Trying another overnight pork butt...


 
S

Sam Borys

TVWBB Member
... For my second ever attempt with the WSM!

Last time was a bit of a gong show (see my introduction thread) but this time I feel like I've prepared a little better and have the stress of that first butt out of the way.

Ill start off with the first few pics I have. I didn't take a ton of the prep as you all know what's required for smoking a pork butt. However for the sake of this thread I've attached a few.

I filled the charcoal grate with briquettes up three quarters full but then had to top it off with lump charcoal

The hockey water bottle is what I used to create space for the hot coals. (Minion method)



Here's the charcoal with the added hot lump charcoal, two pieces of Apple and one piece of hickory.



While I was waiting for the smoke to go down a little, I prepared the Butt.



Yum Yum




This was the kind of smoke I was getting.



I had been reading a lot on here about guys waiting for the smoke to go down before putting their meat on, but I didn't really want to wait...So I figured "whatever", popped the meat on and slammed it closed.






Here comes another sleepless night! I've got the temperature holding around 255-260 A little high, but ill probably go out and turn a few dampers down soon. It's a calm night, around 17 degrees.... My meats at 135 degrees and I started it at 9:30.

Everything seem ok so far?
 
Thanks tony. After I turned down this vents slightly, I've regulated at 245-250.

How touchy are those dampers? Like, I don't think I'm giving the precision of these WSM's nearly enough credit.
 
It'll probably take 15-20 minutes to see the effect of a vent change. Frankly, I would have left it alone. Butts cook just fine at 225 up to over 300. Your meat is at 135? Do you have any idea how long those last 60 degrees can take? You've only just begun so be patient. Go for a tender butt rather than a specific temp
By the way, at some point around 160 you'll enter the stall and that alone can take some hours. Do not panic. Do not start playing with the vents. Do nothing but maintain a consistant cooking temp. It is part of the process
 
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I have lost a Redi-Chek after leaving it hanging against the side. Ended up totally melted and had to buy a new one...expensive mistake on my part. I run my grate temperature chord through the bottom of the lid. This will give you chord length to rest the the temp. reader on something so it isn't hanging against the side. I use a bucket and have it sitting several inches away from the smoker.
 
Eeeeek meat is at 154 and I'm down to 139 degrees. It's all I can do not to go back out and turn those dampers open a little more. Oh we'll I'm just gonna go to bed and let this play out!
 
So at 7:05 I'm at an internal temp of 167 and my grill has dipped to 198. I've already gone out there and stirred them once and saw a bit of a spike up to 212 but that lasted an hour. I guess I'll open up the dampers a little more?
 
Sam Borys said:
Eeeeek meat is at 154 and I'm down to 139 degrees. It's all I can do not to go back out and turn those dampers open a little more. Oh we'll I'm just gonna go to bed and let this play out!
Click to expand...

Down to 139 pit temp?

There's nothing wrong with tweaking your dampers until you get the temperature you want. Especially with the minion method, sometimes you'll get weird temp spikes at first that need adjustment as more coals and your wood chunks light.

The key to good BBQ is keeping a consistent pit temp. Don't adjust it every 2 minutes, but DO adjust it every 10 or 15 minutes if the pit needs it. Make small changes and wait for them to take effect.
 
Sorry, I meant 239...that was on my phone and I was too excited so I wasn't typing or thinking clearly.

SO...I woke up this morning and figured the pouring rain started right at the time my meat was well into the stall at 167. I had to run out and put a cover over top of the grill to shield it from the rain in the hopes of it dropping it's temperature too low, but with the vents wide open and the coals stirred it was down to 196 and slowly but surely dropping. THat, coupled with the fact that I do have a job...means that I foiled it tightly and popped it in the oven.

On one hand I consider this somewhat of a failure, because I was hoping to have this smoke done in 10 hours or so (that's what I was shooting for) but on the other hand I know that once this meat is finished through and pulled it'll be as good if not better than my first one. I also remember how upset/frustrated I was the first time around and I'm not nearly as distraught...even though I got soaked and couldn't watch my pork butt finish.

I'm going to try a pair on Saturday, I think...just so I can have all day to monitor the meat and make sure it's doing ok.

So, a few questions for you guys

1. Do you think I might have not added enough fuel for my smoke? It was 250-260 for 8 hours, then in the last two it started to drop, and at hour 10 it was around 200. When I went to stir the coals a little, they were all pretty dark and mainly ashy.
2. How does anyone get a butt done in 10 hours or under? Just higher heat, or what? I can't see how anyone would be able to get a pork butt up to 200 unless they were cooking it at 300 the whole way (Or am I stating the obvious here?)
3. Will the oven dry my pork butt out by finishing it like this? I can always add a little bit of sauce if that's the case, but I'm curious to know if the oven will finish the meat any differently than if it was foiled and in the smoker. Heat is heat, right?
 
That is a tiny pork butt, I am surprised it's taking so long. I do my pork butts at 250 after getting annoyed with some 16-20 hour butts at 225...so don't sweat getting the temps up. When you see them start dropping (and I HOPE you are not using the thermometer on the lid!) steadily is when you should start cracking those vents..and at this point, how much coal do you have left? Be careful stirring it up as you said as you'll get a lot of ash and junk on your meat unless it's foiled.. Good luck. My advice - get a cyber-q like I have and you can just go to bed knowing it will be rock solid ...
 
Nate C said:
I have lost a Redi-Chek after leaving it hanging against the side. Ended up totally melted and had to buy a new one...expensive mistake on my part. I run my grate temperature chord through the bottom of the lid. This will give you chord length to rest the the temp. reader on something so it isn't hanging against the side. I use a bucket and have it sitting several inches away from the smoker.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warning, Nate. When I read this note I ran outside to check the temperature in that spot and the remote wasn't hot at all to the touch. I figured if after three hours of smoking it wasn't even warm, it'd be ok for the rest of the smoke.

Still though, that's probably enough info for me to incorporate some kind of remote-clip or remote-shelf for when I make my plywood wind shelter.
 
Woops, I forgot to answer your initial questions. Kingsford blue briquettes smoke more than say stubbs or lump will...so they will take a longer initial burn at temp to 'clear up' in my experience...and no matter how long you wait, there will be 'some' taste imparted by kingsford. I prefer lump as in my experience it burns the cleanest, however when I do overnights with pork butts and want longevity, stubbs briquettes are usually my go to, as they seem to burn very evenly and long.

When I do the 'minion' i pour it evenly around the top of the unlit, not in the center..not sure that makes much difference.

That looked like a LOT of smoke wood...

It looked like you could have added more fuel. When I do overnight smokes I load it down until it's nearly overflowing...then again though I use lump primarily, and just re-use whatever isn't burned. Better to have too much than too little.

My butts average 7 or 8 lbs, and typically take 12-13.5 hrs at 250. If you want 10 hrs you'll have to go hot n fast at 275-300

It'll be fine in the oven, esp in foil.

It's a learning process - I'm still learning and relatively new myself, although my last butts have all been awesome! Good luck, hope this helps!
 
Dave M.. said:
That is a tiny pork butt, I am surprised it's taking so long. I do my pork butts at 250 after getting annoyed with some 16-20 hour butts at 225...so don't sweat getting the temps up. When you see them start dropping (and I HOPE you are not using the thermometer on the lid!) steadily is when you should start cracking those vents..and at this point, how much coal do you have left? Be careful stirring it up as you said as you'll get a lot of ash and junk on your meat unless it's foiled.. Good luck. My advice - get a cyber-q like I have and you can just go to bed knowing it will be rock solid ...
Click to expand...

Nah, I've got a Maverick that was heavily recommended by a few on here as well as a few other sources. It's actually a pork butt that was cut in half...my first ever smoke was this one's twin brother, seperated at birth.

There's not much coal left. I felt like I was pushing a thin layer around on the grate or else pushing it through to the bottom of the smoker, so I stopped after a few nudges. I was careful about really working the coals, as I did not want to pollute the meat.
 
Dave M.. said:
Woops, I forgot to answer your initial questions. Kingsford blue briquettes smoke more than say stubbs or lump will...so they will take a longer initial burn at temp to 'clear up' in my experience...and no matter how long you wait, there will be 'some' taste imparted by kingsford. I prefer lump as in my experience it burns the cleanest, however when I do overnights with pork butts and want longevity, stubbs briquettes are usually my go to, as they seem to burn very evenly and long.

When I do the 'minion' i pour it evenly around the top of the unlit, not in the center..not sure that makes much difference.

That looked like a LOT of smoke wood...

It looked like you could have added more fuel. When I do overnight smokes I load it down until it's nearly overflowing...then again though I use lump primarily, and just re-use whatever isn't burned. Better to have too much than too little.

My butts average 7 or 8 lbs, and typically take 12-13.5 hrs at 250. If you want 10 hrs you'll have to go hot n fast at 275-300

It'll be fine in the oven, esp in foil.

It's a learning process - I'm still learning and relatively new myself, although my last butts have all been awesome! Good luck, hope this helps!
Click to expand...

My first cook was using the minion method, but sprinkling them over the top. I wasn't organized enough to really say whether or not that would have made a difference, as that night was also crazy windy and I was noticing a ton of temp spikes.

I've heard so many conflicting opinions on Kingsford Blue compared to Lump, compared to other Briquette manufacturers and I can't say I have an opinion yet. Right now finding some stability in my cooks and getting a "standard" established is my #1 goal. The more predictable and typical the parameters, the better. I've gotten over my impatience to some degree and now I just have to make sure I'm giving my pork butt every other chance to succeed!
 
Sam Borys said:
Nah, I've got a Maverick that was heavily recommended by a few on here as well as a few other sources. It's actually a pork butt that was cut in half...my first ever smoke was this one's twin brother, seperated at birth.

There's not much coal left. I felt like I was pushing a thin layer around on the grate or else pushing it through to the bottom of the smoker, so I stopped after a few nudges. I was careful about really working the coals, as I did not want to pollute the meat.
Click to expand...

Good call on the gentle coal work. I have noticed that toward the end of my coals' life, the temp may be close to target, although slowly slipping, that my meat rarely progresses. It's not until I put some fresh coals that have some good heat energy (in my layman's estimation and experience) that the meat really starts moving up in temp again.

The maverick is a great unit - was just trying to determine if you were using the lid thermo or not. Good call.

I'm not sure what conflicting opinions you've heard - probably many on brands - but I think most would agree kbb burns a bit more dirty/with a distinct flavor compared to lump. Lump is just more of a pain than briquettes. Stubb's is available at most of the big box stores around here - not sure if canadian tire or similar has them up there - but it's hardwood lump briquettes. Whatever you do or choose - just don't get the match light stuff ;) I agree with your consistency theory though - when first starting to control your pit, use the same fuel to eliminate variables. That said, you could just save a few pennies and get a cyber q and never have to worry. It's worth its weight in gold, and no i have no affiliation..it's just awesome..set it and forget it.
 
Dave M.. said:
Good call on the gentle coal work. I have noticed that toward the end of my coals' life, the temp may be close to target, although slowly slipping, that my meat rarely progresses. It's not until I put some fresh coals that have some good heat energy (in my layman's estimation and experience) that the meat really starts moving up in temp again.

The maverick is a great unit - was just trying to determine if you were using the lid thermo or not. Good call.

I'm not sure what conflicting opinions you've heard - probably many on brands - but I think most would agree kbb burns a bit more dirty/with a distinct flavor compared to lump. Lump is just more of a pain than briquettes. Stubb's is available at most of the big box stores around here - not sure if canadian tire or similar has them up there - but it's hardwood lump briquettes. Whatever you do or choose - just don't get the match light stuff ;) I agree with your consistency theory though - when first starting to control your pit, use the same fuel to eliminate variables. That said, you could just save a few pennies and get a cyber q and never have to worry. It's worth its weight in gold, and no i have no affiliation..it's just awesome..set it and forget it.
Click to expand...

I'll admit that a lot of the fun for me still comes in tweaking the BBQ and just hanging around a smoker and smelling meat cooking. I suppose it'd be nice to have an infallible cooking tool like this gadget you're talking about, but I'm still pretty gung-ho on keeping it somewhat simple.

Give me a few more overnight cooks in the rain though, and I'll be there soon enough :)
 
ok, so wifey at home has informed me the internal temp is at 196 in the oven.

Can I get her to pull it out, wrap it up in towels and put in a cooler for me to pull when I get home, or should I have her put it in the fridge instead?
 
Dave/G said:
You aren't going to put a hot butt in the fridge are you?
Click to expand...

No no, I was going to let it rest in towels in a cooler, but I'm worried about if it dips into the sub 140 zone before I get home from work. I mean, I won't be eating it tonight...it's going into a cooler and tupperware for tomorrow.
 
Let me reiterate:

Here's my plan

1. Pull from oven at 200 degrees
2. Wrap in towels and let sit until I get home from work
3. Hopefully pull apart still-warm Pork Butt
4. Put in tupperware for tomorrow
 
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