Help, very confused (time sensitive!)

[rgoodwin]

So, first a HUGE thanks to the forums, and I PROMISE I will go to roll call when I finish diverting this emergency!

Situation:
8lb pork butt (bone in) on electric Brinkmann
Started 11pm, currently 4:30 PM
Dry rub and occasional AJ mop

Temperature climbed steadily and broke plateau to land at about 188 about 1 hr ago (3pm or so)

I added 4 racks of spare ribs to the smoker, they had been on the counter for about 45 minutes so should have been almost room temp.

In doing so, I had the grate/pork butt off the heat for about 5 (no more than 10) minutes. Upon returning (with 3 racks on bottom grate, 1 rack next to butt on top grate), the temperature has started to drop. As of this post I'm down to 168, read from the digi and an instant read.

At 170 I stopped and heavy foiled it (one layer) and it has continued to drop (hence the 168).

I'm freaking, because I thought it shouldn't have dropped so much in such a short time, and it really seems like it should be climbing again already. When I added the ribs and smoke chunks, it was clearly hot enough to start them smoking.

The bone won't pull out by hand yet, even though the thermo will slide in and out like butter, so I'm inclined to trust the thermos. I'm just super concerned because foiling usually drives the temp up like crazy.

Am I going to dry this poor thing out? Am I freaking for no reason?

Thanks for your help in this delicate situation! I've gotten a rep for pulled pork master in the 'hood, so I'm worried I'm about to lose it :) :)

 

[douglaslizard]

are you checking your temp in the same spot some times if i pull the therm. out i may mistakenly put it in a different part and thus temp readings are different i dont think it will dry out especially if you foiled it basically creating a steamer.just my amateur opinion

 

[rgoodwin]

I didn't move it when i moved the whole thing on/off, so that shouldn't be an issue. I have checked a few diff spots and it seems to hover down there at same temp.

I peeked back out and it's at 171 now, so I guess it's starting to climb, but still slowly.

I guess the thing freaking me out is whether the addition of additional mass (the ribs) and the time out of the heat could cause that severe of a drop.

Thanks!

 

[cbucher]

It can and will take a little to recover. You are also sharing heat with other items now also. What temp are you cooking at?

 

[rgoodwin]

I only have the one thermo so I can't check ambient, but the last two times I did smoke with the Brinkmann it held tight at about 250 (the saving beauty of electric!).

I'm a little reticent to go pull the thermo and try to test the ambient, because of the additional heat loss I'll no doubt cause.

Reading 173 (+2 since last post), which is probably the same as my heart rate now ;-) Maybe I jumped for nothing?

BTW I'm in Austin, (Round Rock really) so not toooo far away!

 

[justsmoke2]

The hardest part is waiting. Meat will be done when its ready. Your next 8lb'er may take less time or even worse more time. If your worried you can pull an finish in your oven.

 

[rgoodwin]

Thanks JustSmoke2,

My last two were good at about 16 hours, which we just passed while posting this, so maybe I'm not that far off.

New read: 175. Still a ways to 200, so I guess we're eating later than expected :)

 

[flatbroke]

16 hours seems a little excessive, but your temps should start climbing faster now that the foil is on. Trust the Thermo. especially if you checked it witht he water test.

How do you know your last smokes were at 250* what did you use to check?

 

[krusher]

did you start at 11 pm last nite?? if not it seems awful fast to have that temp.

is your prob on the bone or maybe in a fat pocket? if so that will give you a hot reading.

 

[rgoodwin]

flatbroke,

Now 179, so I'm keeping the faith. THe smoke measurement before was carefully propping the thermo so it didn't touch any metal at the tip end, closing the smoker and waiting for a few minutes until it stopped at 255.

krusher,

Yes 11pm last night :)

Probe should be in a safe spot, (I tried quite a few).

Will update soon :)

 

[richtee]

Roll Call. LOL. It is what it is. Look at my sig line!

 

[douglaslizard]

you should be well on your way now glad things seem to be working out for ya

 

[rgoodwin]

186, 24 degrees to happiness! (Richtee, I JUST missed nailing your sig ;-) I'l take it to 201 just for you, the fam will understand)

The ribs are going slower than normal too of course...They're in the "2" of "3 2 1", foiled and splashed with apple juice. I think I'll leave them foiled for the full next 3 hours to accelerate the cooking/tenderness and then braise them quickly on the grill.

Thanks for the fire drill everyone! Off to roll call!

 

[rgoodwin]

Final update:

All went well, with one issue... I had to pull it and serve so fast that no pictures were taken!

We did have one heckuva feast though:
- pulled pork
- 4 racks spares
- smoked brisket (from my neighbor's ECB)
- 1 rack beef
- crispy grilled boudin
- grilled turkey sausage

My wife set out some tater salad so we didn't have a 100% protein ratio ;-)

 

[richtee]

SWEET! Well done, Sir! OK points for the newbie!

For: 1- Remaining patient
2- paying attention
3- That menu sounds great!