Another butt...first attempt in new WSM...

[ngasmokehead]

Hey folks, 

Doing a 8.5 lb shoulder today in the WSM and this is my first attempt in this new cooker. I have a concern/question...The butt's been on for a little over 2 hours and 15 mins now, and the internal temp of the shoulder is already at 133 degrees....is this normal?  

My temps have been pretty steady around 250ish, with a range of about 220-270. The high in my range is beginner error, as I allowed the cooker to get too high at first before putting the meat on the cooker and trying to battle it back down. 

It is raining here and very humid, but we are under my back deck and covered and dry, so other than possibly the humidity affecting the overall cook, no issues there. 

Using cherry and hickory for wood smoke...plain ol' Kingsford for fuel...Qview to follow. Thanks in advance. 

 

[ngasmokehead]

Okay, no bites...well, appears to have really leveled off and the meat is now at 163 and it's almost 3pm...so it seems it just climbed quickly initially..no worries. 

 

[jirodriguez]

Your doing good. The meat will generally come up to 140'ish fairly quick, but usually you hit the "platue" around 160'ish, that can last anywhere from 3 to 6 hours on average depending on the piece of meat. Best thing to do is keep the smoker running between 225° and 250° (remember since your WSM is new it is going to want to run a tad on the hot side).

Also... I know it is hard, but don't peek! A pork butt does not need any mopping or anything, just let it do it's thing, low and slow. You can foil at 165° if you want, or leave it unfoiled, and take it to 200°+ for a nice pulled pork.

 

[dewetha]

looking forward to money shots! 

i'm doing my first Butt today also. my temps have been around 260. i'm looking at about 10 hrs total as i have 4 degrees to go.

 

[ngasmokehead]

thanks, JIRodriguez...we are now at 172 (it's actually dropped a degree) so I am officially in the stall. I've done so many butts recently on the GOSM that didn't stall at all and were done in 8-10 hrs...i am now at 10 hrs on and in the middle of the stall...

sorry i haven't posted qview yet - i have not wanted to look, and foiled just a little while ago because the bark was finally set and i want to hopefully speed the process up a bit...we'll see if it works...no biggie if it doesn't, we have plenty else to eat. 

will post qview once i get it done and unwrapped. 

 

[jirodriguez]

Once you figure out where to set your lower vents using the WSM will be a breeze... I usually find 2 full closed and the 3rd half open will run right about 250°, but each smoker is a tad different.

 

[deucepgh]

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing the results.