The Big Cook is Underway **Updated with Photos**


 
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Jim Babek

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All 45 pounds of butt went on at 11 am and with the three tier mod everything fit perfect with enough room for the ET-73 probe which I put on the middle rack and the meat thermometer in one of the butts on the top rack. Of course the first snow was last night and the wind is gusting from 18 to 29 mph. Made a makeshift wind block out of tarps, a patio table turned on end and the gas grill. Real classy. Its now an hour in and the cooker is at 151 and the meat at 52.

Will keep posted and hope for the best.
 
Jim, I don't suppose you were able to snap some pics of all that pork...I will be interested to see how long this takes, and how much everyone raves about the final product!!

GOOD LUCK!!
 
Oh but of course pics were taken. This is either going to be my crowning achievement or my big hop in the pants. While there is alot of meat, two per rack, the crowding factor wasnt as bad as I was imagining. they all fit on nicely without any pushing or shoving. its three hours in and the cooker is at 230 and the meat is at 132. Im just waiting for the big stall at 160 and will be holding my breath. Planning at 5 hours to flip and turn, baste and move into the center since some shrinkage is already starting.

I just go out there and stick my face in that cloud of cherry and hickory.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> since some shrinkage is already starting <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Jim, you're not 'sposed to peek!
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Sounds like things are going well. Keep your temps up and you'll do fine.
 
I know...its 5.5 hours in and I just lifted to flip and turn and feel guilty as hell about it since its so cold here and its taking so long for the temps to come back up. I only have one more planned opening and its to rotate levels...top to bottom and bottom to top and maybe add more charcoal if needed.

So far so good.
 
Its now 2 am and 15 hours into the cook. The ET-73 went off at 1am when the temp dropped to 198. Checked and almost all the charcoal was gone. At least now I know how long a full ring lasts in bad weather. Filled the ring with unlit and added 30 lit, also added water. Did all this right through the door.

Around 8pm the meat was at 166 but has since dropped back down to 151 so I dont know how big a problem this may be.

Cooker is now steady at 247.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Its now 2 am and 15 hours into the cook. The ET-73 went off at 1am when the temp dropped to 198. Checked and almost all the charcoal was gone. At least now I know how long a full ring lasts in bad weather. Filled the ring with unlit and added 30 lit, also added water. Did all this right through the door.

Around 8pm the meat was at 166 but has since dropped back down to 151 so I dont know how big a problem this may be.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Good man Jim! I find it hard to get up middle of the night sometimes. Good On Ya for doing all this through the access door too. That's dedication! I think you're still tracking well, should be to 195F by noon. I kinda like 200F+ for butts myself currently but anything over 190F should work for ya.

I have one concern though, ash build up. You are now on your second ring and after a time there won't be anywhere for ashes to go cuz the bottom will be full and the bottom briqs will constantly be smothered by the ash. You could have taken a little bigger hit temp wise, disassembled to scoop some ash out into your trusty galvanized can, then reassembled to alleviate this concern later on. However, I probably would have done exactly as you did.

Two things to watch for: ash clogging bottom vents & temp dropping cuz some coals are being smothered. For the first issue, keep ash build up away from vents by moving it away from vents insde with tongs. For the second issue you may have to stir/sift through coals several times towards the end. If it gets to be a problem try to scoot the ash to one side of the ring and pile all the remaining briqs to the other side.

As for recovery to previous temp, I don't find it to be a big deal. Hard to describe ... it's kinda like this .... it takes time and heat to do the 'work' to get to where you were ... after a drop the work is already done so it takes much less time and heat to get back to previous temp. Once you're back to previous temp the normal progression resumes.

You lost 15 degrees on the meat temp but I would be suprised if it takes more than a couple of hours to exceed your previous temp at the 247F pit temp you reported.

The amount of meat you are doing and your weather conditions are making this a biathalon cook. Keep up the great work!
 
Its now 22.5 hours in and the smoker is sitting at 233 and the meat temp is at 185 and creeping up to 190.

Should be exactly on schedule to pull at 11am.
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Im done. In more ways then one. Pulled, double foiled, wrapped in towels and coolered at 10:15 am. exactly 23 hours and 15 minutes.

The temps ranged from 186 to 193 and the meat was falling apart. Not too deep of a smoke ring and outer bark was a bit dry as to be expected but the foiling should take care of that. Made sure there was some stuck pieces left on the grates for me to sample and its definately Pig Candy.

Guests come over at 1 so of course Im going to make a show out of the pulling. Im thrilled, tired, smelly, unshaved and a bit buzzed as the bottle of Jameson kept me going. Is this all worth it? Hell yeah.

A big thanks to everyone who gave some imput with this post, Shawn W...my new Canadian Connection...Jim Minion for the wealth of knowledge he provides, Stogie and ESPECIALLY Chris for giving us all a place to go.

I took plenty of pics of the cook and will post them after the festivities.
 
Sounds Awesome! YOu should have plenty of time to get all cleaned up and pretend that is is a piece of cake. Feels good when you complete a 24 hour cook and everything worked perfect. Im smokin ribs today so I will raise a glass to ya.....and I bught a new bottle of jameson last night
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Look forward to the pics.
 
Jim, don't wash up for the event...stay the way you are!! Be proud to wear the smoky, unshaven, half in the bag look of a true PITBOSS!!
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The REAL men will be jealous of you!!
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Jim, what an effort. I can't wait for you to recover and tell the rest of the story.
I have one of these cooks coming coming up next weekend. I appreciate you paving the way.
 
Jim, Glad it worked for you. I know you were getting a little 'antsy' about your timing and getting all that meat done. Hope all the guests appreciate the work you put into it. Sure they did though.
 
The party was a huge success. Nearly all the pork went and what little was left I brought into work as a treat for the ladies.

Here's what I learned. With this much meat the time calculations go right out the window. Also, next time Id use a bit more wood, maybe two more pieces of hickory. THe cooker temp held close to 230 with all vents wide open. It will take two full rings of charcoal to get the job done and you really dont have to worry about the vents clogging with ash. I use an old fireplace poker and just used it to clear the holes once toward the end and rake the coals a few times.

The pork got rave reviews from "I never knew pork could be this good" to "this is better than sex."

This is my first attempt at posting pics, hopefully it will work.

http://community.webshots.com/user/jbabek
 
Hey Jim, anxious to get a look at those pics but the link isn't working for me ... it takes me to 'Ofoto Employee Sample Album' could you please check the link?
 
Maybe you need to 'Share' your photo album (Share Photos) and the one I am seeing is default if requested one is private ...
 
Well you must have gotten the link fixed... Because now the @$$ #*%# %&*$# work 'big brother' web blocker wouldn't let me go to the site.
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