My first butt - temp log

xecutech

Newbie

Original poster

May 25, 2013

13

10

Mt. Juliet, TN

• Jun 15, 2013

• #1

Sorry, no pics at the moment. I don't want to open up the smoker, and I forgot to snap some before starting the cook.

I have a 4.5lb butt rubbed with Memphis dust and mustard.

Cooking at 230

Here are my cook time/internals:

10:00 46 (start temp)
11:00 70
12:00 109
1:00 140
2:00 150

How am I looking so far? seems to be cooking at about 30 degrees an hour, but may have started a stall that last hour.

Going to take her to 205, wrap in foil/towel and then a rest in the cooler for an hour.

Sound about right?

 

xecutech

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

May 25, 2013

13

10

Mt. Juliet, TN

• Jun 15, 2013

• #2

Continued temps:

3:00 162
4:00 165
5:00 175

I bumped up the heat a little, because we want to eat soon.

Do I have to wrap it in foil to let it rest an hour, or can we dig in?

 

davidhef88

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Jun 24, 2011

2,176

120

Rochester, NY

• Jun 15, 2013

• #3

I prefer to let mine rest, but I have also dug right in. It will still be good without the rest.

 

oldschoolbbq

Legendary Pitmaster

OTBS Member

Jul 16, 2008

9,359

205

NW Ohio - outside Toledo

• Jun 15, 2013

• #4

Awww. Shame on you for bumping the heat up

. And worst pf all is :

 

xecutech

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

May 25, 2013

13

10

Mt. Juliet, TN

• Jun 15, 2013

• #5

Do my temps seem like a normal pace? I only nudged the gas a bit. :)

 

philip69

Fire Starter

Jun 15, 2013

38

10

Kennewick WA

• Jun 15, 2013

• #6

I too am trying my first butt tomarow. Mine is 5.5 lbs so i am curious how yours turns out. I am basicaly fallowing the same technique for my first one.

 

philip69

Fire Starter

Jun 15, 2013

38

10

Kennewick WA

• Jun 15, 2013

• #7

I was told by someone to roughly f igue 1.5 hours per pound. But it just tskes what it takes. I made the mistake of raising the temperature on a brisket and it didn't have enough time to break up the conective tissue.l

 

xecutech

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

May 25, 2013

13

10

Mt. Juliet, TN

• Jun 16, 2013

• #8

Well, mine didn't turn out so well. I wrapped them to speed it up at the end, and the temp went from 190 - 208 in 15 minutes?

I think I pushed the probe touching the bone and got a false reading.

Meat was good in some areas, but the bone didn't slide out. There were rubbery parts and fatty. Could have been a bad piece of meat, but I believe it was my fault.

Going to smoke some chicken and ribs today and try a shoulder again next weekend.

Thanks for the tips.

 

va_connoisseur

Smoking Fanatic

Dec 13, 2007

338

13

DC Metro - Northern Virginia

• Jun 18, 2013

• #9

xecutech said:

Well, mine didn't turn out so well. I wrapped them to speed it up at the end, and the temp went from 190 - 208 in 15 minutes?

I think I pushed the probe touching the bone and got a false reading.

Meat was good in some areas, but the bone didn't slide out. There were rubbery parts and fatty. Could have been a bad piece of meat, but I believe it was my fault.

Going to smoke some chicken and ribs today and try a shoulder again next weekend.

Thanks for the tips.

Click to expand...

Don't give up on smoking the butts. They are a good, cheap piece of meat to start with. A few observations from your log:

1. Temps when up fairly steady, did you temp in multiple locations or just one probe? For me, if the temps are rising "too well" on one area, I probe multiple places to check for accuracy. Truth is, I no longer even probe before the 5 hour mark on butts or shoulders.

2. You seemed to blow through the stall, I've head butts do that as well. Be mindful that a stall can add hours to your cook time.

3. Speaking of adding time, as the old saying going "you ain't cookin' if you're lookin'". If you raised the top every hour, you lost a lot of heat. See #2.

Hope that helps, I am sure others will come along with a lot more insight.

 

kathrynn

Legendary Pitmaster

OTBS Member

Jun 13, 2012

9,442

121

Madison, AL

• Jun 18, 2013

• #10

Philip69 said:

I was told by someone to roughly f igue 1.5 hours per pound. But it just tskes what it takes. I made the mistake of raising the temperature on a brisket and it didn't have enough time to break up the conective tissue.l

Click to expand...

Okay...I was make my guess at 2 hours per pound...better for it to get done earlier than you starving and having impatient hungry folks waiting on you.

Kat

 

kathrynn

Legendary Pitmaster

OTBS Member

Jun 13, 2012

9,442

121

Madison, AL

• Jun 18, 2013

• #11

xecutech said:

Continued temps:

3:00 162
4:00 165
5:00 175

I bumped up the heat a little, because we want to eat soon.

Do I have to wrap it in foil to let it rest an hour, or can we dig in?

Click to expand...

I would wrap it and let it cool a bit too.  It will "pull" easier.

Kat

 

xecutech

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

May 25, 2013

13

10

Mt. Juliet, TN

• Jun 18, 2013

• #12

Well, at least it was a learning experience. I never opened the smoker, but I did rush it at the end, and that was my mistake.

My ribs and chicken came out perfect, so I have them perfected. Done them twice now with great results.

Ordered a new Maverick wireless unit and going to do another butt this Saturday, and it will be perfect, as I learned my lesson from that last one. :)

I have the smoking bug bad now, so there ain't no turning back now.

Thank you for the feedback, and my next cook will have pics for sure.