Overnight PP

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Started off earlier in the day with seasoning, Adobe AP then some Memphis rub, and let it sit in the fridge from the morning until about 7PM.

Then started my wsm for a long burn. Filled the charcoal ring about 2 inches past the ring. Put in one chunk of hickory and three chunks of apple. No water in pan as I have changed from wet to dry smoke a while ago. This time I wanted to see how the bottom rack compares to the top rack in temps. This is for a future smoke where I plan on loading up the wsm. I have the original water pan in place but then I put in a water pan from a smoker I built which is as wide as the original but half the depth. So I put it in as an air gap so my drippings dont burn up. Fits perfectly where it doesnt touch the grill grate at all when assembled. This is the first time I used it so let's see if it works.

This is the pork shoulder right before I put it in the smoker. Put some finely minced garlic on top just because I guess.

 

[old sarge]

Happy smoking!

 

[thirdeye]

I still do the long pork butt smokes too, very low pit temps for 14 to 16 hours, and the flavor and texture is so good.
By "dry pan" in your WSM are you using sand or just an empty pan?

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

I still do the long pork butt smokes too, very low pit temps for 14 to 16 hours, and the flavor and texture is so good.
By "dry pan" in your WSM are you using sand or just an empty pan?

Empty pan. But I have another pan inside of the original pan. The flange in that pan is the same outside diameter of the original wsm pan so it sits on top and only goes down to about half the depth of the original pan. So in essence it is creating an air gap between both pans. Using it as insulation to see if the drippings dont burn.

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Ok so my overnight cook didnt go as planned. After I set the vents on the wsm everything was sailing fine for the first 3 hours then I woke up for a low temp alarm I set for 205. So I go out and open the vents some and stay up until temps start to rise to 217. I figured that is fine since I'm going to bed and want the low temp to avoid cooking too fast. Then as soon as i fall asleep i get a high temp alarm at around 245. Go outside and the wind is just howling. So I close the vents a little and make a wind shield by turning over the patio table. Also noticed the pork reached 150 and it was like 2 am. I was going to wrap it but then it would have finished too soon for me so I let it go. Damn alarm sounds off for another low temp around 4am. I open the door and the charcoal is just about shut off. So I stirred the coals and it goes back up to around 230. At this point I just stay up and watch the snow begin to fall. Ended up getting 3.5 inches by the time 9am rolled around. The wsm stayed consistent but temps were spiking up and down with the wind. Pp took just about 16 hours and I had to add about 20 briquettes to finish the cook. Now it probably was done sooner but the probe stayed on 198 for like the last 3 hours straight. Went to probe it with an instant and it was butter everywhere but where the initial probe was. It had a light resistance so I wiggled the bone and it was free. So I pulled it and wrapped in foil, towel then to the cooler to rest for a couple of hours. It came out with good flavor by way too mushy. It was still good though. This is the first time I have issues smoking over night.

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Forgot the pics.

Also the water pan on top of the original wsm water pan didn't work like hoped. Drippings still burned so no big deal I will continue to run with an empty original pan.

 

[thirdeye]

I live in the snow belt at 5400' elevation, so in the fall and winter I pick my smokers carefully to avoid temperature swings from cold or worse... the wind. I have two BGE's and they are my go-to winter smokers, and I've done all night cooks at -25°F, but once all that ceramic mass heats up, the Eggs run just like they would on July 4th. I get better flavor from my drums or my Mini WSM, so I treat them as a 3 season cooker.

At 3 am, your oven is a good option to straighten a cook out. We've all done it. On the bright side, the moistness factor of your pork looks fine, I wonder if you deconstructed it to much and it got mushy? I tend to sort out the meat from the major muscle groups first, the last thing on my cutting board is the bone, which I use for reference. And when I incorporate the meat from the different groups, I sort of let them tell me how far it should be shredded or chunked. Here is a good example of keeping pulled pork on the chunkier side of things.

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

I live in the snow belt at 5400' elevation, so in the fall and winter I pick my smokers carefully to avoid temperature swings from cold or worse... the wind. I have two BGE's and they are my go-to winter smokers, and I've done all night cooks at -25°F, but once all that ceramic mass heats up, the Eggs run just like they would on July 4th. I get better flavor from my drums or my Mini WSM, so I treat them as a 3 season cooker.

At 3 am, your oven is a good option to straighten a cook out. We've all done it. On the bright side, the moistness factor of your pork looks fine, I wonder if you deconstructed it to much and it got mushy? I tend to sort out the meat from the major muscle groups first, the last thing on my cutting board is the bone, which I use for reference. And when I incorporate the meat from the different groups, I sort of let them tell me how far it should be shredded or chunked. Here is a good example of keeping pulled pork on the chunkier side of things.
View attachment 440916

It was super moist and not dried out at all. Most of the outside facing meat was very mushy though. It had basically decenagrated when I tried to remove it from the foil. Flavor was great though and the family loved it. Had only about 5 pounds left over which I I vacuum sealed into 1 pound packages for another day.

I never once spritz or opened the lid until right before I probed at the end. So once I put it on it stayed there for over 15 hours. Had no issue with moisture at all and I didnt us no water pan either. So spritzing and water in the pan has no effect on the moisture content of the finished meat. At least in this cook granted it's a pork butt with alot of intramuscular fat.

Yeah you have me interested in a BGE ceramic cooker now. Told the wife I just need one more grill and that's it. She gave me the look!!!

 

[Blues1]

Glad it worked out for you and your alarms work. Looks good!

 

[jcam222]

Glad it came out ok, that pulled pork shot looks amazing! It’s been awhile since I’ve done any. Think that will change soon. For your weather and 4 season temp stability you might also consider a charcoal cabinet smoker with 1” insulation. They will hold temp in any weather. They are excellent options as long as you don’t want it to double as a grill too.

 

[sandyut]

YUM!

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Glad it came out ok, that pulled pork shot looks amazing! It’s been awhile since I’ve done any. Think that will change soon. For your weather and 4 season temp stability you might also consider a charcoal cabinet smoker with 1” insulation. They will hold temp in any weather. They are excellent options as long as you don’t want it to double as a grill too.

I dont know anything about a cabinet smoker. Which one should I look for?

 

[jcam222]

I dont know anything about a cabinet smoker. Which one should I look for?

Really depends on budget. A large BGE runs about $899 and XL $1250. Is that your general budget range?

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Really depends on budget. A large BGE runs about $899 and XL $1250. Is that your general budget range?

Yeah that's what I'm gearing for

 

[Mastercaster]

looks outstanding!

 

[jcam222]

Yeah that's what I'm gearing for

Check out Backwoods Chubby or G2 Chubby. Both solid cabinets with 1” insulation. Burnt charcoal ( most use lump) and first size chunk of wood or two for smoke. Keep an eye on Facebook groups nd you might grab a used Humphreys too. I have a 270 cabinet but it’s a higher price point. I bought it used and saved 50%. Overall cabinets with 1” of insulation are awesome at holding a temp regardless of weather. https://shop.backwoods-smoker.com/collections/frontpage

 

[ososmokeshack]

Yeah that's what I'm gearing for

With that price you’ll still have to get all the accessories for the egg including the stand. Add another couple hundred before you’re done.

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Check out Backwoods Chubby or G2 Chubby. Both solid cabinets with 1” insulation. Burnt charcoal ( most use lump) and first size chunk of wood or two for smoke. Keep an eye on Facebook groups nd you might grab a used Humphreys too. I have a 270 cabinet but it’s a higher price point. I bought it used and saved 50%. Overall cabinets with 1” of insulation are awesome at holding a temp regardless of weather. https://shop.backwoods-smoker.com/collections/frontpage

The chubby is perfect for me! Thinking of ordering it for my birthday next month!

 

[jcam222]

The chubby is perfect for me! Thinking of ordering it for my birthday next month!

Definitely do you research but seems like a solid unit to me for the price.