Looooooong butt

[steevieg]

This weekend I had my strangest smoke yet. I put an 8.54 pound butt on my WSM at 10 pm Saturday night with the intention of a cook finishing not much later than 16 hours later at 2pm Sunday (2hrs per pound tops...). Roughly 10am the temp hit 162 with the grate temp hovering between 215 & 230 throughout the night and early morning. And stopped. The beloved plateau. Well, this plateau actually dropped down to 157 and stayed there. And stayed there. Didn't feel like moving until about 6 pm after being foiled for an hour with a little applejuice.... 8 hours.

Anyone ever encounter a plateau like this? I have a Maverick ET-73 that has passed the boiling water test with both probes just before this cook and just after.

Finally started moving and hit 200 a little after 9pm. 23 hours.

Haven't had any yet. Fell asleep waiting for the double foiled butt to rest and put it in the refrigerator at 2:30 when Iwoke up. I have reheated it in double HD foil with more AJ at 285 back up to 202 and am letting it rest now.

Will it still be good to pull after all this? I tend to think it will be very tender even now....but I know what people say about me when I think.....................

 

[mossymo]

SteevieG
About a month ago I did 4 butts, the 2 larger ones went 27 hours (not a typo)..... It is called patience (which I didn't have). After they were foiled I switch them to the oven and went to bed, with an alarmed thermometer in the butts. It is a great reminder that each and every hunk of meat is different; that and the temperauture outside, the wind, etc. will change every smoke. But even at 27 hours, they were great.....

 

[flash]

9 hours my longest, 7 hours my shortest.

 

[wavector]

I've had several smokes just like that one. My first smoke I gave up during tha plateau. It's not uncommon for me to encounter smokes like the one you described. Plenty of coffee, snacks, tv, computer and music all help. Just don't look.

 

[fatback joe]

I never have, but I run more around 250 for a grate temp. 10 -11 hours is a slow one for me. Average is probably around 8.

 

[zapper]

I regret to admit that at about hour 20 I would be cutting into that butt to see what was happening and be making smaller peices out of it. If it were ten or bigger I might tough it out and wait the duration.


Just curious, was it ever frozen? How do the temps in your fridge run? Eight and a half pounds is by no means a "small" butt, but not what I would call a big butt either. Seems like a looooong time. I would have gone nutz, not to mention gone hungry! The things we do for great food!

 

[blacklab]

Wow 23 hrs good thing you wern't cooking for an ocassion. 16hrs is my longest 14 is the shortest wit a cooking temp 250.

 

[superdave]

Sounds like a lot of wasted time in the smoker. Why didn't you go oven after the "smoke" work was done?

 

[husker-q]

Not nearly as big as yours - but here is my temp graph from this weekends smoke!

 

[vegansbeware]

I actually had this happen to me this last weekend too. I was smoking a Beef Loin Tenderloin, which was only about 3#s. My target temp was around 160 for Med. I hit 130 and plateau for about an hour and a half. Then, The temp started rising and hit 147, I based it, checked the fire, and went back to my movie. Checket it again after about 1-1/2 hours and the temp DROPPED! It gone back to 135! I checked everything, the fire, my foil wind stops, everything! I folded and finished it in the oven. Has any of you had this happen? I read all about "plateau", but never heard of the elusive cliff on the other side of it!

 

[bryon]

I have had the plateau problem before and most of the time I turn the temp up untill the meat starts to heat up. The juiciest and most tender butt that I have done.