked like when I went to clean it the following day before I removed the reusable pieces. My purpose was to evaluate the B&B charcoal so I took the pictures.
 
I would chuck the heat shield for future cooks. It takes up room that could be used for ash. I've found that once the ash comes up to the charcoal grate it's really difficult to maintain temps. Also, I would consider foil moving the butt to the oven once you get the bark/color you want. Once you foil, you're just looking for heat so, trying to fight the shortcomings of the 14.5 is a little pointless.
 
Lee - looking at the charcoal this morning, it looks like the ashes were up to the charcoal grate and probably contributing to my problems. I’ll definitely consider fouling and putting it in oven earlier
 
If you have some good gloves and tools to pick up the charcoal grate you can dump your coals mid cook. It's not ideal, but I've done it when I was switching from pork butts to ribs in a day. I wait until theres not much on the grate, move the leftover coals to my grill or a baking tray, pull the grate and ring (and set it someplace I'm not going to trip on it), then dump the hot ashes into a steel bucket. If you don't have a steel bucket keep your grill close by and dump them in there. Put the grate and ring back down, fill up the ring again and then use your remaining hot coals to start the minion process over again.
 
I also recently bought a stainless steel colander to act as a charcoal basket. It has handles built in and lifts everything above the charcoal grate about another inch. I can also fit the charcoal ring inside it pretty snugly to get some extra capacity out of it.
 
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