I may be screwed....


 
Mike Willis

Mike Willis

TVWBB All-Star
I was planning on trying the high heat pork butt tomorrow (as seen on "kickass barbecues" web site and the thread here). Been thawing the 6# pork butt all week, mostly in the fridge with 1-2 hours out at room temp every day. The forecast a week ago was for sun and temps in the upper 50's. NOW, it's supposed to be windy, gusts to 40mph, with rain & snow showers coming by evening! Crap!
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I'm hoping the butt will be off by early afternoon, but the wind is still a factor, as well as the elevation here (5000 ft). I've only done low & slow on the WSM using the Minion method, so I have NO CLUE how hot my WSM will go, especially with the conditions forecasted for tomorrow. Thinking maybe I should go to the rotisserie instead - I KNOW the 22.5" kettle will hit 400 degrees, but I really wanted to go with the pan and foil technique. I'm going with no water in the pan (foil wrapped empty pan) and going with the standard Weber method instead of the Minion method.

I'll check this board in the morning before lighting anything off for words of wisdom/encouragement... TIA
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can't speak for the cold because i live in so-cal. but i've had my WSM up to the 400 mark using the weber method and a foiled pan. is there any way you could block the wind? i've seen some on this forum using a plywood wind blocker, as well as those WSM silver jackets.

good luck, and i'm sure it will work out!
 
Don't you have some way to block the wind? If you have other options, I'd consider them before I'd go to much trouble, but I can usually put my wsm on one side of the house or the other and deal pretty well with the wind. Getting up to 400 in a wsm will not be easy. I have a hard time with that in good conditions. Personally, I'd check the weather in the morning and make a decision. I wouldn't fight with the wsm if you have other options and the weather is bad.
 
Getting to 400 in your WSM won't be a problem if you can break the wind. I have been able to get 400+ with vents 100% and the door propped slightly flipped upside-down.

Make sure your briq's are WELL lit at the start so your temps come up faster.
 
Use your kettle, I cook high heat butts in their all the time. Put a drip pan under the butt. I dont put the butt in the pan, but rather under the grate. But..some do cook in the pan. You will have to add coals every couple hours or so. You can preburn or just throw them in....the kettle will do the rest. I cook briskets in the kettle often as well.
 
I second the need to block the wind. Even if you can maintain high temps in the wind, you risk parts of your cooker not being at the same temp. I cooked a turkey a while back in windy, 20 degree temps. I had a stoker help maintain temps, but the bird side that had the wind blowing on it was less done than the other side. I guess I should have rotated it
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Remember, pork butt is very forgiving. So even if your temps are all over, you'll be okay. I know that doesn't help much if you have a time crunch, but otherwise don't sweat it.
 
Well, this morning was sunny and about 36 degrees with no wind. I went with the WSM, empty foiled water pan, and due to habit did the Minion method instead of Weber's standard. Oh well...
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Pork butt went on at 0830, at 270 degrees the cooker was still coming up to temp. As of now, the cooker is at 330 degrees, and there is a very slight breeze. All vents are open 100%. 15 minutes into the cook I discovered the aluminum pan the butt was in had a pinhole in it. Did a quick transfer to a new pan and back on it went.

I just went and checked the temp - cooker is at 340 degrees. Everything is stable for now. Think it's going to be OK....
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Willis:
I just went and checked the temp - cooker is at 340 degrees. Everything is stable for now. Think it's going to be OK.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sounds like you'll be fine Mike. If you need to get the temps up higher, just set the lid off the top by about 3/16"-1/4". This allows the temps to come up real fast, while still keeping the heat inside the WSM. Set the lid back on right, when you're about 10-15º away from the target cooking temp. This works really well for me, I like this way better than propping the door open.
 
Just an update:

Checked the pork butt temperature after 3.5 hours... it was @165 deg in a couple of different spots. I foiled the pan and butt and plan on leaving it on for at least another 2 hours. The lid temp of the WSM has been approx. 350 degrees. The wind has been picking up, but is still not a factor (at least I don't think so).

I'm thinkin' I got lucky this time. Next time a windy day is forecasted I'm moving to the carport - at least I'm sheltered on 2 sides instead of one (like the covered patio)!
 
OK, final report:

The pork butt went on at 0830 and came off at 1530 - a total of 7 hours. I set up a makeshift windbreak at 1200 hours because of the increased "breeze". The pork butt was foiled at 1300 (4.5 hrs into the cook), and stayed on for another 2.5 hrs.

What I learned: the makeshift windbreak MIGHT have messed things up - after I foiled the butt, the cooker wouldn't go above 310 degrees. I stirred the coals, tilted the lid and tried propping the door open and the best I could do was 325 degrees. After I checked the butt temp at 1500 hrs (6.5 hrs into the cook) and it was at 195 degrees, I removed my makeshift windbreak, and figured I'd let the fire die out while the butt was staying warm. The funny thing was ....

... the WSM temperature INCREASED after I removed the windbreak! The ambient temperature was at or below 50 degrees all day, and the wind was increasing as the cook went on, but the WSM temp went to just over 350 degrees after removing the windbreak. The windbreak wasn't close enough to suffocate the fire, just close enough to keep the temps up in the WSM (or so I thought). I'm sure there's a point where a windbreak is beneficial, but I didn't get there today.

I'm going to create a method of cooking to combine the benefits of the low & slow with the quickness of the foiling. Once I'm working again and can afford to experiment, I'll post my results here. Who knows, I might come up with "The Mikie Method" for pork butts!

Thanks for listening....

EDIT: the meat turned out great! And the bark was good as well - not hard and crunchy, but not soggy either. As far as flavor goes - no difference to my 3 previous "low & slows" on the WSM. I could have salted it more before putting it on, but that can be remedied as we go.

All in all - I'm likin' it! Put it on at 0830 and eat at 1730!
 
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