drunkenmeatfist
is Blowin Smoke!
Did you have a second thermometer to test the temp inside the cooker or were you just using the one on the door?
Planning First Long Cook on Smoke Vault 24
- Thread starter 87Olds
- Start date
SweetHeatBBQnSC
is One Chatty Farker
Looks amazing...although the 20 hours is a hefty amount of time. I would probably cook a little warmer next time, but you are the only one having to man the pit. If you were pleased with the flavor and the temp and the time didn't bother you keep on keeping on. Did you put rub on while tearing apart?
87Olds
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2017
- Location
- Seymour...
Yes, I used a remote thermometer, shown in one of my earlier pictures. I did some testing tonight, and may have found out why it took so long. This will be long winded, so here goes:
I moved the probe to different places in the smoker, starting with the original position on an upper rack, near the middle of the smoker. I took out the chip pan and water pan for the tests. There was a large difference in temperature between the remote and the door thermometer (around 35-40 degrees). I moved the thermometer down to the rack I cooked on, trying it in the front first, then the back. The closest I got to the temperature on the door was in the center of the rack, near the back. This is slightly lower than the door thermometer. At that spot, it was nearly dead-on.
I tried the upper rack, and got higher temperatures than with the lower rack, even though it varied depending on where it was placed. What it looks like to me is that if you have the probe on a upper rack, and in the area where the heat is exhausted, you'll get a higher reading (which makes sense). What I realized is that I had placed the meat on a rack two positions up from where the water pan was, and the probe was another two positions up from that. Not only that, it was near where the heat was exhausted. I believe that I was actually cooking at a lower temp than I should have been. Lesson learned: keep the probe on the same rack, if possible. It also seems to make sense to put the meat higher if you want a higher temp (heat rises). I know this sounds pretty obvious, but I am still learning how to operate this smoker properly.
Sweetheat, I seasoned the meat when I was pulling it, and added a little sauce. It had a good flavor, not too much smoke. I can think of some improvements to do in the future. Yes, I am the only one to man the smoker, so the long cooks will take a lot of work. I did take some to work today, and got quite a few compliments, even though I think it can be improved. BTW, thanks for the compliments.
Appreciate the advice and tips. Helps to have people to ask questions to. Next one will be even better.
Yep try keeping the heat more constant throughout the cook. Also temp probe placement is critical...right beside the meat. Lastly, if your lookin' you ain't cookin. Just my .02.
Still looks good! :thumb:
87Olds
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2017
- Location
- Seymour...
Yep, I agree about the lookin...thanks!
ShadowDriver
somebody shut me the fark up.
Sounds like a good adventure, and the pr0n looks tasty.
Know that pork butts are incredibly forgiving, and many folks like to cook 'em up in the 275-300-325 range with a possible wrap based on liking the color. Along those lines, some of us like to smoke 'em until 160F internal, then pan & wrap (or not) to catch juices. That'll seriously cut down on some of the cook time (maybe help you get some sleep in the process), but still have good control over the finished product.
Just a suggestion or two for consideration.
Keep it coming! Thanks for sharing.
Know that pork butts are incredibly forgiving, and many folks like to cook 'em up in the 275-300-325 range with a possible wrap based on liking the color. Along those lines, some of us like to smoke 'em until 160F internal, then pan & wrap (or not) to catch juices. That'll seriously cut down on some of the cook time (maybe help you get some sleep in the process), but still have good control over the finished product.
Just a suggestion or two for consideration.
Keep it coming! Thanks for sharing.
