First smoke...and fail

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chippad

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2016
4
15
I'm so bummed. Was all excited to smoke a pork butt....

So I have a cheapo Kingsford Charcoal Water smoker I bought at Walmart. Stayed cheap in case I didn't like it.

Got a 5.08lb pork butt with bone. Did a rub I found online, kingsford charcoal and apple wood chips.

Got the smoker to 225 without much trouble. Added apple juice and water to water pan. Inserted a wired temp gauge (15 bucks) into pork. Added wood chips to the sides of charcoal piles and they smolder ed good. No flames.

At about 4 hrs the temp was 140 so I stopped the chips and did a decent job of maintaining 225 ish.

I hit that "stall" period I read about around 160 at maybe the 6 or 7 hr mark. I tried best not to freak out while the temp almost never moved. It finally did.

Around the 9-10 hr mark the internal temp was still around 170 ish. Then at maybe 176 at the 10 hr mark the temp gauge shit the bed. Jumped to 280 out of no where and wouldn't move. Ran next door and grabbed an even cheaper one (9 bucks) at a cheapo type store. That one never read over 89...

Paranoid I wrapped the pork in foil then in towel and put it in cooler.

Soooo....meat was still tough so now it's in my oven at 250.

Now I know cheap equipment doesn't help. I fully get that. The smoker ran through a 14lb bag of charcoal. Obviously not efficient. Would a welders blanket help the coals last longer??

I also thought a 5.08lb pork butt would about 8-9 hrs...it's looking more like 12-14??? That right?

I was so excited to do this...ended with such let down. :(

Please help me
 
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LIVE AND LEARN !!!!!! Everyone on this forum has had a Fail , with that said it is probably better then you think ??
 
Not all is lost...You did some learning on your first cook. Sounds like you need a different tempeture gauge. You need to decide if you can get your smoker performing better.
I'm not familiar with your smoker maybe someone who has one can help.

Hang in there it gets better!
 
Don't give up!  A decent thermometer is a must for smoking.  That butt has a bone in it, when it pulls out cleanly with no effort, that butt is done.  I've had 10 lb butts take 24 hrs, a butt is done when it's done.  They can be butts!  

Mike
 
I'll give you points for effort! It doesn't sound like you really did anything wrong, just bad temp gauge. I think you should be pretty proud of yourself considering its your first smoke and you already knew what to do (temp to smoke, temp to maintain, HOW to maintain, what IT temp is!, etc) so don't be let down, be motivated you're that far ahead of 95% of America!

Spend a little more on a probe, remember the toothpick test will help double check how done it is, butts cook at their own pace! Post some pics, maybe the taste won't let you down!

Keep at it!
 
Last edited:
I think you did well.

You learned some things.

You got over your stage fright.

You got the butt in the oven. I bet when you got it to temp in the oven it came perfect with a bone that pops out by itself.

I think you need to give up on 1) the smoker, get a 22-1/2" Weber kettle off CL and 2) the thermometer, get a thermopop.

You don't really need a wired thermo. I know; that sounds like heresy, but I've got 2 mavericks and ThermoGrill that I don't use any more. The thermo built into my Weber Performer and the thermopop do it all for me.

When you get the Weber, learn the snake method for you fire. It's simply a ring of charcoal about 4-5 pieces touching each other around the outside of your kettle. Put chunks of wood on top about every 5-6". Light some briquette in you chimney - only need a dozen or so- and pour them on one end of the circle of briquettes when they get to the red- glowing white ash stage. Put the lid on your kettle and close your bottom vents to about 1/4th open and your top vents about the same. That should give you a good 250* fire that will take you right through. And it won't take a whole bag of charcoal either.
 
I'm so bummed. Was all excited to smoke a pork butt....

So I have a cheapo Kingsford Charcoal Water smoker I bought at Walmart. Stayed cheap in case I didn't like it. You can smoke on almost anything, you are only limited by your own imagination, I smoke sometimes on an open fie with great results

Got a 5.08lb pork butt with bone. Did a rub I found online, kingsford charcoal and apple wood chips.

Got the smoker to 225 without much trouble. Added apple juice and water to water pan. Inserted a wired temp gauge (15 bucks) into pork. Added wood chips to the sides of charcoal piles and they smoldered good. No flames. A thermapen (or any insta-read thermo), investment really gives piece of mind

At about 4 hrs the temp was 140 so I stopped the chips and did a decent job of maintaining 225 ish. Bump your temp up to 250 on the low 275 on the high end

I hit that "stall" period I read about around 160 at maybe the 6 or 7 hr mark. I tried best not to freak out while the temp almost never moved. It finally did. Foiling will help you get through the stall quicker and can always be removed after the stall for a desirable bark.

Around the 9-10 hr mark the internal temp was still around 170 ish. Then at maybe 176 at the 10 hr mark the temp gauge shit the bed. Jumped to 280 out of no where and wouldn't move. Ran next door and grabbed an even cheaper one (9 bucks) at a cheapo type store. That one never read over 89...A thermapen (or any insta-read thermo), investment really gives piece of mind

Paranoid I wrapped the pork in foil then in towel and put it in cooler.

Soooo....meat was still tough so now it's in my oven at 250.

Now I know cheap equipment doesn't help. I fully get that. It does make cooking more of a challenge but can be done. The smoker ran through a 14lb bag of charcoal. Obviously not efficient. Would a welders blanket help the coals last longer?? Yes insulation may help.

I also thought a 5.08lb pork butt would about 8-9 hrs...it's looking more like 12-14??? That right? Too long for me, but most folks would say, "Its done when its done" but IMHO, I would want to decrease the cook time a bit more, think about it, what if you had a 8 pounder on there?

I was so excited to do this...ended with such let down. :(

Please help me
Update.

Pulled out of oven at 130am. So all in all about 14hrs for that little shit.

Bone pulled right out and meat pulled apart nicely.

Although the process took alot longer than I thought Im rather happy about it.

Congrats
 
Looks good from my seat! Like others said, it was a learning experience. Even when the situation happened it sounds like you knew what you were doing by wrapping it and getting it in the oven. Don't give up.
 
Looks like you made the save. One thing to check that hasn't been mentioned is your stock temp probe on the smoker. More often than not the stock therms are not accurate, even on high end smokers. The only way to test it is with another accurate therm in the pit.

So investing in a good multi-probe therm is important. I use the iGrill2 four probe. With probe therms you can place the probe at grate level and get your pit temp where you are smoking. The probe therms also are easy to check to see if they are accurate.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...is-212-f-an-accurate-measure-of-boiling-water

An instant read therm is also a good tool to have. For $25 you can get the Lavatool instant read off amazon. Accurate and inexpensive. I use mine fir all kinds of cooking not just smoking.
 
Two things: know your true grate temp and the meat IT.  Both can be solved with a good multi-therm unit. Best advise is to not skimp when selecting one. You want a proven, calibrated device and in return it will serve you for many many years. 
icon_biggrin.gif
 Glad to see the butt finally worked out for you.
 
 
Looks good from my seat! Like others said, it was a learning experience. Even when the situation happened it sounds like you knew what you were doing by wrapping it and getting it in the oven. Don't give up.
Agree.....you really did a great job and as we all know, there is LOTS and LOTS of trial and error in the world of Q!! BTW, that PP looks delicious!!
 
Thanks guys for all the tips. Made the last of it for sandwiches last night and still was great.

Gunna do another this weekend I think.

I think I've become addicted to it..haha
 
Great save, Chippa!! Glad that it turned out for you. As for the amount of charcoal that you went through, you might have more air getting in to the chamber than is desirable. I don't know anything about your particular smoker, but one of the common problems with cheaper smokers is the amount of air that is able to get in through areas other than the vents. The more airtight a smoker is, the more control you will be able to have over the incoming airflow and temperature. When I do a brisket on my WSM, I throw in a full 19pointwhatever pound bag and she'll burn for close to 16 hours without having to add anything! 

Welcome to the world of smoking...addiction happens!
 
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