FTC...Foil...Towel...Cooler

You might not need the towel if using a warming drawer. I'd also consider starting the pork butt at 200* overnight then kicking the smoker to 225* when you get up. Should allow the cook to go into the afternoon for a shorter FTC or FTWD. With the slower start, figure 2 hrs/lb roughly, maybe longer.

Saw a trick the other day that may be just the ticket in your case. Wrap the PB in butcher paper and hold it in your warming drawer. I'd be tempted to go with the 160 temp.

If I was gonna hold like your talking, whats wrong with dumping the heat from your smoker and turning it down to say, 140*.

WORD OF CAUTION: Don't unplug or turn your smoker off, because it has a warm up cycle that will run it wide open for 20 minutes.

double foil and put in dutch oven and return to smoker on hold at 140

I kind of like the suggestion of 200℉ overnite and then kicking it up to 225℉. My only concern is...will 200℉ start the wood chunks smoking? If not, then perhaps the increase to 225℉ in the morning will produce smoke?

Will "smoking" at 200℉ overnite for 9 hours firm up the surface of the meat so that smoke penetration will not be possible when the temp is kicked up to 225℉ in the morning...???

200 will definately get the wood smoking. When you turn it on, it runs nonstop for the 1st 20 minutes and this will definately get the wood started smoking

Meat is supposed to take on smoke until the meat temp hits 140*. A lower smoker temp (like 180* or 200*) means the meat will take longer to get to 140* allowing more smoke penetration. 225* is not a magic number as long as you get the smoke you desire. I would suspect the meat will be at 140* or better when you kick up the smoker in the morning. Smoke won't penetrate into the meat at this point but will build on the surface while the bark continues to form.

The lower temp benefits time management as well as smoke penetration. It will allow you to throw the 8.5 lb butt into the smoker at 10 pm-11 pm and have it finish around 3 pm-4 pm or later the next day for 2-3 hrs FTC. That said, it's done when it's done, but you've got some flexibility, and you don't have to stay up until the wee hours the night before to start the butt.

Good advice from the experienced cooks above.
I think they are saying they have learned to make the cooker work for them and not the other way around.

Also,it is difficult to damage a large butt.

Vendors from the days of actual pits,trenches,pit buildings,etc thought nothing of 24 hr cooks.
This gave them time to get all their other work done and get some sleep before the crowds showed up at the church,rodeo,football game,etc.

CS says that wood chunks should start smoking at around 135º.

The timing that pags mentioned is typical of the home cook with a small CS.

I put the butt in the CS last night at 8:00 p.m. with 2 oz of wood chunks...internal meat temp was 41℉ as a starter.

This morning at 6:00 a.m. internal meat temp was 152℉. I kicked temp up to 225℉.

At 7:00 a.m. meat temp is 158℉. Things appear to be going well. Will keep monitoring temps.

Just wondering how long it takes for the wood chunks to burn up from the start turn-on...after which no more smoke.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:


The timing that pags mentioned is typical of the home cook with a small CS.

Good point.

Well...first smoke was interesting and instructive. Continuing my hourly vigil from my last 7:00 a.m. check on Friday(time..smoker temp..internal meat temp): 0800 hours 225℉/161℉; 0900 226℉/163℉; 1000 224℉/168℉; 1100 225℉/174℉; noon 226℉/177℉; bumped oven temp up to 235℉..1300 235℉/186℉; 1400 236℉/192℉;1500 235℉/195℉; 1600 235℉/199℉. Happened to check settings at 1620 and the internal meat temp showed "Hi."

Having no idea what "Hi" meant, I turned unit off, opened door and attempted to extract the butt with tongs...only to find that it tenaciously stuck to the grills. Guess I should have used PAM or something to act as a release agent. Or carried the entire grill with butt on cookie sheet into the house to remove to foil.

In attempting to remove the fall-apart very tender butt from grill outside, I lost a small amount that fell to the ground. I got it in the house, double wrapped it in foil and put it in the warming drawer but did not turn on the heater.

At 1730 hours unwrapped and pulled. Very very tender. Applied BBQ sauce and consumed large sandwich.

This a.m. when I went to clean up unit, discovered all three wood chunks were only half consumed, charred but still viable. Thought they would all have been ash.

Gunner,

I smoke butts to an internal temp of 190-195. As soon as you wiggle that shoulder bone in the butt, it is done. At this temp, you will have no problem making pulled pork from it. It will come right apart. When you go up to 200 and higher, the butt will fall apart just as you experienced. Also, on the newer cooking grates and after I clean the used ones off, I use a little Pam on the grate to help avoid the sticking problem.

RibDog:

What does "Hi" signify on the meat probe? I don't recollect seeing anything about it on the Forum or in the CS brochures.

I will definitely try 190-195 next time as the finished butt is a bit too mushy for my liking.

Also, do the left over wood chunks, now more like charcoal briquettes, serve any useful future purpose or should I throw them away?

HI, means that after 199*, the probe will only read "HI".

I'd throw the old wood briquettes away and start with fresh on the next smoke, but hey that's just me and I'm sure other folks would just add more wood.

200*+ is a little high for the texture I like as well.

Thanks Cal for the answering the "Hi" question. Since I don't use the meat probe, I had no idea what it meant.

Gunner, when you work with enough butts, you will find some that feel firmer when you are prepping them and others that do not. I have found that the firm ones take a little to cook than the others. So some judgement is needed on your part as to when to pull a butt from the smoker.

Gents:

On my next butt smoke I will do the "shake the bone" test. My only apprehension on the first smoke was that time was fast passing and I was reluctant to open the door fearing if it were not done that I would be faced with an additional 1/2 - 1 hour cook time.

I think you are right-on RibDog about feeling the meat before smoking it. My butt must have been very very lean because I got I'll bet 6-1/2 lbs out of the 8 1/2 lb butt of useable meat with little evidence of fat...and not a lot of drippings into my under-the-unit drip pan.

Incidentally, I went to The Dollar Store and bought a couple of 14" x 17 1/2" x 3" high 8-sided turkey roasting pans that slides and sits nicely under my CS025. Put some gravel inside and don't have to worry about the wind blowing it around.

And you are right in being cautious until you get used to the smoker and how different meats cook in it. I think we were all just trying to lend a little advice to help you on the learning curve for your many years of your smoking on the CS.

Gents:

I appreciate all of your inputs. This is one reason I chose to buy a CS smoker...all the Forum help.

Incidentally, planning a spare rib/baby back rib smoke and was thinking about hanging the ribs to smoke. Checking the CS product info, they indicate that their rib hooks are not suitable for use in my CS025 Elite. Anyone know why not? They don't give the dimensions of their hooks...but I would cut the ribs in half to hang and would think they would fit that way.

Why hang? Your racks will provide ample space for full slabs of ribs. While I doubt it will make much of a difference, hanging will allow a slight temp variation between the top and bottom of the smoker vs placing them on a shelf.

I thought that by hanging the racks would get a more even smoke by not having the rack laying flat blocking the smoke from getting to the tops as much as the bottoms.

Laying would be easier than hanging and I think I will try that method first. Thanks for the suggestion.

i fit 3 slabs of baby backs on each of my racks in my SM025(6 slabs total) and they turned out wonderful!

D_C:

Do you set a temperature to smoke to or a time when you do the bone-wiggle test or how do you determine doneness?

Also, do you baste, turn them over half way thru...??? Foil when removed? Grill for 10-15 minutes...???

quote:

Originally posted by Gunner0844:
I thought that by hanging the racks would get a more even smoke...

Smoke will find its way into the meat no matter where you place your ribs.

Rib doneness is a factor of weight (ribs) and temp. I like to cook ribs (any) at 275, and know that a 3# rack will take about 4 hrs. A toothpick inserted between the bones, inserted with little resistance tells me they're done. No need to flip ribs. Basting is up to you...I spritz with apple juice after the 2nd hour when the rub is set.

Holding meat with foil is always a good idea. If you plan to sauce your ribs, that's the time to do it.

Grilling...up to you. Never sauce before grilling or it'll burn. Keep the fire at medium heat or lower and watch 'em like a hawk. 5-10 minutes will be more than enough.

MaxQ:

Appreciate the info.

I assume the 4 hour smoke includes extra time whenever you open your smoker to spritz. And then how often do you spritz?

Good suggesttions from the folks above.
I would offer the suggestion of start out with KISS and then adjust if needed.
Max may have reasons, as part of his personal technique.
You cooker cooks particularly moist and most folks open the door at least once to dump out moisture.
Thus,spritzing may be counter productive.

Just my $0.02

It depends on the smoker. If using the FEC100, I'll spritz every half hour. If using the Amerique, about once an hour - it holds more moisture.

The cook time is about the same as the FEC has a very quick recovery. I do try to get in and out of the AQ asap.

quote:

Max may have reasons, as part of his personal technique.

Thus,spritzing may be counter productive.

Well said Tom. Gunner, from a moisture point of view, any CS electric smoker will provide plenty of moisture. I happen to use a spicy rub on my ribs. The AJ provides a little sweet counter balance. I should also mention that at home, I prefer dry ribs. If I were smoking ribs in the AQ and were finishing with a sauce/glaze...I wouldn't bother to spritz.

quote:

Originally posted by Gunner0844:
D_C:

Do you set a temperature to smoke to or a time when you do the bone-wiggle test or how do you determine doneness?

Also, do you baste, turn them over half way thru...??? Foil when removed? Grill for 10-15 minutes...???

Gunner - i used the KISS method for my ribs and followed Smokin's Ribs 101... removed the membrane on the back of the ribs and coated with CS Rib rub and into the smoker at 275*.... for some reason i want to say it took between 4 and 5 hours. around the 3 hr mark i opened the door and did the toothpick test. I might have opened the door two more times to test the meat. I served the dry with sauce on the table if you wanted it... The ribs were very moist... oh yea, i spritzed with apple juice twice as something fun to do... other wise you just put the meat in and take it out and i was getting a little bored because with these elctical smokers, it's so easy. LOL