Weather Difficulies!?

[benderz85]

Hello,

I have purchased two 8-lb boston butts for a BBQ on Sunday.

My plan is to wake at 5:00am...grab a coffee...and start a fire at 5:30am.

Hopefully, I can have the meat on the grill for 6:00am to serve dinner roughly at 6:00pm (going by the 1-1/2 hour per pound direction).

Now, I am aware that it is the temp. that dictates the readiness...and not the time. I will aim for 225-240 degrees for 12 hours though.

UNFORTUNATELY, the weather forecast for Sunday is terrible. Thundershowers all day! However, I remain optimistic that the weatherman is wrong.

In the event that the weather man is not wrong...what are my options? I don't want 25 disappointed people...let alone waste two perfectly good slabs of meat!

Thanks for any and all feedback,

Brad

 

[bomftdrum]

I had to rig up an umbrella a few times.

 

[jarjarchef]

I would get as much smoke on it as you can. If it is a drizzle do the umbrella thing. If it turns real bad I would finish them in the oven. If you do the wrap method your not getting any smoke on the meat any ways.

Just my $.02.....

 

[benderz85]

I certainly don't mind getting a little damp! My concern is a full out storm?

After posting...I had a look around the site? If plan A fails...is plan B to substitute oven for que (sans smoke)?

 

[benderz85]

Who knows!? By tomorrow...the weather could be sunshine and cloudy periods ;) Smoke away!

 

[bomftdrum]

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[pigman jim]

Brad,

I can sympathize with you. We just had a pig roast last weekend. Once you start a pig cooking 20 hours in advance, with 100 people invited, there is no turning back-- rain or shine! And as luck would have it, we got a major downpour just as everyone was sitting down to eat. Here's how we coped before and during...

We got a couple of 12 ft tents from a discount shop (Ocean State around here) for around $100 each for folks to sit under to protect from sun or rain. We got a smaller 10 ft tent to cover the pig while I carved it. We made as much room inside as we could for folks if needed. The rain dropped our attendance to about half (yum... a freezer full of smoked pig!!). We managed to serve everyone before the rain came. People gathered in small groups wherever there was shelter and ate and visited.

In spite of the heavy rain, everyone was in great spirits and enjoyed themselves.

So this info may not be of use to you but if not too late, you can either buy, borrow, or rent tents. Do the best you can to make all guests feel ok about the change of weather. And you may find, like we did, that people make best of the situation and most will actually feel it is a very memorable event. Don't let a few hundred gallons of water dumped on you ruin a perfectly good party!

You probably don't need this tip but for anyone in a similar situation, we have some old scaffolding in our basement. One section of it with an old scrap piece of plywood over the top, made a great shield for our fire pit where we cooked our hardwood down to coals. It is much better than a flammable tent as the rain on top of the plywood kept it wet enough to not worry about it burning.
 

Best of luck!

Jim

 

[chef jimmyj]

Brad, I have smoked several Butts now at 225-240*F and I can tell you...1.5Hr/Lb...Is not enough. Every single one went 2 hours per Lb and sometimes longer. At the temp you are planning I highly doubt 12 hours for 8Lb of meat is going to be enough. I don't know what kind of smoker you have but if a single thing goes wrong you will not have anything but Side Dishes to serve 25 guests! At a minimum plan on 2hrs/Lb plus a 2 Hr Pad/Rest. If done early you can wrap and stick the meat in a cooler until all else is ready and enjoy the company. As far as Bad Weather goes, smoke the Pork for as long as possible and then go into a 250*F, or higher if short on time, oven to finish cooking to 205*F then rest at least 30 minutes and pull it...Good Luck...JJ

 

[jrod62]

I'm with JJ, 12 hours might not be enough if your smoking at 225 to 240.  Might be closer to 16 hours at 225 for a 8lbs butt.

my last one that I got done in 12 hours I smoke it at 275+.

if you can get 6 hours of smoke on it before the weather get to bad you can wrap it and stick it in the oven to finish it.

me, if I had a deadline to eat by 6PM I would have it on the smoker at 3AM. ( wife thinks I'm nuts when I start the smoker at 4AM)

If i make it to the store tonight to get some butts , Sunday I plan on smoking them at 350 !!! should be done in 5 hours.

will see how that works out for me. 

good luck Sunday on the butts. let us know how it turns out.

Do you keep a log of the smoke. It help a lot when I started smoking . here a link to the one I use.

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/attachments/3

 

[benderz85]

I wish I saw these before I started this morning! I am off and running...I started at 6am at 225 degrees.

What is the best way to ensure my guests eat at 6pm? Perhaps I can smoke until noon and throw in the oven? What temp? 300?

Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[chef jimmyj]

You can get your Smoker to run Hotter...250-275*F or Smoke as is for 4-6 hours and then put the meat in a pan with some liquid, Apple juice, Beer, Chicken/Beef Broth, cover with foil and Roast at 300*F until the IT hits 205*F. Remove the meat from the pan and double wrap in foil and towels and place everything in a cooler until you are ready to eat. It will stay plenty hot for up to 5 hours or so. Defat the Pan Juices by skimming to remove the bulk of fat then quickly drag strips of paper towel through to remove the last bit. Put the Pan Juices into the meat with your Finishing Sauce for some great Pulled Pork. Here is a Finishing Sauce you may like...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/122319/jjs-finishing-sauce-awesome

 

[benderz85]

Thanks Chef! I already have the butts in a pan. I rubbed 'em in Jeff's recipe yesterday...kept them in the fridge overnight. I started 225 degrees at 5:45am. I am trying to get the temp up, but I can't get it over 240 degrees. Are you saying that if I smoke it for 6 hours, cover in tin foil, and put in the oven at 300 degrees, I can have  it ready by 6pm? Thanks for the recipe to the finishing sauce! I made Jeff's sauce as well, but I will mix in the finishing sauce and have the BBQ sauce for my guests on the side then.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I think if you keep the Smoker temp up for 6 hours and follow with Oven time you should be fine if not early. If the weather gets bad go in the Oven early. That combination of Sauces should work well...JJ

 

[benderz85]

Thanks again Chef! Am I able to replace the granulated garlic and onion with garlic and onion powder?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Sure, either will work...You are welcome, glad to help...JJ

 

[benderz85]

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