Thanks for the great tips, my butts were terrific yesterday. I used the electric brinkman at my hunting camp, putting the butts on at 6:30am (two totalling 17 lbs) after letting them sit out for about 2 hours in 70 degree temps (i had the ac on colddd). Anyway, I skipped the water and found the smoker wanted to run a little hotter than I wanted, about 275, sometimes higher. Temps outside were 90 so that contributed. I eventually added water after 4-5 hours and when internal meat temp was close to 150. That held temps to 250. I also realized the mistake of not foiling my hickory. Even though I soaked the chunks for 24 hours, they would catch fire and really push temps high. Webers may not do this b/c airflow control. Foiling would restrict air and keep flames at bay. At 170 internal, I pulled butts and foiled. The temps came up faster than i thought, so when i checked, they were already up to 196. I planned to unfoil at 190 but too late. There was a ton of juice in the foil so i picked the butt up with tongs and the meat nearly fell apart. I put it back on the smoker for 1 more hour to dry the meat a bit and pulled them entirely at 6pm. The pork was very juicy, great smoke and ultra tender. The meat literally fell off the bone. The key this time vs. last was foiling. It really softened the meat and helped retain incredible juiciness.
would it have been better to unfoil at 190? Any need to unfoil and then put it back on the smoker for awhile? I'm not sure what this does but i think someone told me to do it. I can see it drying the meat up a little.
would it have been better to unfoil at 190? Any need to unfoil and then put it back on the smoker for awhile? I'm not sure what this does but i think someone told me to do it. I can see it drying the meat up a little.