Hey all, new member here. I just posted my general information in the Roll Call section, but I really joined to ask a few questions (I'm sure this is a first for you guys!). As the thread title suggests, I am planning to smoke my first butt tomorrow and I have a few questions, but first I guess I should give a bit of background info so I get the right level of help/advice:
I consider myself a novice smoker. I've smoked about half a dozen racks of ribs and some chicken and a turkey breast and they've generally been really good but this is my first venture into pulled pork/butt. I do all of my smoking on a Weber kettle grill (NOT smoker). I have some mesquite chunks and applewood chips that I'll use for smoke, and I'll be using Earth's Finest all natural hardwood briquettes for fuel. I know that using the Weber grill is not ideal for smoking, but I have learned to control the temps with a bit of TLC for 6+ hour rib smokes...
For the picnic, I will be smoking a 6.80 lb boston butt. We want to eat between 5 and 6 in the evening, and we have family coming in from out of town that will have to drive home after dinner so it is important that we not run hours late... I am planning to get up around 4:30 to start the coals and rub the pork, with the goal of getting it on the heat around 5:30. I am prepared to wrap with foil when it hits 160-170 if I get a stall, but if it doesn't stall I'll leave it unwrapped...
So, my questions are two-fold:
1. When smoking ribs I usually have a pan of water and either beer or apple cider to add steam and keep them moist during the smoke, but I've found that this also helps to insulate and regulate the temperature in the grill. I have not seen anyone suggesting to add a pan of water with a butt - is there a specific reason for this? What about if I would cover the pan of water with foil to attempt to seal in the steam as much as possible but still get the insulating effect? Would that work, or am I really better off just skipping the water and paying closer attention to the grill throughout the day?
2. If I hit a stall, how quickly can/should I expect the temp to start to rise again after I wrap it up? If I am going to wrap, is there any kind of rule of thumb or general idea as to how long after wrapping it should take to get up to the 190 degree range? I'm kind of thinking that it'd be nice to delay wrapping if possible, but like I said earlier I really can't run late with this smoke...
Thanks all!
I consider myself a novice smoker. I've smoked about half a dozen racks of ribs and some chicken and a turkey breast and they've generally been really good but this is my first venture into pulled pork/butt. I do all of my smoking on a Weber kettle grill (NOT smoker). I have some mesquite chunks and applewood chips that I'll use for smoke, and I'll be using Earth's Finest all natural hardwood briquettes for fuel. I know that using the Weber grill is not ideal for smoking, but I have learned to control the temps with a bit of TLC for 6+ hour rib smokes...
For the picnic, I will be smoking a 6.80 lb boston butt. We want to eat between 5 and 6 in the evening, and we have family coming in from out of town that will have to drive home after dinner so it is important that we not run hours late... I am planning to get up around 4:30 to start the coals and rub the pork, with the goal of getting it on the heat around 5:30. I am prepared to wrap with foil when it hits 160-170 if I get a stall, but if it doesn't stall I'll leave it unwrapped...
So, my questions are two-fold:
1. When smoking ribs I usually have a pan of water and either beer or apple cider to add steam and keep them moist during the smoke, but I've found that this also helps to insulate and regulate the temperature in the grill. I have not seen anyone suggesting to add a pan of water with a butt - is there a specific reason for this? What about if I would cover the pan of water with foil to attempt to seal in the steam as much as possible but still get the insulating effect? Would that work, or am I really better off just skipping the water and paying closer attention to the grill throughout the day?
2. If I hit a stall, how quickly can/should I expect the temp to start to rise again after I wrap it up? If I am going to wrap, is there any kind of rule of thumb or general idea as to how long after wrapping it should take to get up to the 190 degree range? I'm kind of thinking that it'd be nice to delay wrapping if possible, but like I said earlier I really can't run late with this smoke...
Thanks all!