1st Smoke attempt

Have you tested your probe to know it's giving a good temp?

Do you know what temp the internal smoker is?

I'd use the remote probe to verify that the AVERAGE temp is around 225.

The internal temp is 217. Should I be concerned with the temp at this point in the cooking time?

Hey kogolf I smoked a turky in my 009 that I just got, I had the temp at 250 for 9hrs and only got 164 out of it , it was about 20 out side. finish it in the oven and it turned out great!! I was going to talk to cookshack.to see what temp it should it run at. It a nice smoker for it size

I'm at the 9 hour mark and the internal temp of the pork butt is only 170. This seems to be a long time for a 3.75 lb. pork butt

It is not neccessarily a long time. Alot of factors involved. Sounds like a really small butt. I am not sure it is a whole pork butt, maybe boneless. There is a point at which the meat temp will slow down, maybe stop rising, even go down some. It is called the plateau. Remember, it is done when it is done, to whatever temp you decide. 195* is great for pork butt, but you might like 185* or 205* better. Your therm probe lcd should read 32* in ice water and 212* in boiling water. Test it. then test your smoker by turning up full blast when empty and dangle the probe down the smoke hole on top without it touching anything. Write down the temp every 15 minutes after an hour warmup. It should average 250*. If you get 245* or more, count yourself lucky. If you get less than that, call CookShack customer service.

Did I miss anything?

Keep in mind that the purpose of low and slow cooking is to render fat and break down collagen[the tuff stuff] without steaming out all the moisture.

The meat to be worked on is still the meat and weight/temp/time may not be linear for "the process".

Thus you could fry a 1/2 inch thick crosscut slice of pork butt in a hot skillet at 400* for a couple minutes on each side and it will be done and above your target temp.

I'd sure hate to try to "pull" that piece of pork or eat the "rendered" fat.

Tom, I am not really sure what you are trying to say in your post. Here is the end result of my 1st smoke. I pulled the butt out at 193. It took the unit 13 hours and 15 minutes to get to that internal temp. After the smoke I calibrated my thermometer in both boiling water and ice. It was good at both ends. I think for a 3.75 lb bone in pork butt, that is an excessive amount of time, given all of the forum posts I have read.

I've found that my cookshack cooks pretty cool compared to the temps shown on the dial. Around 10 to 15 degrees. So for 225 I set it at 235ish.


Anyway, what Tom was trying to say was that you're not just raising the temps of a piece of meat like you would a steak. The process of breaking down the collagen takes quite a bit of time and energy. So you wouldn't be able to go by weight like you normally would since it was such a small butt.(a larger butt you wouldn't notice since you're EXPECTING a long cook)

I figured it would take around 11-12 hours for it to be done. You weren't too far off that and would be right on it if you had it about 235.

quote:

Originally posted by kogolf:
Tom, I am not really sure what you are trying to say in your post. Here is the end result of my 1st smoke. I pulled the butt out at 193. It took the unit 13 hours and 15 minutes to get to that internal temp. After the smoke I calibrated my thermometer in both boiling water and ice. It was good at both ends. I think for a 3.75 lb bone in pork butt, that is an excessive amount of time, given all of the forum posts I have read.

Sounds about right. I think your smoker is most likely fine. You need to get used to cooking in it and think low and slow. Schedule your time accordingly.

Now you see why folks here recommend getting a 15-16 lb 2pac to cook.

It will shrink to half,and leftovers freeze well.

Takes the same time as a 3+ lb.

No two pieces of meat are the same, but that said, it is not unusual for the first cook in your smoker to take longer than say the tenth cook. Also, a small butt will take longer per pound than a larger butt. The cook time is not a linear correlation to the size of the meat.

That's why SmokinOkie is always reminding everyone "it's done when it's done."

Well I'm in my second attempt. I have 2 butts in for 15 hours and the temp is only 177. I have checked the internal temp it is within 4 degrees(221). I was told it would take about the same time for 2 butts as for 1. The butts weigh 7.5 and 8 pounds. Something is wrong with this picture

Well, if it cooks like mine you should be done with 2 butts in about 18-19 hours.(Looks like you're on pace for 17ish)


If I'm looking for a 12-14 hour smoke I jack it to 245-250.

Nothing is wrong at all. The last two butts I did (not in a Cookshack) took 16 hours to get to 200 and it was 75 degrees outside.
If your smoker is at 221 degrees what could possibly be wrong? Butts take a lot of time, I have had 8 pounders that took 20+ hours. Don't sweat it, just trust your thermometers.

Everything sounds great to me also.

Update?