Sunday's BBQ (longish review, need advice)

[Allan]

Well my Saturday BBQ got pushed off to Sunday. I ended up doing 1 picnic, 1 butt, 1 rack Spares, 2 racks Babybacks, 6 sausages (brats and hot italian) and tried out some ABTs (stuffed with cream cheese and lobster meat). Wife made some potato salad, macaroni salad and corn. Kids had hotdogs. For the picnic and butt I used the Renowned Mr. Brown recipe and for the ribs, 2 racks had a modified Chris Lilly rub and 1 rack has the Sweet Maple rub from Caroline's Rub. Everyone loved the ribs and rubs.

So, the good news: Everyone loved the ribs and the butt. I didn't go too heavy with the rub this time and cooked them the way my gang likes them, (i.e. 3-1-1'ish). The Butt got rave reviews, but I didn't pull it, I sliced it. 1st time doing ABTs, and while they were a LITTLE spicey (ok, a lot more than a little ) the folks that ate them liked them a lot.

So, now the point where I need some help/advice. While there isn't really bad news, I've got to say that it was a tough cook. It seemed like I was battling the fire and the elements all day. Started off early and let the WSM come up to temp for about 1 hour. Things looked good, then after about 3 hours (2 with meat), my temps plummetted down to the low 200s, high 190s. Stoked the fire, no help, ended up firing up another chimney and put more coals in. Temps came up, phew. Then 2 hours later same thing. I put some gloves on, 'cause I was ticked off and started moving the lump around and I had some nice coals, but the lump on top wasn't catching. Bad lump? Damp lump?

Also, for my picnic and butt I was a little surprised. They were only 3# each but after 7 hours they were only at about 160*, so I wrapped them and putt them in the oven to finish up. Turned out good (see above), but I was surprised that after 7 hours they were still in the high 150's low 160's. Does this make sense?

Considering the weather yesterday, rainy, windy, could that have caused my problems with maintaining temp?

Oh well, like I said at the end of the day, food was good and it was another learning experience.

 

[K Kruger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Damp lump? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Quite possibly.
At what temp were you cooking and where were you measuring (lid? grate?)? Was it an all-lump cook or did you have any Kingsford in there? You said' started off early and let the WSM come up to temp for about 1 hour.' Standard start? No meat in the cooker for that hour, right? Do you recall the vent positions when the temps dropped the first time to the low 200s, high 190s? Did you open the vents at all then and wait--or just stoke and add more coals?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> but I was surprised that after 7 hours they were still in the high 150's low 160's. Does this make sense? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, yes, frankly, as plateau is plateau irrespective of meat weight. A more determining factor is thickness and another is what type of hunk of meats you had--specifically, where on the arm or shoulder those cuts came from. If they were cut from a particularly well-marbled place, which seems likely given your experience, the numbers do not seem off to me.

It seems like you maintained well and put a very good dinner on the table. Good deal.

 

[Allan]

Thanks for the response Kevin. I actually measured grate and lid and was very surprised to see a 30ish degree difference there. Calibrated the thermometers and both were exactly the same 214 in boiling water(so ever so slightly high).

Grate temp I was trying to maintain was about 225ish and it was a MM start with all lump and no meat during that first hour. Vent positions were probably 1 at 25% (facing the rain and wind) and the other two probably 50ish. I opened them up expecting a spike but didn't get anything except a temp dive.

As for the butt and picnic, again thanks for your valuable opinion (seriously

). I had read about the plateau, but didn't really understand it and honestly, figured a small roast like the ones I had would really just blow through it. Guess not

It was a good learning experience and at the end of the day, the food was good and everyone left with a full tummy, so I can't complain too much.