First butt for the 4th on a WSM.

[Rathog23]

I wasn't sure wether to post this in the pork or here but, since my questions have more to do with some technical issues, I though I'd go with this.

I bought a small 3.35 lb butt thinking that it would go much quicker. Apparently, that's not necessarily the case. I decided to smoke on the 3rd so it would be ready on the 4th. Good thing I did so.
I rubbed it the night before thinking that I would start around 10 and and have it done around 4 - 5 pm.
The piggy had other idea. It took 11 hours to reach 190.

I was using an Inkbird 2 probe to monitor temps. Things went pretty stead until around 1:00 when it hit 165 and stayed there for about 3 hours. Then it dropped to 163 for another hour . I was ecstatic when it started moving up again thinking that I was in the home stretch.
Boy, was I wrong. It would rise a bit only to stall again around 172, then 176 etc.

The results were so delicious I would like to go ahead next time and do 2 larger butts but, I'm not yet confident with temperature monitoring and control for an over nighter.

I found myself constantly checking the thermometer and closing the vents if the temp would start going up and opening when they started to drop. Very nerve racking.

At one point I opened the vents thinking to speed up the process at 275-300 but, that seemed to have little effect so I damped it back down.

I had the apparently common thought that the thermometer might be off so, I checked it with the handheld. It and the Inkbird matched up.

So, what advice is there for longer smokes ? What alarm range would you set the thermometer for ?

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Well, if you enjoy beer then get several in a cooler and relax. Pork butt and other large cuts of tough meat take time. The size is not much of a factor sometimes. When I smoke a butt in my offset, they average about 8 pounds. I like to run them unwrapped and it will take 11 or more hours to finish.

You would have been just fine running at 300 for a butt. I try to keep my range between 250 and 300 but I don't worry if it goes over 300. Pork butt is totally forgiving to high temps. I would actually suggest trying to run one at 275 as your perfect temp. You can drop it in a foil pan at around 160 IT. That's pretty average for the stall temp. The pan will capture all of the wonderful juices and will keep the temp hotter. I do however put the butt on a rack or even on top of some aluminum foil balls to keep it out of the juices. Super good!

G

 

[Rathog23]

Decided to try the Carolina red sauce from TVWB. My wife liked it so much that she had it on some chicken quarters that I did a quick hot cook on that evening.
And, she's planning on some fried fish this weekend to try it on that !
That pulled pork was so yummy that we were picking crumbs out of the serving dish :-)

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

You did an awesome job.

 

[Rathog23]

Well, if you enjoy beer then get several in a cooler and relax. Pork butt and other large cuts of tough meat take time. The size is not much of a factor sometimes. When I smoke a butt in my offset, they average about 8 pounds. I like to run them unwrapped and it will take 11 or more hours to finish.

You would have been just fine running at 300 for a butt. I try to keep my range between 250 and 300 but I don't worry if it goes over 300. Pork butt is totally forgiving to high temps. I would actually suggest trying to run one at 275 as your perfect temp. You can drop it in a foil pan at around 160 IT. That's pretty average for the stall temp. The pan will capture all of the wonderful juices and will keep the temp hotter. I do however put the butt on a rack or even on top of some aluminum foil balls to keep it out of the juices. Super good!

G

Thanks for the advice.

Given the time involved I think I would like to start in the evening around 7 or 8 and hope they finish the next morning. I did learn that with a full charcoal ring the WSM will do 12 + hours.
Pork butt is so cheap that I would like to do at least 2 and stock the freezer.

One concern with the higher temps would be how long the coals would last.

 

[Rathog23]

Btw, wood was about 6 small pieces of pecan scattered in the coals.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

For a longer cook or overnight even, fill the water pan with sand then cover it foil.
This adds thermal mass, evens out your temps somewhat, and reduces fuel needs.
Don't worry if the temp runs high.
Pork butts will handle high temps just fine and will decrease your overall cook time.

As for an alarm range for your thermometer, 200 for the low and 325 for the high would be a good starting point.

 

[Rathog23]

For a longer cook or overnight even, fill the water pan with sand then cover it foil.
This adds thermal mass, evens out your temps somewhat, and reduces fuel needs.
Don't worry if the temp runs high.
Pork butts will handle high temps just fine and will decrease your overall cook time.

As for an alarm range for your thermometer, 200 for the low and 325 for the high would be a good starting point.

Thanks.
Much less stressful then the 225 to 250 I was trying to maintain.

Even with the hair pulling and teeth gnashing of this smoke I'm already planning another.

That home smoked butt is just to darn good.

I'd like to do at least 2 8 pounders next time.

How much temp variance during a cook is to be expected versus when to jump out of bed and make an adjustment ?

Part of the issue may be that the WSM was in direct sunlight much of the day. At one point I even shut the top vent down about halfway.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

It's normal to see temp swings in +/- 20 range give or take a few degrees.
What you really want to monitor for is when your temp goes too low which would indicate your fire is dying.

Some folks will set a real tight alarm band and end up chasing alarms.

Since I use an electric smoker, I use 200 degrees for my low alarm so I will be notified if something like a breaker trips, power outage, smoker malfunction, etc.
I set my high alarm limit to match my smokers max temp to notifiy me of a Chernobyl type event like a fire.

Having the smoker sitting in direct sunlight will add some more heat for sure.

Normally, you will want to run with your top vent wide open and control the temp with the bottom vent. The only time I close down my electric's vent by 50% is when I start having constant backdraft caused by too much wind.

 

[Rathog23]

I had actually closed two of the bottom vents and had the 3rd at about the size of a fingernail clipping and the temp was still climbing.

As a newby, I probably over reacted to the slight temp climb .

I wasn't so much chasing alarms as looking at the remote display every 30 seconds to check the temp :-) .

I did some quick chicken quarters yesterday and used one chimney of briquets with everything wide open and the IT hit 175 in about 80 minutes. The smoker temp never went over about 305 so, I doubt that the WSM would hit anything dangerous for a pork butt.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

From the sounds of it you're getting right in the swing with your WSM.

 

[Rathog23]

From the sounds of it you're getting right in the swing with your WSM.

Thought I was done for the day but the Mrs said she had a taste for more BBQ.

Also, after the 11 hour butt, 6-7 hours for ribs will be a piece of cake.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

We should have forewarned you.
Smoking and smoked meats are habit forming.

Yep, 6-7 hours for ribs will be a walk in the park.

 

[Rathog23]

We should have forewarned you.
Smoking and smoked meats are habit forming.

Yep, 6-7 hours for ribs will be a walk in the park.

I've had worse habits ;-)

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I've had worse habits ;-)

I hear ya.

 

[gmc2003]

Rathog, after a few smokes you'll find out at what temp your WSM likes to settle in at. My 22 is around 250*. I don't do overnighters because I worry about the creatures of the night(both two legged and four), but I can usually get around 8 to ten hours before I start seeing a noticeable drop in temps. To the point where I have to tap the ash down and rearrange the charcoal. Your temp rising could have been caused by a chunk of wood catching on fire. .

Chirs

 

[Rathog23]

Rathog, after a few smokes you'll find out at what temp your WSM likes to settle in at. My 22 is around 250*. I don't do overnighters because I worry about the creatures of the night(both two legged and four), but I can usually get around 8 to ten hours before I start seeing a noticeable drop in temps. To the point where I have to tap the ash down and rearrange the charcoal. Your temp rising could have been caused by a chunk of wood catching on fire. .

Chirs

A few times it seemed like it settled in around 235 then start rising. Could be the wood catching that you point out.
Part of the learning curve is not being a Nervous Nellie over minor temperature changes and knowing when to just leave the darn thing alone.
Interesting observation about night time varmints of whatever species.
My concern about overnighters is that I would just be too agitated to sleep but, with many reports of 18+ hour smokes it may be the best option.
Maybe I should have stuck with spatchcock chicken :-)