Hi guys, it's been a while since I posted. I've had my WSM 22" for about a year posted here some early on but then life got in the way. I thought I'd share the story of my smoke of 2 butts Saturday night into yesterday, a 6 lb and and 8 lb. I had marinated them in an orange, grapefruit, lime juice mixture with pureed garlic and onion Thursday night. Friday night a toweled them off, salt and peppered and applied a simple rub of dark brown sugar, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and a few other spice and let them rest until Saturday night. This was for a 2:00 PM Sunday gathering.
I consider myself pretty good at smoking pork butts, especially since I got the WSM, but this was far and away the best I've ever done and it didn't exactly go according to plan. I always use the Minion method with an entire bag of Kingsford blue bag briquettes in the charcoal ring and then adde about 20 hot briquettes prepared in a charcoal chimney. I use wood chunks scattered throughout the unlit briquettes. I use water in the pan. So like usual get it all set up, put the butts on which I put on cold from the fridge, and leave the three bottom vents 1/4 open and the top open. After that I crack open a beer and watch the temp like normal. When the internal temperature of the smoker reaches about 205-210 I close the bottom vents, adjust the top vent to 1/2 open and let the WSN settle into a 225°-240° (F) temperature range and I leave everything alone, I don't even look for 8 hours, not spritzing, no mopping, no anything. For all my previous cooks this has worked perfectly. This time not so much. I was watching the temp when it suddenly spiked from 200° to 320° in a matter of 30 seconds. Horrified I tried closing all the bottom vents and leaving just a sliver open on top. That brought it down to 286°where it held for 2 hours then settled in at 275°. I had started the smoke at 9:00 PM to go overnight but I was afraid to go to bed figuring the 12 hour cook I had planned might end up at 6 or 7. Still once settled in at 275° I took my remote thermometer and went to bed. I woke at about 3:00 briefly and checked the temp and it had gone down to 255° and the butts were at 110° which made me more comfortable so I slept until 5:30 which was 8 hours into the cook. At that point the internal temperature was about 165° and by 6:00 it had gone up to 180°. Then it hit the stall and stayed there, and stayed there, and stayed there. Because I wasn't planning on serving until 2:00 I really wasn't worried and rather than foiling the butts I let them ride. The stall lasted 4 1/2 hours and then slowly began to rise. At 11:30, 14 hours in, I pulled them and they looked perfect. I wrapped them in several layers of foil, wrapped both up in a heavy blanket and put them in a cooler until our guests came.
When I removed the butts from the foil they were perfect. They were still about 160° internal temp and the bones literally fell out and the pull was as easy as I'd ever done. The bark was solid, although slightly softened from the hold time, and almost all the fat had rendered perfectly. The taste was amazing. The smoke flavor was perfect and it was cooked well. I do consider myself fairly good at this but when things go wonky you never know. I had flashes of having to order pizzas or something but my fear was unwarranted. Lots of oohs and ahhs from the guests and when that comes from born and bred Mississippians and here I am a transplanted Yankee form Chicago I'd call that a good day.
I guess I bring all this up both to share and to see if others have had similar experiences. I've had smokers in the past where I couldn't get under 300° but I planned completely differently and often would go 4-5 hours and then finish in a 225° oven for a few more. This was the first time I couldn't get down in the 225° range on my WSM. Interested in any input you might have. Below is a picture of the larger butt.
I consider myself pretty good at smoking pork butts, especially since I got the WSM, but this was far and away the best I've ever done and it didn't exactly go according to plan. I always use the Minion method with an entire bag of Kingsford blue bag briquettes in the charcoal ring and then adde about 20 hot briquettes prepared in a charcoal chimney. I use wood chunks scattered throughout the unlit briquettes. I use water in the pan. So like usual get it all set up, put the butts on which I put on cold from the fridge, and leave the three bottom vents 1/4 open and the top open. After that I crack open a beer and watch the temp like normal. When the internal temperature of the smoker reaches about 205-210 I close the bottom vents, adjust the top vent to 1/2 open and let the WSN settle into a 225°-240° (F) temperature range and I leave everything alone, I don't even look for 8 hours, not spritzing, no mopping, no anything. For all my previous cooks this has worked perfectly. This time not so much. I was watching the temp when it suddenly spiked from 200° to 320° in a matter of 30 seconds. Horrified I tried closing all the bottom vents and leaving just a sliver open on top. That brought it down to 286°where it held for 2 hours then settled in at 275°. I had started the smoke at 9:00 PM to go overnight but I was afraid to go to bed figuring the 12 hour cook I had planned might end up at 6 or 7. Still once settled in at 275° I took my remote thermometer and went to bed. I woke at about 3:00 briefly and checked the temp and it had gone down to 255° and the butts were at 110° which made me more comfortable so I slept until 5:30 which was 8 hours into the cook. At that point the internal temperature was about 165° and by 6:00 it had gone up to 180°. Then it hit the stall and stayed there, and stayed there, and stayed there. Because I wasn't planning on serving until 2:00 I really wasn't worried and rather than foiling the butts I let them ride. The stall lasted 4 1/2 hours and then slowly began to rise. At 11:30, 14 hours in, I pulled them and they looked perfect. I wrapped them in several layers of foil, wrapped both up in a heavy blanket and put them in a cooler until our guests came.
When I removed the butts from the foil they were perfect. They were still about 160° internal temp and the bones literally fell out and the pull was as easy as I'd ever done. The bark was solid, although slightly softened from the hold time, and almost all the fat had rendered perfectly. The taste was amazing. The smoke flavor was perfect and it was cooked well. I do consider myself fairly good at this but when things go wonky you never know. I had flashes of having to order pizzas or something but my fear was unwarranted. Lots of oohs and ahhs from the guests and when that comes from born and bred Mississippians and here I am a transplanted Yankee form Chicago I'd call that a good day.
I guess I bring all this up both to share and to see if others have had similar experiences. I've had smokers in the past where I couldn't get under 300° but I planned completely differently and often would go 4-5 hours and then finish in a 225° oven for a few more. This was the first time I couldn't get down in the 225° range on my WSM. Interested in any input you might have. Below is a picture of the larger butt.
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