Smoking my first butt, couple quick questions...


 
M

Mark Orth

TVWBB Member
OK, so I've had my WSM for a few years now and am pretty good with it. That said, I've done some chickens on it but mostly ribs and the ribs come out fantastic. Anyway, brought the butt home last night and didn't really think about having it rubbed overnight. I always forget with the ribs too and, as I said, no biggy. Now, it's a cool but dry and windy day here in the northeast so I'm having some trouble keeping the heat down. I have a friend who is a pro-BBQer and he told me to control the heat with the top vent and always leave the bottoms open. Thing is with this wind I've been having trouble getting the heat down from 300 so the top is about 75% or more closed and I closed 2 of the bottom vents about halfway.

I just checked out the butt recipe off the main page and saw the part about removing the excess fat. I did notice one side of the butt having a big chunk of fat on all of it.

So A) is it too late or if I'm quick do you think I can open the lid and cut the fat off and B) Do you think I'm doing the right thing on the vents? Thanks!
 
I think most people control the temps with the top vent. On my WSM I always close down the bottom vents to 1/2 or 1/3 open when I get 25-50 degrees before the target temp and leave the top one open 100%. If it's getting waaaaay too hot, then I close down the bottom completely and the top a bit as well. As a note, it's always easier to get the fire hotter than it is to get it cooler. Therefore, start closing down the vents before you hit your target. If I were you right now, I'd close down the vents and watch the temps closely. Once it starts dropping, open the top one back up.

Don't worry about the fat, I don't trim mine. It'll take a little longer but it won't hurt the butt.

Good luck and don't worry butt is a very forgiving meat so you should be alright!
 
Always control with the bottom vents, leave the top vents open to allow the smoke to escape and to prevent the meat from tasting like creosote. The only time you want to close the top vents if you have a high temp runaway condition and you want to prevent oxygen from getting to the fuel.
 
Thanks!
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Thing is with this wind I've been having trouble getting the heat down from 300
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No biggie, Mark. Even if it stays up there, your butt will turn out fine. Just might get done a little quicker. Relax and let the WSM do its thing!! Good luck.


Mike
 
control by lower vents. top should be open except as mentioned. 300 is a great temp for the butt. actually, butt is a great meat to practice on, very forgiving. i cooked a butt once that i was having "fun" controlling the temp. windy day. after all was said it turned out just fine.
 
Hey guys, that butt tasted good but after 8 hours at 250-300 it was still not tender enough. Is 10 or 12 hours enough for a typical pork butt or do I need to go overnight with this?

Thanks.
 
The cooking time is rather unpredictable.
Recently, I had a 6 pounder take 12 hours, previously I had one ready in 8 hours.
Tenderness is the key.
 
Originally posted by Mike Hartwell:
The cooking time is rather unpredictable.
Recently, I had a 6 pounder take 12 hours, previously I had one ready in 8 hours.
Tenderness is the key.
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Tenderness is indeed the key. A probe should slip in easily. The bone (normally) should pull out easily. But a real good way to be sure it's even read to check is to simply use an instant read or a leave in probe thermometer. You'll get all kinds of advice, but you typically will want to see a temp of at least 190*. Time is NEVER a good measure.

All that said, one butt I cooked had a bone that WOULD NOT come out. It turned out to have "hook" inside. The same 9 lb butt took way longer than I expected (16 hours). But when I finally got to temp and removed it (despite the bone issue) it turned out to have very little fat -- just lots and lots of succulent meat. Meat (muscle) just takes longer to cook than fat. (This butt actually had much less visible outside fat than the "norm" to start with -- I just didn't realize the implications until after the cook.)

Rich
 
Thanks. I may try this again tomorrow or Monday (I'm off). I'd rather avoid cooking it overnight if I don't have to.
 
I think the best butts I've done have been in the 300 degree range. The butts develop sort of a bacon-y smell which I can't resist.
 
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