Pork butt temp stalled for 12 hours - help

[daytripper]

Hi all

I realise this is a bit of a panic-post, but my 7lb butt temp has risen just 20deg in 12 hours (currently at 165deg). At this rate, it will be ready 24 hrs late for my family...

I thought 16 hours @225deg would be ample time including stall, but it's been 15 hours now and the meat has still not cracked 170deg. I wrapped it about an hour ago and ramped the oven up to 250 an hour ago, but still no big change.

BGE, BGE lump, woodwater pan, Fireboard temp control.
Help..!

marc

 

[Marknmd]

IMO, if you want to keep your protein temp moving, you want to keep a 75 to 100 degree difference between the meat and the smoker. So you would start out with cooker at 225. Your butt starts out at 40 F. But when the butt gets close to the stall which would be about 150-160, you'd hike the cooker temp to 275 which will push the butt through the stall and towards being done. You can go to 300 if you're running out of time. Wrapping it would speed up the cook as well. Good luck.

 

[culpepersmoke]

Mark has you covered. good luck

 

[gmc2003]

Move your thermometer to a different spot. You may be in a vein of fat.

Chris

 

[daytripper]

thanks guys. I've got two probes so would be unlicky to have them both in fat I think. Nonetheless, will move.

I've actually whacked the thing in the oven - the BGE temp crashed 50deg in 20min and U don't have the time to bring it back up (or find out why...)

V. bad cook. Any thoughts on what could have gone wrong?

 

[TNJAKE]

thanks guys. I've got two probes so would be unlicky to have them both in fat I think. Nonetheless, will move.

I've actually whacked the thing in the oven - the BGE temp crashed 50deg in 20min and U don't have the time to bring it back up (or find out why...)

V. bad cook. Any thoughts on what could have gone wrong?

thirdeye is your guy for BGE questions.

 

[thirdeye]

I thought 16 hours @225deg would be ample time including stall, but it's been 15 hours now and the meat has still not cracked 170deg. I wrapped it about an hour ago and ramped the oven up to 250 an hour ago, but still no big change.

V. bad cook. Any thoughts on what could have gone wrong?

The dome thermometer will not always agree with the grate (or actual cooking) temp. They can easily be off by 25 degrees. So, let's say your finish temp will be around 205°, and you are cooking less than 225°.... this will take a lot of time. So check your dome thermometer for accuracy, then compare a dome temp to a grate temp. That said, I still prefer butts at lower pit temps than say brisket, and 245° to 250 is my preferred pit temp. An 8 pound butt will take me around 16 hours.

I prefer to monitor my pit temp at the grate, and will only take spot checks on my meat temp. Make sure your pit probe is a few inches above or beside the meat and not at the edge of the platesetter.


I really fill up my firebox for long cooks. And I layer in chips or pellets for constant smoke.

 

[daytripper]

Hi all

First: thanks. The '100deg between meat & oven' advice saved the day, allowing me to power through and get food on the table. It might not have been the greatest, but it was good enough to feed 10 people without complaint & only a little late

My temp probe is just above the grate, maybe too close to the platesetter(?).

The temp crash (50deg in 20 min) is a mystery. I hadn't touched the grill for 2 hours. After the cook the firebox was mostly ash, with large unburnt lumps scattered around. Maybe after nearly 20hrs of cooking, the unburnt fuel had become too dispersed to keep heat?

Also - wood pellets on the BGE!? That works? I guess it would give a constant level of heat with no flareups..? Is there a guide on this anywhere?

Thanks again for the great, fast advice.
marc

 

[thirdeye]

Also - wood pellets on the BGE!? That works? I guess it would give a constant level of heat with no flareups..? Is there a guide on this anywhere?

After the cook the firebox was mostly ash, with large unburnt lumps scattered around. Maybe after nearly 20hrs of cooking, the unburnt fuel had become too dispersed to keep heat?

The basic kamado design is about 3,000 years old. And the network of early Eggheads shared tips and tricks online.... then supplemented that information with good old fashioned experience. Here is about the best "guide" you will find. Doug (aka the Naked Whiz) is a good guy and has a lot of ceramic cooking information as well as a charcoal database on his site.
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/tempcontrol.htm

The pellets (or smaller chips) are not really to add heat (although they probably add a little), just to give you gentle smoke for a long period of time. Once the ceramic gets warm, which does help with the pit temp.... the Egg's vents are not open very much so large chunks of flavor wood don't burn as efficiently as smaller pieces. I layer lump, pellets, and some small splits like this, then repeat as I fill up the charcoal basket.

A 20 hour cook often benefits from wiggling the lump with a Wiggle Rod. This simple tool lets you clear ash and improve airflow during a cook. I will wiggle my lump after a couple of hours, trying to enter through 3 or 4 holes. You should see a little fresh smoke exit the top vent. Anytime my fire seems sluggish, I'll wiggle the lump. And on an overnight cook I'll wiggle the lump before taking a nap.

One more tip, look at your cast iron charcoal grate. The holes have a chamfer (bevel) on one side. The bevel needs to be on the underneath side, which is the ash clean-out side NOT on the charcoal side. If the bevel is on the charcoal side, the holes can get blocked with ash easier.