Never ending butt cook


 
M

Mike B.

TVWBB Fan
I went up to Virginia for a friend's party last weekend and took the WSM, a 14 lb brisket and two 6 lb butts. The temp averaged 230 and the brisket was done in about 16 hrs. I staggered the butts so there would be some ready for lunch and dinner. The first one went for 17 hrs before reaching 188. I went ahead and pulled it because it was 5:00 and people were getting hungry. The second butt went at least 16 hrs and even though it was only showing 180 I pulled it. It was late, but it dissapeared fast! I tried a mustard slather on it for the first time (my wife wasn't there!) and I didn't even get a sample.

Everything turned out fine, and the brisket was my best yet. I've never had butts take much more than 2 hrs a lb. though, and was a bit peeved under the circumstances seeing as nothing was ready for lunch. That was cool though, cause nobody showed up till 3-ish anyway.

I had two therms going, so I know my temps were correct. They just didn't want to cook!
 
'Q happens! Glad things turned out all right.

Just a thought; could the butts have been really cold, like almost still frozen in the middle? That happened to me one time when a cook took a LOT longer than I thought it should.

JimT
 
Mike: I know how you feel. 95% of my butts, at 225 degrees, reach 195 at 22 hours. The last cook I maintained 250 degrees at it took 19 hours. The funny part of it is that when I tell the kids I'm barbequeing they say " great, we're going to be eating 4 hours later than we should be!

Ken
 
Ken -- I'm glad to see someone else who claims 20+ hours on average. I cook mine at 225 degrees at the grate and they always take at least 20 hours. They are in the 6 - 8 lb. range and are usually boneless but I have done both. I always trim the fat cap (not sure if that has an impact on the cooking time). In 3 years I think I have had 1 butt finish in less than 20 hours. They average closer to 3 hrs/lb. than the 2/2.5 that is often posted. They are always excellent though.
 
IME, no matter how much you try to figure, there will always be differences, sometimes significant, in finish time for butts of the same size during different cooks. You can reduce this some by doing things suggested, but you'll always get surprises. The savior in all this is the long hold time avalable with the butts which, in most cases, will permit you to meet most dinner schedules. Except for using foil toward the end of the cook, you can't make the butt finish faster, but by planning ahead you can have it finish well before your event and still use the hold time to get you there.

Paul
 
Mike,
I live in central Virginia, and every cook takes more time than most of the others on this site. I am glad it turned out well for you, but I can understand your frustration with the longer cook times. I don't have a clue, but I swear it has to do with humidity and sea-levels!!! ... David
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by David Collier:
Mike,
I live in central Virginia, and every cook takes more time than most of the others on this site. I am glad it turned out well for you, but I can understand your frustration with the longer cook times. I don't have a clue, but I swear it has to do with humidity and sea-levels!!! ... David </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's interesting Dave! I actually thought about that. I was in Wytheville.
 
Sea level may be it . I 'm 25miles from the coast in fla and i cook 3butts avg7-8lbs in about 12-14hrs . I cook at 235 indicated on my guru and pull around 190. Do you think you could be getting real cold spots in the middle of the night with cooker temps??I guess i've just been lucky.
 
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