Jeremy Watson
New member
I decided to go with an 8lb pork butt and some store-bought rub. I got both at Walmart and they were both decent. The rub was Pork Perfect by Fire & Smoke Society. I filled my ring with Kingsford Professional, threw two softball sized chunks each of hickory and apple wood on top (spaced evenly), and set twelve white-hot coals in the middle. I then put the body of the cooker on, filled the water pan with water, and topped it with a couple of freshly greased grates. I placed the lid on and waited as patiently as possible for the temp to come up.
I planned on cooking at 250 the whole way through, but found it to be very difficult to keep the temp steady there. I assume that this has to do with the WSM being new and too clean so no matter how far I closed down the dampers it was still getting plenty of oxygen and fighting against my wishes. No big deal, I can adapt. I figured I'd just have a longer rest than anticipated and the end result would be the same. I ended up cooking between 265 and 270 for the duration.
After three hours, the temp of the pork reached 125 and I began spraying it every half-hour with an apple cider vinegar, apple juice, water mixture. We were cruising. I mean, me and my first real barbeque experience were really getting along splendidly. After four hours, the internal temp was reading 145 and everything was looking great. Five hours in, temp at 165, WSM still cooking at 270... things got rough. It stalled. Hard. I was doing research on the boards, Google, YouTube, etc. "How long is this thing supposed to stall?" "What did I do wrong?" It stalled for THREE HOURS! I was down, but not out. I read enough opinion pieces on "The Stall" to settle my nerves, continue on the path I was on, and just hang in there. So, I mowed the lawn, showered, and did a load of laundry to keep my impatience at bay.
At the seven hour mark, when the fat proved to be rendered and the butt was still stuck at 165, I wrapped it, shut the vents to save the remaining coals, and moved the pork to my oven which was set at 265. I waited some more. Then, I continued to wait. It was still stalled at 165 until I was eight hours in. I cannot explain in details the elation I felt when I looked at my probe monitor and saw that it said 167. I kept my fingers crossed and stared intently until it ticked up to 168. Hallelujah! I persevered.
Overall, that pork butt cooked for ten hours. Ten hours? That's not too bad. It's perfect, actually. That just so happens to be the same amount of time I had planned on it taking when I initially wanted to cook it at 250. It seems my resilience pleased the Weber Gods and it worked out for me in the end. I removed it from the oven at an internal of 205 and let it rest for an hour before pulling a clean bone out of the pork. My family enjoyed some outstanding pulled pork sliders and I am king for a day... or several days. That's a lot of meat.
I learned quite a bit about barbeque today: Plan ahead, but don't plan on getting to stick to the plan. Start earlier than you think. Be patient. Seek information and guidance from those with more experience. Take notes to refer to next time.
TLDR: It was a learning experience and it was excellent!
-Jeremy
I planned on cooking at 250 the whole way through, but found it to be very difficult to keep the temp steady there. I assume that this has to do with the WSM being new and too clean so no matter how far I closed down the dampers it was still getting plenty of oxygen and fighting against my wishes. No big deal, I can adapt. I figured I'd just have a longer rest than anticipated and the end result would be the same. I ended up cooking between 265 and 270 for the duration.
After three hours, the temp of the pork reached 125 and I began spraying it every half-hour with an apple cider vinegar, apple juice, water mixture. We were cruising. I mean, me and my first real barbeque experience were really getting along splendidly. After four hours, the internal temp was reading 145 and everything was looking great. Five hours in, temp at 165, WSM still cooking at 270... things got rough. It stalled. Hard. I was doing research on the boards, Google, YouTube, etc. "How long is this thing supposed to stall?" "What did I do wrong?" It stalled for THREE HOURS! I was down, but not out. I read enough opinion pieces on "The Stall" to settle my nerves, continue on the path I was on, and just hang in there. So, I mowed the lawn, showered, and did a load of laundry to keep my impatience at bay.
At the seven hour mark, when the fat proved to be rendered and the butt was still stuck at 165, I wrapped it, shut the vents to save the remaining coals, and moved the pork to my oven which was set at 265. I waited some more. Then, I continued to wait. It was still stalled at 165 until I was eight hours in. I cannot explain in details the elation I felt when I looked at my probe monitor and saw that it said 167. I kept my fingers crossed and stared intently until it ticked up to 168. Hallelujah! I persevered.
Overall, that pork butt cooked for ten hours. Ten hours? That's not too bad. It's perfect, actually. That just so happens to be the same amount of time I had planned on it taking when I initially wanted to cook it at 250. It seems my resilience pleased the Weber Gods and it worked out for me in the end. I removed it from the oven at an internal of 205 and let it rest for an hour before pulling a clean bone out of the pork. My family enjoyed some outstanding pulled pork sliders and I am king for a day... or several days. That's a lot of meat.
I learned quite a bit about barbeque today: Plan ahead, but don't plan on getting to stick to the plan. Start earlier than you think. Be patient. Seek information and guidance from those with more experience. Take notes to refer to next time.
TLDR: It was a learning experience and it was excellent!
-Jeremy
For sure, always plan on more time, not less. Every piece of meat will cook differently. Sometimes, you think you are cooking at a temp ('cuz that's what the thermo says), but in reality, the temp at the meat level is not what you think. A pork butt is gonna take between 1.5-2 hours/lb (give or take), and they hold GREAT wrapped in foil, wrapped in towels, in a cooler! Good move to the oven since you were wrapping out of the stall anyway. Next time, you'll be armed with a bit more information from your own experience, and you'll be more comfortable. That's not to say something else may not surprise you, but you'll deal with it just like you did this time.
