Mother of all plateau periods

[david blumberg]

I asked my butcher to get 2 6lb boston butts ready for me to pickup yesterday. when I got home I had 2 9 ponders, bigger than any I had cooked before.

I had them on the smoker last night at 730, and held an average temp around 250 thru until morning, at which time the meat temp read 159. over the next hour or two the meat dropped to 150! and has held that for five hours! The smoker temp gradually dropped, and I am in the process of lighting more charcoal to add to it.

I checked the meat with the dual temp probe, and also an accurate instant read digital thermopmeter...

Any comments? Isn't this unusual?

thanks,

david

 

[Dan H.]

that seems extra long but i've had it happen to me before. It really throws me when the temp actually goes down. this is probably not true at all but I always told myself that the longer the plateau, the more tender and juicy the pork will be when done.

phsycologicly it made me feel better and hungrier, although like I said probably not true. enjoy.

edit. i had a seven degree fall before

 

[Tom Chips]

How full was your fuel ring when you saw the temps down? You might not have had enough fuel. I've seen stalling plateaus but I have never seen it fall 10 degrees.

 

[david blumberg]

The fuel ring was pretty full, plus hickory chunks, and some oak chunks... I built the temp back up to 265, and at 430 took the meat off the smoker at 190 degrees internal. 21 hours of cooking (I expect about 15 hours with 2 six pounders) It's wrapped in foil, and in paper bags. This is for a family beach week next week, so fortunately I wasn't trying to time it for dinner. I'll freeze (MOST) of it...at $1.59/lb it's a lot cheaper than cold cuts...

I had seen meat hold temp for a long time, but nothing like that before....

david

 

[Tony C.]

i had a 7 pound butt that took 22 hours sat. night through sunday. the 9 pound one only took 18.5. the smaller one stayed at 169 for almost 4 hours and then when it hit 185 it went back down to 180 before it started to climb up again. it tasted as good and was a moist as usual after a 3 hour foil rest.

i might add that i didn't have to add any royal oak lump the entire 22 hours. i love my BBQ guru pit minder

 

[david blumberg]

it's a riddle, wrapped in an enigma....and a yummy one at that...

david

 

[dsitterson]

They say it is done when it is done and I have pulled alot of buts before it hit the 190 range. The other test is can you pull the bone out my buddy dosen't temp his he can just tell and if the bone slide out it is done. I have had them hit the wall and always pulled them early. They seem to be better whem I let them come to temp.

Bottom line is butts I cook are always better than any pulled pork I can get anywhere.

 

[Brandon A]

When I think a butt is taking too long in the plateau (messing up my timing) I just kick the vents open a bit and raise the temp 25-50 degrees. This always works for me to break the stall and get temps moving again. I think the lower the cook temp the longer the plateau, so if your cooking at 225 rather then 250 I would expect it to sit longer. Just my observations...

Brandon

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brandon A:
When I think a butt is taking too long in the plateau (messing up my timing) I just kick the vents open a bit and raise the temp 25-50 degrees. This always works for me to break the stall and get temps moving again. I think the lower the cook temp the longer the plateau, so if your cooking at 225 rather then 250 I would expect it to sit longer. Just my observations...

Brandon </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Brandon, correct. If your cooking on the low side and want to push it through the plateau, cranking up the heat will do that. If cooking at a higher temp from the get go, say 275º-300º, the plateu is shortened a great deal, if there's even one.

 

[Jim Minion]

The larger the butts the older the hog and the more connective tissue your dealing with. The weather can play a role also (a front coming through will slow a cook).

Jim

 

[Sean S.]

it does throw you for a loop when the internal temp goes DOWN, though. the pig is playing with my mind!

 

[Todd Randall]

Remember David, it's done when it's tender, not when it reaches a certain temp. When the bone is loose like said above, or when you can slide a probe in nice and easy like room temp butter, it's probably safe to pull it, doesn't matter if it's at 180 or 195 or 205 for that matter.

Todd