Pork butt panic

palladini · Feb 11, 2014

Pork Dork said:
Garry and all the other butt smokers,

It turned out great. I just wish I would have gotten more than 3 one hour naps. I'm going to get the larger SS vegi tray for the coals and felt to seal up the doors but it just about used a 20 lb bag of mesquite chunk coal.

I just wish that there was more modifications to make to my Brinkmann 2 door that would let me get more sleep than one hour at a time. Seriously, I had to start a fresh basket of coal and it would take about 15 minutes to catch so I could dump it in. Does anyone know how I can accomplish what I'm looking for? Is there some kind of auto feed I can attach that's not going to break the bank so I can get some decent shut eye?

Here's a crazy idea because I'm not ready to let go of moist heat just yet. I get that water boils at 212F and that keeps the temp down but what if I used my large capacity bowl just one or two times and then let it stay dry to keep the temp up? Yes No Maybe beginning middle or end?

Pork butt 2-8-14 006.jpg

pork dork

Feb 11, 2014

This is the leftovers from a 13.4 LB Butt. I wish I would have gotten a weight after it was done but on 3 hours sleep I just forgot. So using the 40% loss theory I had 8.4 LBs The party was a hit and as punchy as I was we all had a great time. I'm going to do this more often if I can get more sleep. Please see above to give advice as to how I can achieve this goal.

Pork butt 2-8-14 007.jpg

pork dork

Feb 11, 2014

Buy an electric smoker, that way you can sleep for as long as you want, no need to babysit it.

pork dork · Feb 11, 2014

Palladini said:
Buy an electric smoker, that way you can sleep for as long as you want, no need to babysit it.

Thanks for the advice but being it has tripped my BS meter I will be giving it all the attention it deserves and consider it a well meaning pun.

pork dork · Feb 11, 2014

cliffcarter said:
The answer to your first question is easy, stop cooking your butts low and slow. You cut your 13+ pound butt into 2 roughly equal pieces, say 6.5 pounds each.

If you cook them at 300°-320° you would be done in roughly 6.5 hours(perhaps even less than that). With a one hour rest and an extra hour added leeway, you could have put them on at 9:30AM and been done in plenty of time to serve at 6PM. With the added bonus of a good nights sleep.

Your water problem is one of volume, you are adding way too much for what you want to accomplish. I use a 13"X9" drip pan with 1" -1 1/2" of 200°+ water directly under my butts. I do not add any more water during the cook, it is not necessary.

Cliff,

Next time I smoke I'm going to have it pretty much dialed in with my mods. I'm going to take your advice and only use about 2-3 cups hot water. The Butt was already d boned & cut in two. I'm going to make an extruded metal square cage for the coals so I can do the labyrinth to add time between coal tending and I will add insulating felt to seal the doors. I'll use an internal probe that hangs out the side threw the vent so I don't loose any heat peeking.

Hopefully I can get it dialed in to get to the 300F 320F you recommended.

Any advice on how wide I should make my labyrinth? I could use 1 brick system or 2 bricks just like here. Should I insulate the whole thing with 1/2" concrete sheet or just the top or only the doors with felt?

IMG_0226.jpg

timleo
Sep 3, 2010

I thought I saw somewhere in another thread that someone was using a potato with the probe in it. Am I correct or is this a "Jeff" approved technique or was that just a sleep deprived hallucination?

cliffcarter · Feb 12, 2014

I have used the potato with the temp probe stuck thru it in the past, it works well.

I think I would start with one brick. I also would use a high quality briquette, such as Stubbs, in the basket rather than mostly lump charcoal. Leave one end open for about 1/2 chimney of fully lit coals, I like to use lump for this because it burns hotter and the briquettes start better.

Wait a minute, I see that you have a 22" Weber kettle, that is what I cook all my butts on, why not use it instead? I know you will have a much easier time achieving and maintaining your desired cooking temps.

This is my set up for long cooks on the kettle, the open spot to the left of the foil pan is where I place the lit coals-

Easter PP (1).JPG

cliffcarter
Feb 13, 2012

pork dork · Feb 13, 2014

Today I got 8' of felt for the doors, some expanded metal to make an improved coal pan and a grinding blade to cut the metal. It's going to be square and I'll post pics as it takes form. $25 for the felt, $10 for the expanded metal and $4 for the blade. Now lets get to modifying for under $30.

Best thing to do with $29. and a little elbow grease is modify the smoker.

Pork butt 2-8-14 009.jpg

pork dork
Feb 13, 2014

urbotrimmm · Feb 13, 2014

I hate to admit this but......I have the same smoker only a propane model. It's what I learned to smoke on. Then you can sleep. The walls are so thin, even a propane model only heats to around 225. your other problem is the water. As others have pointed out, it drags your temps down on an already stressed system. Your butts looked good. You just have to knuckle down and accept the fact that smoking at night leaves little room for sleep. Even when my big wood burners are going all out, the most they are left unattended is 90 minutes. The extra little love is worth every deprived moment. Awesome food. Good luck on your future smokes, you are off to a great start.

pork dork · Apr 6, 2014

urbotrimmm said:
I hate to admit this but......I have the same smoker only a propane model. It's what I learned to smoke on. Then you can sleep. The walls are so thin, even a propane model only heats to around 225. your other problem is the water. As others have pointed out, it drags your temps down on an already stressed system. Your butts looked good. You just have to knuckle down and accept the fact that smoking at night leaves little room for sleep. Even when my big wood burners are going all out, the most they are left unattended is 90 minutes. The extra little love is worth every deprived moment. Awesome food. Good luck on your future smokes, you are off to a great start.

Right now I have a wood plellet fed hopper on my ECB 2 door vertical as a short range plan. (see my thread below) My long range plan is to put the pellet hopper and a cold smoke generator on to a thick Stainless steel UDS that I will build with 3 big doors between the ribs for tensile strenth on the barrel for access to what's inside without having to go from the top down to get access to all that's under the top grate.

Tell me honestly is my long range goal biting off more than I can chew or does it sound good and do-able?

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...and-smoke-generator-on-my-ecb-2-door-vertical

Eric"Pork Dork" Jorgensen

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