smoker. I put it in a 7 last night and set the smoker for 200 because I was unsure how fast it would go in the new unit. The Butt climed nicely to 156 where it sat there for most of the night from about 1am to 7am. I only opened the door 1 time last night and 1 time at 7am. At 7am I increased the temp to 220. Now at 10:30am the internal temp has only risen to 164. This is about 1* per 1/2 hour. Is this the plateau that you talk about? I thought that was more like 170 or over? I don't want to crank the heat or go too long and dry it out but I'm already pushing 15hrs. Dinner isnt until 6pm but I'm getting nervous that this is going a little south.
The Maverick ET-73 as well as the smoker thermostat are perfectly cal'ed. Any thoughts?
THANKS!

RobG,yes this is normal,& yes this is the plateau that we talk about.at this point if I don't have enough time I will bump the temp up to about 250,& wait it out.be careful cause once it cooks through this plateau & the temp starts to climb it don't take long to get to the desired internal temp of 195-200.hope this helps.

Richard

I agree. Just bump 'er to 250 and ride it out the rest of the way wothout opening the door. Our times range from 1.5- 2 hours a pound here in the forum. Some even go for 2.5 hours. Remember each piece of meat has a "mind" of its own.

When your Mavs read 195 pull, wrap in foil & bath towel, and put in a dry cooler for upto 6 hours, but no less than 30-45 minutes. You want the meat to rest. The internal temp will continue to rise another5- 10 degrees as well.

Rob... You never mentioned how big the butt is. With "typical" butts (6-8 lbs) I average 2 hours/pound at 225-240 degrees. Smaller butts have taken longer per pound. At 200, I think you'd be pushing 2 1/2 hours/pound. As the guys have indicated, kick up the temp. Butts can take it without drying up.

Ron...The Butt is (was) 8lbs. Even with the slow start it looks like it is coming out great. I did take a quick peak. Earlier I went up to 230 and 15min ago I went up to 240. The meat is now at 180 so it looks like I'm gonna make it. The bark is very dark nearing black (but still moist). I'm concerned about burning at 240. I don't want to open the smoker to mop and slow it down. Thanks everyone. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Rob

Rob - Remember, each time you open the door you are adding at least 1/2 hour to your smoke and loosing moisture. If you are using a remote therm, resist the temptation to open the door.

Thanks everyone!
Well I pushed the temp up to 240 and it got up to 195 at 6pm. I pulled it, wrapped it with foil and a towel and let it sit untill 7:45pm. Then I pulled it. It just fell apart, moist and great bark. It took on really nice mellow smoke although I'm gonna work on getting it a little stronger. I tossed it with 3/4 cup of vinegar bbq sauce and got the bark really mixed up. I'm very happy with the results (as were the rest of the family).
Rob

My third time smoking two butts at 225 degrees oven setting, couple of six pounders, hitting the internal temp of 195 degrees at almost exactly 12 hours, give or take 30 minutes. No preheat on the smoker, meat went in cold at 34 degrees internal. They have been resting for an hour and I am going to go pull them now.

Rob, when I,m doing a butt and it hits 180 degrees,I'll rap in foil and throw back in till it gets to 200 Degrees. This still gives you some bark but not so thick and dark.

Mark -- Must be a northern thing! I like a heavy bark & don't mind it being dark. Once you mix it up with the rest of the meat, IMO, it looks beautiful and tastes wonderful!!

I agree with Wheelz on the dark bark. Mine come out looking like a meteorite sometimes. But the bark is the first thing I, and my customers, go for.

Getting hungry just talking about it. I have a load of 10 butts on my FE right now. Ahhh, que for breakfast.