Temp Question - Butts


 
B

B Severin

TVWBB Member
This is my second time making butts. I put two 8+ pounders on the top rack last night around 11pm local time. All was well and I decided to go to bed. At 2:30 my ET-73 notified me that the air temp had gone to 275 so I got up and closed the vents to maybe 10% open.

Back to bed again and at 6:30am I woke up to notice that my ET-73 had lost its signal. This was the first time it had done that. Naturally, I sprung from my bed and noticed the air temp on my Tru-Tel in the dome had gotten all the way down to 183. I opened the vents back up and stirred the coals and I've even added some fuel this morning.

My question is this: I know butt air temps can vary quite dramatically. Some cook it in the high 200's, others in the low 200's. I have no idea how long the air temp was at 183, but it couldn't have been more than 4 hours. I've got things back up to 230, but I want to know if any damage was done by the air temp cooling to 183 for anywhere between 1-4 hours?

I think all will be well, but just thought I'd get some thoughts from everyone.

Thanks in advance.
 
It won't be a problem, just maybe a little longer cook.

If you feel pressed for time, I'd just ramp up temps to 275 and try and hold them there.

The drop in temps won't hurt the butts.
 
It shouldn't affect the butts. I might affect the total cooking time. Check the temp of the butts and pull as you normally would.
 
Both of the butts reached 190 degrees and have been double wrapped in foil and placed in a preheated cooler wrapped in towels for 2 hours now.

Do you think they'll be good for another hour and a half?

If not, should I turn the oven on low/warm and place them in there in the foil?

Any suggestions are welcome.
 
If you've filled up the extra empty space in the cooler, they should last. I've kept butts for 5-6 hours that way and they were still hot. The key is to fill the empty space with more towels or paper. Even more cooked butts wrapped in towels will work
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