First Butt

Good job,hoodsie.

Before long,you'll be doin' great Q-while lookin' out the window at the CS.

The rest of your neighbors will be lookin' out their window at the shed where their pit is stored and wishin' for spring.

Assuming you were going for a 205 internal temp, 18 hours at 225 seems like an awfully long time. Were these some really big-ass butts?

I did my first BUTT last weekend. It was a 7 pounder and it took 15 1/2 hours @ 225 to reach 200 internal. It was delicious. Also FYI it takes longer to do ribs than CS book says it will. I have had my Smokette for about a month and have done ribs, tukey breasts and pork butt and have excellent results. Just remember what Smokin Okie says
"Its done when it is done". I have stuck to that and had great success. This forum has taught me alot about cooking with a CS.
Thank you to CookShack and Smokin' Okie.

It was a big butt. Weighed 10.35 lbs. It was stuck between 158 and 172 for about 6 hours. Came out good though!!

Super job, Hoodsie.

Sounds like you are diving right into using your cooker.

I have been taking out my butts at an internal temp of 192-200 and letting the rest a while before pulling the meat. Figuring about 10 more degrees during the covered rest (foil, towel in cooler-40 minutes or so. But if 225 works for you, go for it.

Figured this was as good a place as any to describe my first butt experience too! I paid a visit to Hoodsie's butcher and picked up a 9.4 lb bone-in butt. I used Pendery's yosemite sam rub on it and popped it in the CS with 3+ oz of apple wood at 225. My plan was to leave it that way until I hit an internal temp of 205. After 20.5 hours, the temp reached 201...but then dropped to 199 and then 197. So I bumped up the CS temp to 250. After about an hour, the butt was up to 204 and hanging tough there. So I pulled it out at that point, wrapped it in foil and then towels and popped it into a cooler for a while. When I unwrapped it, it was tender and juicy and just fell off the bone. Really seems like this cut of meat is just made for cooking in the CS.

quote:

. After 20.5 hours, the temp reached 201...but then dropped to 199 and then 197.

SteveD: I'm talking blind here, 'cause I don't know how/where the probe of your thermometer is placed in the cooking meat, but..............
.......after 10 hrs or so of smoking a big hunk of meat, my "instant read" thermometer will give me a variety of readings depending upon where the probe is inserted. VERY different readings. Near the bone, near fat, outer, innner....So, I turn my smoke-rivened mind into a primitive calculator and sort of average these numbers out, listen to the screaming children, and make a decision to take out the meat.
But, if as seems to be the case with you progressive CS users, your electronic probe is inserted and left in place for the duration of the cookout, then maybe all of the above is irrelevant, and I cannot explain how your temp can turn south while still exposed to a source of heat of 225.
Stumped...
But, we beat Georgia, so that make's up for a lot.

I2,

Oh evil, evil gloater! Since Smokin' is smarting some today as well, I may ask him to use his Sooner whuppin' stick on ya as a dawg favor!

I share your confusion over the drop in temp. I use both a Polder and an instant read to determine my pull times, but I can't remember a sustained temp drop in any piece of meat that I had in the CS and where I hadn't opened the door for some reason. I have of course seen one or two degree fluctuations around a given temp during a cook.

It's Done when it's Done

I can't get out the Whuppin' Stick, it might lead to Q abuse on whomever I used it on

Oh well, I'm back in Kansas City for another week, more restaurants to visit after work. It's tough sometimes eating someone else's Q.

Smokin'

Don't worry about the abuse . . . think of it as tenderizing! Gators is supposed to be tough!

Well, you can smoke corn in the husk and have smoked huskers, but a dead dawg is sooner left to molder away. In My Humble Opinion.

I too have experienced the declining temp. on several occasions in the 190's. It doesn't make sense, but I did what Steve did and just bumped the temp.

Richard

Mornin',SteveD.

As usual,all the esteemed fellows are correct.

I've had all the above and luckily the butt is very forgiving.

It sounds like you are on track.

If I see it going backwards in the high 190�s, I open up and try to wiggle the bone and give the meat a good squeeze.

I also check it 2 or 3 places with my insta-read.

If the bone is a little loose,I usually pull it and go to the cooler for an hour.

If it doesn't seem close,I bump it to 250� and let the temp rise a few degrees.

I will try to explain what I know about the temperature of meat falling. What happens is that as you are cooking the meat you begin to release humidity. It is difficult to raise the temperature of real humid air, so you will see times when the temperature of a piece of meat does not raise for some time.

Also, if you have a probe in the meat, the meat will actually pull away from the probe while you are cooking and will be insulated by humidity which can give you a bit of a false reading...

Hope this makes sense.

Sounds reasonable to me about the temp drop. I figured it was a combination of things. First, I think I've read elsewhere in here that the temp inside the CS can fluctuate a bit and doesn't necessary remain at a fixed temp the whole time. Second, the temp outside was dropping rapidly, and although the CS is well insulated, I'm sure there was a nice cold draft going down the vent hole. Third, the butt being a fatty piece of meat, I suspected that the fat/lean content around the probe itself might give variable readings over time, plus or minus a couple of degrees. So I figured all this was pretty normal. But after 20.5 hours of cooking time, I wasn't going to sit around and watch the temp going down! So I bumped it to 250 just so it would finish, which it did in an hour. And now I have more delicious pulled pork than I know what to do with. I'm eating it as we speak! And since my wife won't touch it, I'll be eating it for every meal all week! So, besides warming it and eating it or making sandwiches, any other favorite things to do with this stuff? Just looking for a little variety.

Steve,
I'm glad to here the butcher worked out for you! I had the same thing happen with the temp. drop around 195 deg. I did the same thing and turned the heat up a little.

I make Cuban sandwiches with my left over pork. Soft Italian or French bread cut lengthwise. Deli ham, pulled pork, mustard, swiss cheese, pickles, and butter both sides put in a frying pan with another heavy pan on top tp press it then flip it over when browned and press again. Awesome!!

quote:

So, besides warming it and eating it or making sandwiches, any other favorite things to do with this stuff?

Yes! Feed me!

The leftovers make great enchilladas. Just saute some onions, add pulled pork, chopped roasted pablano peppers, a can of green chiles, some canned enchillada sauce and season to taste (ground chipoltle, etc.). Roll in flour tortilla with grated cheese of choice, place them on baking sheet cover with remaining enchillada sauce and more cheese. Bake at 325* til heated through and cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and lots of ice cold beer.

Richard

Hey, Hoodsie, I started having chest pains just reading that recipe! Good thing you had those veggies (the pickles) to offset all that nasty fat and cholesterol! I like the idea of making an enchilada filling with the pulled pork. I don't know why I didn't think of that! I grow lots of chiles and have a supply on hand (fresh and dried) that I could use. Thanks for the suggestions!

Cholesteral: Bad for the heart good for the stomach!!!

My first butt experience goes as follows. I got a 4.58 #'r to start on. I cooked @ 225 for 11 hours and was still only @ 181 degrees. I didn't want to babysit it all night, so I took it out, double wrapped w/ foil and towel then put in cooler for 5 hours till I got up the next morning. Put in oven for 4 MORE hours till reached internal temp of 205. Boy it took a long time!!!!!!! Do I need to check and see if my temp settings are correct?

First Aggie, I've got to put you on probation for putting it in the oven

Sounds like a really long time for a 5 lb'er. Total of 15 hours or 3 hours per pound.

If you haven't make sure you check the normal things, extension cord? temp of the smoker when it's on?

And unfortunately, as you're seen from this post, Butts have a mind of their own (I2...don't even GO there).

It's done when it's done -- true!

This well be another spin on Buston Butts. My first butt wieghed 7# cooked at 225 for 10.5 hours. When it reached 165,yes thats correct,165, I let it rest then put it on the slicer. The smoke flavor was very,very good and the juiciest ummmm. My family of 5 ate most of the meal standing at the slicer. Another good indicator that it was near perfect was that the kids never reached for the sauce. I gave it a 9.5

My second was a 7#. I wanted to take this up to a higher temp. It reached 185 in 8 hours! Go figure. Fat content was more in the second butt, I think that might be why they were on sale at .99/#. I did wrap and held it in the cooler. It was fine, a little too mushy for my taste, but my co-workers went wild. Still I would rate the second time lower than the first. Smoke flavor wasn't as good. I gave this one an 8.
Havin a blast with this!!!

Did my first Butt, a 5.5lb boneless, mustard and dry rub overnight, then into the CS with 2 oz Hickory. At 6 hrs and 165, I opened the door and sprayed with Apple Juice and Vinegar, then let it go until the probe hit 190. Out of the oven, onto a plate, pulled apart with two forks, and into a white bread roll with bbq sauce and coleslaw. There was an incredible crust and the inside was really moist and tender. I could'nt have asked for a better first time smoke. I love this Smokette.