New cookshack 08

Welcome to the forum, Steve, and congrats on a wise purchase!

The Smokette only goes to 250*, so if you wanted a smoker oven that makes 320*, this ain't it.

The temp swings are normal.

BBQ is a patience game.

You should allow plenty of time to get those butts to 195* internal. Lots of folks put them in at bedtime on 200* and then turn them up to 225* or 250* the next day, usually when they see the meat temp has reached a 'plateau', or when it seems to stall out and maybe even go down a degree or 3. This is a result of the collagen, connective tissues, and fat rendering out of the meat, burning up the energy as it goes. You can let it ride at whatever temp you started with, or 'push through' by turning up the heat.

What temp did you start at?

Did you poke a hole in the foil for the drippings and airflow?

Did you use a thermometer probe in the meat?

Let us know exactly all you did, and we can critique further, before you call CookShack customer service (2nd to none) next week.

Are you new to BBQ?

I only put them in the oven to get them done. The internal temp was at 177 when I did this. They still turned out great by the way. Took them out at 195, wrapped and rested for an hour. They pretty much fell apart. Good Stuff.

I started with the CS at 240

Yep, I poked a hole in the foil.(Learned from other folks on the forum)

I used an Oregon Scientific remote probe.

Yes, I am very new to BBQ. I new it was going to take a long time and I'm cool with that. I guess what got me was these butts were small, as I mentioned. It surprised me that even at the 12 hour mark they still had a ways to go. Thanks for all of your feedback and suggestions.

Steve

In my experience, 12 hours would be fairly quick for them to cook. I have had Pork take as long as 24 hours. As I bet you have already seen on the forums, every piece of meat is different.

A good example of this, 12 lb Packer Cut Brisket took me 14 hours to reach an internal temperature of 190, but the next week a 3 1/2 lb Corned Beef Brisket took me 16 hours to reach 185. Both remaining at 225 during the entire cook.

I was in your situation when I first got my 008. I really didn't know much about BBQing, just knew a friend that had a

008 and he use to bring in pulled pork to work for us. So eventually I broke down and bought one. Just keep it simple, if you don't have a thermometer probe get one, and don't open the door until you reach the temperature you desire.

Jason Adams
Jason's BBQ Adventures

Just for reference purposes, I cooked a 7.5 pound pork butt yesterday in my 009 that took 18 1/2 hours to reach 195. That's pretty standard for my smoker. I had the smoker set at 225 the whole time. I usually start butts and briskets the night before I need them. This butt was done at 1:30 PM, just in time for my teenage son's 10 friends to enjoy pulled pork sandwiches during the Nebraksa-Texas game!

Yep, I never do small cuts and so am always surprised when they take so long. Seems the Smokette shines when loaded up. As it gets seasoned alot more, it will be more efficient.

I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually. Like I said before, it just surprised me that 2 3.7lb butts would take that long. As the saying goes "patience is a virtue" and "it's done when it's done". The final product was good. Not enough smoke but I only used one chunk. Will increase that to two on the next run. The Cookshack mild sauce is awesome. Everyone loved it.

Steve

If you really want to do a temp test with your probe, stick it through a tennisball size ball of aluminum foil and let it rest on the middle shelf, the tip sticking out and about the middle of the smoker and not touching anything. You can even simulate a load with a big pan of water. Turn the dial up all the way and start recording temps after an hour warmup. Write the temp down every 15 minutes for 3-4 hours. You can then get an average temp, which should be close to 250*F. Mine averages 235*. If it averages less than that, I would complain, but that's just me. It is supposed to maintain 250*, and that is what it should do. Just my opinion.

I'm certainly no meat expert, but 3.77 pounds sounds awful small for a pork butt. Butts from a market size hog usually are in the 7 to 8 pound range. Has anyone beside me never seen one that small. I'm wondering if that was actually a 7.5 pound butt that was cut in half. Either that or maybe it's momma was a sow and it's papa was a chipmunk.

Lots of posts in the forum have people with small ones like that. I'm like you, I think the Butcher just cuts one in 1/2.

I think you guys are right. The largest one I could find in a grocery store was 4 pounds. This seems to be about half the size you guys use. No complaints, though. They turned out quite good.

Steve

This past weekend I picked up a butt just over 4 lbs (bone in). It was the largest my local grocery store had. If I go to the butcher or Sams club the butts are usually 7-8 lbs each. The small one was just what I wanted for the wife and me, plus some leftovers.

I bet you guys with nothing but small pork butts in your meat sections have quite a bit of "country style ribs" for sale.

......or pork steaks.

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:
......or pork steaks.

Wish the butchers around here made those. They're no too request friendly so no go there. And when I get a whole pork butt I just can't cut it up. MUST...MAKE...BBQ.

Lantern.

Buy 2. One for whole, one for your own pork steaks. Cheap than having the butcher do them.

Remember butts come to the meat dept two to the cryopac,four pacs to the case.

If they are running a sale on other pork products,they are usually happy to sell the two pac at the sale price.

It saves them having to cut and repackage the butts.

I forgot to mention I buy and cook two butts at a time.

I'm kind of a fresh freak as well so that's something I'd have to overcome in order to make that work for me.