G
Guest
Guest
Hi all, this is my first post. This forum is fantastic and really helped convince me the Weber was the way to go. I'm amazed at all the help and good tips people offer up, as well as all the great articles.
However, my first cooking experience didn't go to well. I think I know how to "debug it", but I'd like to solicit the groups help.
I bought my WSM 3 days ago, along with some hickory wood chunks and 20# bag of Kingsford. I found a 4# Boston Butt and rubbed it down for 24 hours.
I setup shop last night at 5pm, invited the friends over for beer (the key ingredient, right?) and fired it up. The Butt went on at 6pm sharp.
Let me cut to the chase: At 1:30am, I couldn't wait any longer. I had a Polger-style remote thermo stuck in the Butt the whole time and never registered higher than 170. I pulled it apart anyway, but it took quite a bit of effort. It certainly didn't have that "fall off the bone texture". It was pretty tough, but I don't really know what to expect. There were some good bits here and there, but nothing I would want to share with my family. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
My grate temp (right above the water pan, right?) was a steady 200-225. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep this temp. I didn't measure the temp at the top of the lid--I guess I could put something through the vent hole? (kept it open the whole time, of course).
Here's where I think I did wrong: I used 1 chimney full of Kingsford. After 30 min., I added it to WSM and sprinkled another 10 briquettes on top, along with 6 chunks of hickory. The secondary briquettes lit up a couple of hours into the cook, but by 1am, there didn't seem to be much fuel left. Just not enough fuel. I never got over that 165-170 internal plateau I've heard about.
Lessons learned--tell me what you think:
1. Start earlier in the day. Easter's on Sunday, so I'm going to start tomorrow at 8am.
2. Start with 2 chimeny's of Kingsford (for two 5# Butts).
3. Just cook the darn thing longer to see if I can get past 165 degrees internal and stop at 200.
If I don't get good results this time, it'll be hard for me to justify a $250 investment on 4# of bad pork! Thanks for any feedback guys!
Scott
However, my first cooking experience didn't go to well. I think I know how to "debug it", but I'd like to solicit the groups help.
I bought my WSM 3 days ago, along with some hickory wood chunks and 20# bag of Kingsford. I found a 4# Boston Butt and rubbed it down for 24 hours.
I setup shop last night at 5pm, invited the friends over for beer (the key ingredient, right?) and fired it up. The Butt went on at 6pm sharp.
Let me cut to the chase: At 1:30am, I couldn't wait any longer. I had a Polger-style remote thermo stuck in the Butt the whole time and never registered higher than 170. I pulled it apart anyway, but it took quite a bit of effort. It certainly didn't have that "fall off the bone texture". It was pretty tough, but I don't really know what to expect. There were some good bits here and there, but nothing I would want to share with my family. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
My grate temp (right above the water pan, right?) was a steady 200-225. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep this temp. I didn't measure the temp at the top of the lid--I guess I could put something through the vent hole? (kept it open the whole time, of course).
Here's where I think I did wrong: I used 1 chimney full of Kingsford. After 30 min., I added it to WSM and sprinkled another 10 briquettes on top, along with 6 chunks of hickory. The secondary briquettes lit up a couple of hours into the cook, but by 1am, there didn't seem to be much fuel left. Just not enough fuel. I never got over that 165-170 internal plateau I've heard about.
Lessons learned--tell me what you think:
1. Start earlier in the day. Easter's on Sunday, so I'm going to start tomorrow at 8am.
2. Start with 2 chimeny's of Kingsford (for two 5# Butts).
3. Just cook the darn thing longer to see if I can get past 165 degrees internal and stop at 200.
If I don't get good results this time, it'll be hard for me to justify a $250 investment on 4# of bad pork! Thanks for any feedback guys!
Scott