Here's the problem...


 

Jamie Berry

TVWBB Fan
I've got 4 7 lb. butts to cook tonight. they are cryovac'd in my fridge. I need to cook them tonight so they are pulled and vac sealed in 1 lb bags for delivery tomorrow morning at 8 am. I won't get home til 4:30 this afternoon to get started. I'm using my 18.5 wsm and then finishing in the oven. I've read the quick cook instructions in "cooking topics" section. Rain and wind is expected for tonight.

Can this be done? any tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks fellowship of the que...
 
Although I've never done high heat, it sure seems like that is what you should be aiming for w/this smoke. As long as you compensate having extra fuel going as opposed to what you'd normally use for a single butt high heat, I can't see why this couldn't be done. May lose much of the beloved bark, but unless you wanna stay up all night, that's what I'd be inclined to do.
 
Jamie, I am confused by your question. You say that you have read the "quick cook instructions", Hmmmm. So with HH cooking methods say around 350 and foil I would estimate a cook time of about 5 hrs. At least that is what I would allow. Your main problem is goint to be getting to temp and keeping it there. Of course if you have done the recommended vent modifications, no prob. If not, el door flip should work .
What specifically did you need to know?
 
Jamie

I think it can be done in various ways as long as sleep is not a priority. I would fire up the smoker, rub the butts, and get them on as early as possible and probably cook in the 275 degree range. After five hours or so I'd check the temps and if they are up in the 160 range you could foil them and throw them in the oven or back on the smoker (whichevcer is more convenient)and raise the temp to 325 or so. If the temp is lower the oven-foil part will take a little longer. This is where the lack of sleep comes in as you'll have to monitor the cook more carefully because of the higher cooking temps and foil. I'd pull them around 190 or so, let rest for an hour, and pull and package. Of course if you have a thermometer with an alarm and might get a bit of sleep. I'd recommend not sealing the packs until the temp has dropped and then throw them in a cooler for delivery. Hope that helps. Am sure you'll get some more reponses from others much more experienced than I.

Les Stubby
 
Jamie

Obviously I didn't read the fast cook section so the methods I suggested differ. Obviously the higher the temp and longer the meat is foiled the quicker the cook will go. I just prefer starting at a lower temp unfoiled and making up the difference at the end of the cook.

Les
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Les Stubby:
Jamie

Obviously I didn't read the fast cook section so the methods I suggested differ. The higher the temp and longer the meat is foiled the quicker the cook will go. I just prefer starting at a lower temp unfoiled and making up the difference at the end of the cook.

Les </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Jamie -

I know this is a little late, but I have been cooking butts for several years on my kettle and in the oven overnight with great success.

Before I got my WSM last year, I would smoke a butt or two in my kettle around 250° ~ 275° for 3-4 hours, then place them into a deep foil pan covered with a single layer of foil in a 225° oven and let it go overnight. I would start these cooks after dinner, starting around 8-10 pm depending on when I wanted it done. I would set an early alarm to check temps/tenderness around 5 am, then depending on the temp/tenderness, I would either pull & foil them, or go back to bed if they weren't quite done yet. After checking the temps again, nearly all were done by 8-9 am, and I would pull them and use the F-T-C (foil-towel-cooler) method until lunchtime.

This always worked when we wanted pulled pork for lunch the next day, didn't require babysitting a cooker overnight, and had enough built in extra time to allow for a long stall or other problems.

You could start cooking around 6pm, and if you wanted to cook low-n-slow the whole time, you would have 12+ hours to get it done.

Hope it went OK.
 

 

Back
Top