About plateaus?

Former Member

I am curious as to how fast, once you get to the opposite end of the plateau does it take you folks' butts to get done?
I had a strange thing happen to me last night. I put a 6.29 lb. (bone- in)butt in at 2:00PM yesterday and was set to drink beer and talk about the Buckeyes with my buddies till about Midnight. They kept nagging me about how good it smelled and how hungry they were, but I said, "Nope, not till 190 degrees."
Well It got stuck on 176 degrees for quite a while (about 2.5 hrs) In fact the last time I checked it at 11:00PM it was 176. But then 15 minutes later my thermometer started alarming.
The stupid thing read 345 degrees! Now we all know that couldnt be. I'm guessing it was a glitch in the thermometer because it worked like a charm just a few minutes later in an ice water check.
Anyway took the butt out and pulled it at that point. It pulled pretty easy with forks. So my question is doesnt 15 minutes to go from 176 to 190 seem awful fast?
Ambient temp was 70- 75 degrees and it was raining. The probe never touched anything but the meat. I opened the door 3 times.

8/21/046:25 AM

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Former Member

It's usually pretty fast, but not that fast. Probes are funny, they're a gauge, but they're not perfect, they don't read instantly in terms of milleseconds, but that wouldn't account for a 15 min plateau jump.

The 345 indicates it had a problem, although shortly, so when you read 176 just before that it might not have been a true reading.

Is this the first time it's happened, I wouldn't worry.

Usually, depending on temp of the smoker and size of the butt, it can be an hour or less after it punches through the plateau.

Smokin'

8/21/048:21 AM

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Former Member

Thanks Oakie
Yes it is 1st time it happened cause it is a brand new t-meter.
But what gets me is that the thing weighed 6.29 lbs. and it was only in the smoker for 9.25 hours, annnnnd.....it pulled easily. All the people loved it! I'm happy with the results. And I logged it all down. But with mild 70 sumthin' weather, cool rain, and the rule of thumb of 1.5 hours per pound it just seems kinda perplexing.
BTW Oakie........they all loved your basting & serving sauce. I'm gonna mix it up a bit next time. Not that it will be any better mind you. I just gotta an idea. If its worth the time I will post it.
Thanks again Smoking Encyclopedia BritanOakie!

8/21/043:36 PM

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Former Member

Hey, that's why I published the sauce, to give everyone a base for creating their own variations.

Glad I can be of help.

Smokin'

8/21/045:15 PM

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Former Member

I had an experience something like GeiyserQ's this weekend.

I put a 12 lb butt and a 12lb brisket on at 8:00 PM at 225 F. At midnight, the probe alarms woke me up. Each was reading approx. 180 F. I knew that couldn't be right, so I kept poking with the probes until I found cooler spots and the temps came down. I was so sleepy, I forgot to write down those temps. I mopped the pork while I had the door open. When I got up in the morning, they were both in the 170s. Smoker was at 226F. I opened the door again and mopped the pork.

I had to leave for awhile. I wasn't sure if they'd overcook. I didn't know what else to do, so I turned the heat down to 190F. When I came back 4 1/2 hours later, the probes read 190F for the pork and 185F for the brisket. The total time was 14hrs. I don't know how long they had been in 70s before morning. But it took from 8:00 AM to about 12:30 PM to get from 70s to the higher temps when I pulled them out.

They turned out fine.

8/23/0410:48 AM

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