Mr. Brown's a coming


 
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I got 4 Butts on the Smoker. The outside temp is 54 degrees. I am having a hellav time keeping the temps up. I am having to hold open the access door to get the temps up to 245 (at the top grate). As soon as I shut the door, it drops back down to below 230. So other than needing a lot of babysitting, it's moving along nicely.
Is it just the large mass of food (32 lbs) that is keeping the temps wanting to drop?
 
Doug,
I'm guessing your using minion method. From my limited experience that is normal for that amount of meat. I am very interested in your smoke here though as I am doing 4 buttz for a cul-de-sac party this summer.
 
Brian,
When I was trying to get the temps up, I tried everything I could think of. I blew gently into the lower vents... I added hot coals, I even tried to use a small fan at the bottom vents and then into the open door. That actual got te temps to rise but they fell again when I closed the door. After that, just opening the door brought the temps up quickly. Closing the door let them drop again. I finally got the temps stabalized at 230 (top Grate). Just in time to turn mop and add water. The temps want to stay low again (210). I'll use the same method I did before of opening and closing the door to bring the temps up and stabalize. If anyone has better ideas..... feel free to throw them in. Back to the Smoker.
 
32 lbs. of cold meat plus whatever you have in the pan are just sucking up all the energy whatever amount of charcoal you have lit has to give at the moment. I try to get past this sometimes troublesome initial period by leaving the pan empty until the chill is off the meat, then adding hot water. In your case, you could light about 20 more briquets and add them to get you thru it.
 
I'm having the samed problem....except I'm a little more desperate....its aout -3 deg. c, and beginning to snow /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif No kidding....welcome to Norhtern Ontario!..it was+ 10 this morning on my home thermo....good for the maple syrup, not good for the Mr. Brown. I have been adding fuel to keep the temp up.

I have a question about resting the pork. Do I wrap it and put it in the cooler (I intend to pull it). What do I wrap it in, and how long should it rest? (I know I read it somewhere, but cant seem to find it again...doh!)

Good luck.
 
If you wrap in foil and towels and place in a dry ice chest, it will continue to cook to a few degrees higher, so you can pull it off the cooker a little before your target temp. A short rest, if any, before pulling is all that's necessary, though. The sooner you do it, the hotter the meat will be, obviously, so use protective gloves-- or a couple of carving forks will also do the trick. I usually take mine to 205* and pull right away.
 
Mike P. Wanted to finish by Midnight. I ended up pulling the Butts at 11:10 PM and had it pulled and vacumn saved by 12:15. I aslo wanted to experiment with different temps. I'm still learning the process. I managed to get the temps up to the high 240's low 250's during the last 4 hours of the cook. Total Cook time 15hrs and 50 minutes. I got the meat to an internal temp of 200. It was GOOOOOD. Starting with 32 lbs, I should have enough for my Easter Guest and plenty to spare for when the craving hits.
 
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