Nice day for a Big Butt Cook

[Dave Russell]

Looks great Dave! You did good!

Thanks, man. I just got off the phone with one of the friends that took a butt home to pull herself. I was worried that the bark was going to be too spicy for them, but she told me it was the best BBQ she's ever had.

 

[Dave Russell]

The PP in the pans looks really moist Dave. I take it the injection helped with that. Anxious to hear more about the coulda/woulda/shoulda when you get a chance. Hope your rub wasn't too hot.

Gary, the phone conversation I just mentioned above relieved concerns over the rub.

As to moisture, I think that's more about how good the pork is and cooking right....not too slow/dry, but not too fast, and not under or overcooked. Whether there's water in the pan or not on a bullet, it still has much more moisture than an offset, particularly larger ones. Last butt cook I did with four on the big bullet was with a dry pan and they turned out fantastic, and I didn't foil. Foiling saves time and charcoal, but saves grease, too. That not only compromises the bark, but it's sort of like mixing in drippings without first skimming the fat. I had to foil three of these, but I don't like to. Water in the pan conducts heat better and evens out temps so that you don't have surprises like the one that had the charred corner. As to injecting though, I won't do it next time if I have so many on the pit since two or three of the ones on the bottom didn't have nearly as good bark because of a lot of drippings from the top rack. This was the first time I'd had a cooker so full since I went back to injecting.....

So basically, with a totally full cooker, I think there's only one way to go to get every butt to be consistent. That's with water in the pan for me. It just evens out the cook and the steam transfers heat better so where they seem not to be as stubborn. I would've had to cook overnight, but it would've been the way to go, that's for sure. I won't be cooking a whole case overnight unless the weather is nice for it, and I'll be more diligent in my charcoal ring packing as well. I only had to add a couple shovels full of unlit Wicked Good lump, but the weather was nice and the pan was empty.

Have a good 'un!
Dave

 

[Jeff R]

Great recap of your cook. Sounds like they were enjoyed by all

 

[Gary S]

Thanks for sharing the experience Dave, great to know even though I may never cook that much, others will. Interesting point about injecting and dripping. Water is hard to beat in some respects. I did four racks of ribs last weekend, cut them in half and cooked them all on my 18, using the water pan. Been awhile since I cooked with water and dialed it in just like I used a thermostat. It stayed put for the entire cook. Makes me think I'm going back to LNS brisket that way and try one without foil or butcher paper.

 

[Dave Russell]

Great recap of your cook. Sounds like they were enjoyed by all

Thanks, Jeff. I've got one left to deliver, and one will pick up this evening. Those pans looked really good, and I think they'll make some hungry folks happy, happy, happy...as Phil Robertson would say. My son hardly eats meat anymore because of his fiance, but he just scarfed a couple huge sandwiches a while ago before running out the door. No surprise that those two and the other one that was on the pit the longest looked as good as any of them.

I went shooting with my son over at my friend's house this morning, the husband of the friend I spoke to this morning. His wife does most of the grilling at their house, and he's not what I'd call a bbq guy. So I found his assessment of the butt (they pulled themselves) interesting. Not only did he say it was delicious, but he made a point to say that there wasn't any fat in it. Makes me think I overcooked it, but since I pulled it off I know I didn't. Anyhow, I guess he was just trying to point out that it wasn't fatty. I told him that was what you got when you cooked them slow for 12hrs or more.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Dave Russell]

Thanks for sharing the experience Dave, great to know even though I may never cook that much, others will. Interesting point about injecting and dripping. Water is hard to beat in some respects. I did four racks of ribs last weekend, cut them in half and cooked them all on my 18, using the water pan. Been awhile since I cooked with water and dialed it in just like I used a thermostat. It stayed put for the entire cook. Makes me think I'm going back to LNS brisket that way and try one without foil or butcher paper.

Thanks, Gary. Regarding the water pan, I find it interesting that so many folks recommend skipping it with a full cooker. Now the big cooker uses a lot of fuel and the bottom grate is a lot farther from the fire than on an 18. However, that water still does a job in helping to keep things "soft" and evening heat out across the grate....but I also should mention that there is a downside to using lump, particularly a dense lump like Wicked Good. It'll spike more than briquettes, particularly Kbb, and the problem with my cook was that at some point or another, there was evidently a huge difference from one side of the grate to the other. I'm not a Kbb fan by any stretch, but I must admit that cost isn't the only good thing about Kbb. For even temps, I think that a slow burning briquette probably does a lot better, particularly if going with a dry pan. The bark just doesn't taste as good as a good lump, and it can be really tough if the humidity is high. Stubbs or Kingsford Comp is a great compromise.

If I had a BIG brisket to cook or for a lunch, there's no doubt I'd cook overnight with water. I just don't care for the foil and how it makes the bark taste, and it sure worked for Dwaine's last cook.

A 10-12 pounder for supper, though? Like my last brisket cook...I'll trim the heck out of it and rub the night before. Get up early, dry pan it, smoke at 275-300, wrap with paper when it looks good, and not slice til it's rested a couple of hours. As long as you do a good job of trimming, I just don't think you gain anything by cooking briskets any slower than that. Water for me would be more for timing the cook overnight if cooking a big one or for lunch.

Later,
Dave

 

[JSMcdowell]

Dave, That box looks familiar... from my Sat/Sun cook....

I actually picked up 2 extra cryopacs on top of this case because I wanted some extra for my freezer. Mine were a $1.09/ though.

I go dry pan on the large cooks. However, I start with the biggest ones on the bottom grate and in the morning I move the top grate to the bottom and the bottom to the top. The middle grate stays the same. All 12 were done around the same time. I just lay out a bunch of alum foil on a plastic table, move the grates over, put them back on and toss the foil. Easy cleanup.

 

[Bryan B]

Sir mix a who? Does he mix it up with these butts?

Sir-Mix-A-Lot is a rapper famous for his song "Baby Got Back" which starts off "I like big butts and i cannot lie, other brothers can't deny."

I'm sure you've heard it before LOL

 

[S Riddell]

Great cook and recap Dave! Lots of tips if I ever decide to tackle that much meat at one time! Really wish we had RD up here though, can't beat that price

 

[Dave Russell]

Dave, That box looks familiar...I go dry pan on the large cooks. However, I start with the biggest ones on the bottom grate and in the morning I move the top grate to the bottom and the bottom to the top. The middle grate stays the same. All 12 were done around the same time. I just lay out a bunch of alum foil on a plastic table, move the grates over, put them back on and toss the foil. Easy cleanup.

Josh, thanks a bunch for the feedback. I was hoping that someone that cooks a lot at a time like you might could post back. Although I've enjoyed all the comments I've gotten so far after the cook, all that work makes me step back and examine things. Now I know why my buddy sold me his 22" and was wanting something bigger and better....and I'm not so sure about longer grate straps for a dozen butts at a time. Hats off to you for that, man!

Anyhow, I know that water can can make it take forever to come up to temp, and also takes a lot more charcoal. I've had MANY a successful cook with four nice size butts on my 18" with water in the pan, though. No rotating, no real problems other than occasional weather or charcoal issues, and things just seem to get done closer to the same time...although it can take a while. The big bullet uses a lot more charcoal, though...

So what are you using for charcoal? When using lump or any faster burning charcoal, I've thought that it just meant that more vent adjustments would be in order. Now though, I think it can be a lot more to it than that, whether there's water in the pan or not. Water just helps even out the grate....but trust me, I don't like to mess with it. It's not the mess, though. I absolutely hate foiling the big 22's pan. What I don't like about water is the ultraslow start-up and such. Anyhow, back to the charcoal, I don't want to use no stinkin' Kbb, but that Wicked Good lump sure made for a wicked uneven burn!

Got a couple other questions for ya, though, if ya don't mind. Do you suggest hanging the probe in the opened top vent, or the one that's closed? And that brings me to just how fast do you start up the cook with a packed cooker? What are your temps and times nowadays and where is your probe? That Wicked Good lump starts slow, but before you know it you're up to temp and shutting the extra top vent. I think that might've been the first mistake yesterday morning but was wondering what you thought and any advice on fire management would be great. I just don't want to be cutting off any more corners off my pork butts. That was a first for me in the 3+ years I've been smoking on the wsm, and I thought I was good as long as I kept temps under 275*, and had all the butts pushed toward the center of the grates.

Thanks a bunch for weighing in!
Dave

 

[Matt Gard]

My wife and I are looking at building a house and I have already been planning the house warming party. I know my wife thinks I am insane as well but hey what better excuse to have a bunch of friends and family over and what better reason for me to stuff my 22.5 full? A wsm filled to capacity with pork butts was just what I had in mind. I hope mine turns out as well as yours did.

 

[Dave Russell]

My wife and I are looking at building a house and I have already been planning the house warming party. I know my wife thinks I am insane as well but hey what better excuse to have a bunch of friends and family over and what better reason for me to stuff my 22.5 full? A wsm filled to capacity with pork butts was just what I had in mind. I hope mine turns out as well as yours did.

Matt, thinking about a new house makes me think about a new fridge....or an older one...that I had to clean the bottom out of the other day from pans over-flowing with pork injection juice.

Basically, I'm just saying to make it easy on yourself by keeping it simple. Injections are great, but in the future, I won't be doing it with any more than three or four butts at the most from the potential mess and drippings when using two wsm grates. Also, if you need to cook a whole case of butts like I did, sure, go for it. However, I've done six at a time a couple times now and they simply fit the grates a lot better. They'll cook more evenly, have better bark, and you'll have less chance of "overbarked" butts from being exposed to temp spikes if not using water in the pan.

Good luck with your house plans!
Dave

 

[JSMcdowell]

Dave,

I start with both vents wide open and end up closing one, so I leave a probe in the open one. I actually don't use wireless or probes much anymore. For smoker temp I use a deep fry therm in the exhaust vent. They are cheap and easy to calibrate.

If I am packing it full with a 100 lbs I got with cold meat and a full chimney if its cool out. If its hot I back that down to 3/4 chimney. Both tops wide open until about 20° from temp then I close one and see if it drops. If its cold out it might. 260 is my preferred temp but anything 250-275 works.

I use a lot of charcoal so I stock up on the kbb sales and that's what I have been using. However for these large cooks I am going to switch to Stubbs because I hate dealing with the ash issues on kbb when there is a lot of it. Stubbs is my favorite by far and if I have a 100 lbs of meat on there what's a couple bags of Stubbs.

I used to take time to make the foil perfect on the 22 pan. But I would still get small leaks. When you have so much fat from 12 butts its bound to find a way through. Now I crimp a couple pcs together and cover it. When I am done I let it coil then dump it foil and all in my ash trash can.

As for the 22..... Getting many butts or ribs or anything on and off my Lang is extremely easy. Add wood every 40-60 minutes is not. So its a trade off, more sleep for the 22 and more work or less sleep and less work for the Lang. Auber has a decent controller that will work on both and is easily interchangeable with their connection design so I may give it a try on the Lang. If I could get three hours of sleep between loading wood I would go for the Lang on 12 butt cooks.

The best thing about large cooks is when something comes up when you need just two butts you happily throw them on the 18 and goto bed without a worry in the world.

 

[Dave Russell]

Josh, thanks so much for all the input. Your not using wires and probes anymore mirrors what a friend was telling me yesterday, encouraging me to just set the vents to 30-40% and go to bed, and adjust temps accordingly the next morning. About how long do your butt cooks take on the 22" with a case plus?

 

[JSMcdowell]

This past cook was cold and 108 lbs. I wanted them on by 7p but they got at 9p because of dinner and a hard cold rain. I ran 230-240 and foiled at 9a, off the cooker at 12p. When I foiled I flipped bottom and top and left the middle butts where they were.

Normally I do the same but no foil. 260+ ends up at 1.5 hrs a lb from the time I get to temp consistently with no foil. 4 butts or 10 the only difference is I don't move the four. The key is once at temp..... since four butts get to temp in 20 minutes 10 or 12 butts may take an hour or hour and a half.

Foil is a backup plan for me. I never plan on it but I know early enough when its time to bite the bullet to be on time.

 

[Dave Russell]

Josh, I hear ya on the foil. It's a last resort, but I'll do it if needed. Again, thanks a bunch for all your input.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Boss Banks]

Great looking cook! Just wondering, do you have favor a certain temperature for removing the meat from the smoker? I am sure there is some variance between butts when you are cooking that much meat. 195F...200F...205F? Thanks.

 

[Dave Russell]

Great looking cook! Just wondering, do you have favor a certain temperature for removing the meat from the smoker? I am sure there is some variance between butts when you are cooking that much meat.

Although I use a wireless to monitor a butt on the top grate, that's not what I go by when deciding when to pull. I use a probe to monitor cooking temp, so I might as well monitor meat temp. But the answer to your question is probably somewhere between 190 and 200....although if you cook real slow the final temp might be 188*, or if you cook moderately fast the temp might ending up actually over 200. But not only does it will vary butt to butt and cook to cook, but in different parts of a butt, as well.

I just cook to they're good and tender, and when I'm pretty confident that most of the fat is rendered to where it flavors the meat and doesn't gross someone out if they're going to take one home to pull themselves. Yes, I have to be careful not to overcook and dry out the meat, but I still like to cook a butt to where pulling isn't a chore and chopping isn't necessary for a soft texture.