High Heat Butt Cook Experiment?


 
I

Ivan Stratton

TVWBB Fan
I had the itch to smoke something and my friends have been bugging me to make them some BBQ. I have a new job so I have had little time for the WSM. This might be a little long winded. I bought another WSM a couple months ago and hadnt used it so now is the time. I went to Sams and bought a case of butts thinking there were 8 to a case but this one had 10 even though a total weight of 63 lbs. So avg butt size is 6.3 lbs. I was going to put 4 on each smoker but now Im doing 5 on each. 4 largest on the top racks. 6 others on lower racks. (they seem pretty consitent size wise though). Here is where Im deviating from my normal smoke. Im foiling the water pans but going empty, no water so I can try to get my temps up. Both smokers are running between 275 and 300 degrees right now. Im going to try and get them to settle around 300. I usually cook at around 240 because thats where my original WSM wants to cook. I dont care what I do to it if I use water 240 is it. Im just hoping to shave a little time off this cook. 6 lb butts usually take me around 12 hrs. With this higher heat when do you think they will be ready? Would it be closer to 1.5 hrs per lb? If you have any addittional suggestions please let me know. Im off to make 3 gallons of No. 5
 
Expect more time then. Maybe 1.25 hours/lb. YMMV. Depends on actual temps throughout the cook.
 
It's a bit of trouble, but I'd rotate the butts at some point midcook, more for the sake of the three on each bottom rack. By this, I mean just turn them 180* so that opposite sides have roughly equal time in the outer grate zone.
 
I've got them kind of in a triangle configuration on there sides. When I do six I usually do 3 on each rack with the larger on top. But this is my first higher heat cook. I try not to open the cooker but I thought I might would check to see if the smaller butts had shrunk enough to lay them flat. At that point I could flip them around. They went on at 8 am here. I was planning to check meat temps at 2 pm.(6hrs) and make any adjustments. The temps are holding steady 275 on one, 285 on the other. I was hoping to be able to pull them off by 4. But that might be wishful thinking. I won't pull them off until tender. Sauce is done just on very low on the stove. Man I love No. 5. I have tweaked it to my liking a little but same basic ratios.
 
Don't think you need to rotate . You're going to pull them and the meat will all be mixed in anyway. Doubt if you can taste a small portion of maybe dry meat versus the rest. Keep the lid shut until your internal temps get around 195-200 then open it up and insert a sharp probe to determine if they are done
 
Rotating is to even the cooking, more important at higher cooktemps.

They might be done by 4.
 
Just noticed this. I normally do my butts @ 300°. They usually run 1.5 hrs per lb without foiling, foiled closer to 1-1.25, butt everyone's cook and WSM's run a little bit different.
Sounds like a fun experiment
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Tim
 
They are at 169 now. 3:39 pm. They have definitely hit a plateau. I've never done sliced pork before so I'm pulling and foiling one butt now for that. My sister wanted one for dinner so I'm going to foil that one and let it cook until tender. The other eight are going to stay on unfoiled until tender.
 
You could crack your lid a-bit to get your temps closer to 300° might help ya get thru the stall sooner.I use a metal spatula placed sideways to give a slight gap tween the lid and mid-section.

Tim
 
This was a good learning experience for me. I have never done the high heat or empty pan or sliced. I can say that the sliced butt was very good. I was happy that I could get a decent BBQ pork product in that short of time. Probably around 7 hrs at 285. I pulled it off at 170 and foiled it and let it rest for about 2 hrs. in the microwave. I then sliced it thin around 1/4" and poured the drippings over it. I put it on a bun with a little No. 5 and some cole slaw. The pork was very tender and juicy. As for the high heat pulled pork, I think I'm going to stick with low and slow. It was still good but not my usual moistness. I cooked until probe tender and foiled and rested all like my normal procedure. Texture was just off. Plus my rub burned a little, not terrible but not just right. It pulled easily though. I'm wondering since I cooked at a higher temp if it might have carried over more heat and got it a little too done? Glad I did this because I have another cook like this to do soon for a friends birthday party. I will need both smokers but I will be doing the cook low and slow overnight.
 
Carryover cooking can be more substantial when cooking at higher temps.

I'm with you on every point. I prefer low/slow for butts for pulling. I do like higher heat for sliced butt and I slice it thinly as well. (You can imagine my surprise when, several years ago at a comp I was attending, I saw what passed for 'sliced butt' in the turn-in boxes: 1/2- to 1-inch-wide slices. It's comical. One would expect... well, I'm not going to get going on comp Q.)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Carryover cooking can be more substantial when cooking at higher temps. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Agreed, I think this is a common problem amoung newer members. If I am going to hold I either pull a little before done or tent for 10-20 min then foil.
 
Thanks so much for sharing your cook observations, Ivan. They seem to confirm my own experiences, and I find that 225-250 is a great butt cooking temp range, with 275* in the hot zones around the grate perimeters ok as long as I rotate if more than one butt to a rack. Regarding rotating though, I think I'm gonna start doing that if cooking more than one butt to a rack, no matter what cooking temp.

Trying different things seems to be how I learn most things on the wsm. Just a couple of weeks ago, by cooking butts all day instead of overnight, I learned that you gotta really be careful with residual cooking when resting butts in a cooler until pulling. These two butts were a little over 9lbs each, and after NO rest, just half an hour under some foil in a mixing pan, my BEST EVER in all aspects. Now if I can just get the same results in under 16 hours of cooking!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Regarding rotating though, I think I'm gonna start doing that if cooking more than one butt to a rack, no matter what cooking temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
With butts, I do, if more than one. Well worth it to me.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Carryover cooking can be more substantial when cooking at higher temps.

I'm with you on every point. I prefer low/slow for butts for pulling. I do like higher heat for sliced butt and I slice it thinly as well. (You can imagine my surprise when, several years ago at a comp I was attending, I saw what passed for 'sliced butt' in the turn-in boxes: 1/2- to 1-inch-wide slices. It's comical. One would expect... well, I'm not going to get going on comp Q.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey Kevin - curious by your statement. When cooking butt for slicing are you using boneless? Are you removing it any sooner than when "done" for pulled/chopped? I'm thinking of doing sliced for the next one after the vac sealed pulled pork is out from my last cook.
 
r benash,

I know I'm not Kevin but I think I have read from him before that he isn't a fan of boneless. I do know that 170 is a good internal for sliced shoulder, I like thin slices. The meat around the bone can be chopped for other uses.
 
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