Should it take 11.5 HOURS to smoke beef cheeks (long-ish post)?

[SherryT]

So I grabbed a pack of beef cheeks at Sam's the other day, watched a bunch of videos, trimmed them up, and smoked two pieces yesterday...basic brisket rub, PB tabletop set at 250F, pecan pellets, placed meat on a rack in a foil pan w/no liquid in pan (to catch any grease/juice...still unsure of best way to minimize a mess in this grill with its curved deflector), inserted a probe into each piece, and closed the lid.

Started at 2:15PM.
6 hours in - it was only in the high 140s, so I re-arranged the probes and carried on.
9 hours in - high 150s...decided to increase the temp to 300F.
11.5 hours in - FINALLY got probe-tender and the IT was 209/210F. Rested a few minutes, placed in styrofoam cooler and called it a night.

I watched a LOT of vids..."most" suggested cooking at 275F, but as this PB goes from 250 - 300F, I opted to start at 250F. "Most" also said to let them get to about 165F and then wrap and they'd probe tender at that temp within 5 - 6 hours, but as stated above, at 9 hours they were still in the 150s.

My thermometers are within a degree-or-so of accurate when testing in both ice and boiling water.
After burn off, the first thing I did was to check the temps at the grate level and it bounced +/- 2 - 4 deg of the set temp of the grill consistently (I was actually quite impressed by that!).

Now, I COMPLETELY understand that a cut of meat takes as long as it's going to take and no two smokes are the same, but I'm wondering if putting the meat on a rack and then into a foil pan can "interfere" somehow? I mean, NOWHERE did I find ANY info/vid that said it would take 11.5 hours at any temp above 225F.

In any event, they're re-heating in a SV bath and I'm about to go boil a potato or two for mashed potatoes.

 

[SmokinEdge]

It’s the nature of bbq. That said, meat volume to pit volume is a thing. So it’s relative in that if I’m smoking a small-ish meat piece on a 36” offset and I give times and temp, it will be different in a smaller cooker. Mostly longer with low temps. This is because the meat piece is itself a heat sink and drinks up the available heat. In a small cooker you see the effects more than a large cooker. However, if you load a large cooker with a lot of meat you will see the same effect, longer cook times. It’s just a guess. That said, with larger pieces or more of them, I would run 275-300 in that small cooker. You need more horsepower basically.

 

[Fueling Around]

I learned in a pooper to not foil pan until IT is around 140°.
It doesn't start releasing much juice until it gets good and warmed.

 

[SherryT]

It’s the nature of bbq. That said, meat volume to pit volume is a thing. So it’s relative in that if I’m smoking a small-ish meat piece on a 36” offset and I give times and temp, it will be different in a smaller cooker. Mostly longer with low temps. This is because the meat piece is itself a heat sink and drinks up the available heat. In a small cooker you see the effects more than a large cooker. However, if you load a large cooker with a lot of meat you will see the same effect, longer cook times. It’s just a guess. That said, with larger pieces or more of them, I would run 275-300 in that small cooker. You need more horsepower basically.

Well, thinking of it terms of horsepower makes sense!

 

[JLinza]

I noticed when using a foil pan, that they seem to heat quickly but cool or lose heat even quicker. The heat disapates into the surrounding air. That's why they are never as hot as you think they should be. Not sure if that's was the problem. But I also think What Eric SmokinEdge said above makes alot of sence.