Frustration

[bluesmokeblues]

Long time lurker about to hang up his mop bucket.
5.7 lb butt, in offset Oklahoma Joe, middle position, on at 10:00 am (yes I overslept!) lump coal with logs *210-*230 entire time. Steady progess till 5:00pm and meat topped out at *138 and stuck....5 HOURS! I knew I would plateau but REALLY... Thought my meat thermometer crapped, checked with meat stick. correct temp.
I don't get it... 6 Lb roast for twelve hours and still not done?
I have bought and thrown away every $50-$100 junk smokers over the last 20 yaers and finally bought this offset thinking things would improve.
Now it's wrapped and in the oven and working up the temp ladder.
Should I be concerned about food safety? Do I really want to feed this to my kids?
Maybe I should invest in liquid smoke and a slow cooker!

P.O'd BBQ rant over....

 

[pignit]

Man... don't know what to tell ya. My first thought is..... are you sure your cooking temp is correct? Remember the safety rule of thumb. Meat should not stay between 40 and 140 for more than 4 hours.

If your going by the gauge that came with the unit your probably not getting a correct reading on the grate where the meat is cooking. Sounds like you may be cooking at a lower temp than you think you are.

 

[travcoman45]

A thought, are ya goin by the temp gauge on the smoker er ya usin a digi fer the smoker temp? I never trust a smokers temp gauge, they can be wrong, I always use a digi fer box temp. Maybe yall wasn't cookin as hot as ya thin ya were? Just a thought. I don't have yer smoker, but seems like a possiblity fer yer stress. Don't give up, we will work out a solution fer ya some how er another.

Smokebuzz has one them smokers I thin, ya might PM him an see ifin he got an idear er two fer yall.

 

[mikey]

Sorry to hear it was a real pita, but I think maybe the low smoker temps got ya. 250-260 probably would have been much better. When I have a butt that stalls, and I don't see any temp movement for an hour to an hour and a half, max, I pull it and in the oven it goes. I have also in the past flipped it, sometimes it helps to get it moving in the right direction. The 5 hr wait prior to putting it in the oven didn't help either. 9 hrs and an hour stall time, and it should have been done, imo. Better luck next time.

 

[bmudd14474]

Thats what Im thinking. If your going by the thermo in the smoker that may be your problem. Double check that and see if its off.

 

[bluesmokeblues]

Stock thread guage was replaced last week.
Accutemp meat probe for actual temp...
Dunno...
Funny thing is really nice bark....
Think I will let it go in the oven to *250 and tell the kids I made them JERKY!
I don't think they were really heartbroken about eating Mickey D's for dinner.
Thanks for letting me vent ;^)

 

[pignit]

Those in the lid temp gauges don't give a real reliable temp where the meat is. I would check my temp on the grate with the digital and compare it to what the lid gauge is tellin you. That will give you a much better idea of what your actually cooking temp is.

 

[pinkmeat]

If you had not overslept, the stall would only have been an hour or so.

 

[ddave]

Get another digital probe so you can measure the smoker temp at the grate. Get another pork butt and smoke it but keep the smoker temp between 240° and 260°. Your not going to hurt a pork butt in that smoker temp range.

Do everything else the way you did it before, but don't oversleep.

And don't hang up your mop bucket. It gets better over time. Trust me. I was posting threads that sounded like yours a year ago. Hang in there.

Dave

 

[billbo]

I did two butts friday night/saturday. Both were under 9lbs. One took 13 hrs the other 16. The stalls are long and frustrating. I have learned to plan ahead and allow TONS of extra time. Hang in there!

 

[rickw]

You need to learn this. I always follow this advice, which btw is great advice. I did a 5lber a couple of weeks ago and it took me almost 10 hours.

 

[txbbqman]

Sounds like you've gotten some pretty solid advice so far.

Just don't give up, Smokin is a lot of trial and error....most times it 99% error and 1% trial

Good Luck and Happy Smokes

 

[meat hunter]

I think PignIt found your problem. Either get yourself a digital dual probe like the maverk or drill another hole at grate level. You would be quite surprised at just how much difference there is in temps a few inches apart inside the smoke chamber. I can not see how it is possible that the meat you tried smoking stuck at that temp for that long when you had a high reading on the smoker. It has got to be that the reading, even though were probably correct, they were correct at the wrong area of the smoker. Do not give up, its all in the learning. Besides, in the small print when you signed up for this forum, its states that anyone who is ready to throw in the towel due to frustration, will be hunted down and......well I think you get the idea. Lets hope it doesnt come to that

.


I am getting ready to go on vacation, but when I get back on the 16th, if this problem has not been fixed, get with me and we'll work thru it. Although most likely it will have been resolved by other members on here. Don't give up, the same thing happened to me when starting out but with the help from others here, I am turning out some really good smokes. Feel free to call on me anytime.

Todd