Temp. spike while smoking pork butt


 
M

Mike Kolter

New member
Hi Guys,

I've smoked pork butt a couple of times now. (I'm fairly new to BBQ.) Both times the temperature spiked into the 270's about three or four hours into the cook. (Weather was cool and calm both nights.) Each time I had to completely close all vents to get the temp back under control. Obviously this is a pain because it then takes a chunk of time to get the temp. stabilized.

I used the Minion method and I suspect that I either had too much unlit fuel or too much fuel in total. What do you think? How can I avoid the spike?

I'm BBQing chicken breasts today for Mother's Day and will be doing either another pork butt or smoking brisket (first time) for Father's Day.
 
Mike,

Curious how many lit you are using at the beginning. I usually only use about 12-15 lit with a full ring of unlit. That being said, sometimes the temp spikes just happen. As long as you start closing down your vents before you get to your target temp, then you cna frequently control them. I will say though that on a pork butt, the spike won't really hurt it other than being a pain in the butt to get it back down. The only way to learn is to keep practicing so just keep cooking as often as possible.

Hope this helps.

Bob
 
The next time you do a pork butt, if it spikes to 270, relax and just close your bottom vent(s) a little bit. Even if it goes to 300 - 350, it won't hurt a pork butt at all. The key to getting stable temps on the wsm is time and patience. When I first started with my wsm, I was monkeying with the vents every few minutes. Now I start the fire (minion) put on the meat, start dialing back the bottom vents at around 200 and hit my mark (usually around 250) and it stabilizes real nice.

It just takes some practice and pork butts are very forgiving. Adjust your vents a little bit and watch your thermometer. In about 15 minutes to 1/2 hour, the temp will start moving in the direction you want. What you DON'T want to do is close the vents all the way and then open them back up and then close them down and open them back up . . . . You'll be doing that all night.

FWIW, when I get my wsm to 250, I generally only have one vent open about 1/2 way (top vent 100% open).
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Kolter:
Hi Guys,

I've smoked pork butt a couple of times now. (I'm fairly new to BBQ.) Both times the temperature spiked into the 270's about three or four hours into the cook. (Weather was cool and calm both nights.) Each time I had to completely close all vents to get the temp back under control. Obviously this is a pain because it then takes a chunk of time to get the temp. stabilized.

I used the Minion method and I suspect that I either had too much unlit fuel or too much fuel in total. What do you think? How can I avoid the spike?

I'm BBQing chicken breasts today for Mother's Day and will be doing either another pork butt or smoking brisket (first time) for Father's Day. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Your heat spike is not anything to worry about first of all. Second, do not try to maintain an exact temperature, because temps will always go up and down now matter what and if you try to maintain a certain temp you'll pull your hair out. Cook in a temperature 'range' that you prefer, I cook in the 245º-260º range. If temps go +/- 20º-25º, I don't worry about it. If they go higher, then I 'may' or may not make an adjustment, it depends on what I'm cooking and the weather.

Too much fuel or too much lit fuel does not cause temperature spikes, air control does.
 
Mike:

If it's any consolation, I aim for 275 lid temp when cooking my pork butts anyway.
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Mike what are you using in the water pan?

and I agree with the above ... sometimes people get the idea that if low and slow is good lower and slower must be the best

I usually aim for the temps you were worried about
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Wow, thanks for the great insight guys! If I recall correctly I threw 20 lit coals on top of the unlit. I'll dial that back to about 15 and I'll also not be so worried about the temp. I shot for a range of 240 to 250. Next time I'll shoot for 240 to 270.

For what it's worth, both times the butt was superb! Just shows that it is forgiving because I'm not generally known for my cooking prowess. ;-)
 
Mike:

Yes, butts are probably one of the most forgiving pieces of meat. All the ones I have cooked, as hard as I've tried to screw one up, the BBQ gods just won't let it happen. Even on those nights with too many adult beverages to wake up and find the fire out with a butt internal temp going from 180 to 140, restarting fire, then back to 200 internal temp, she still turns out good.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Kolter:
I'm not generally known for my cooking prowess. ;-) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Take the advice you've gotten here to heart. You are now known for your cooking prowess.
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