OK_ 1st Butt & 'Dera ready to start ... Now What ??

[RichardF]

Looks great - Start spraying. Remember, IF YOU ARE LOOKIN', THE Q AIN'T COOKIN'. Try to limit the number of times you open the door, because every time you do you slow the process down. I know, it's hard, but try and fight the temptation to look.

 

[brdbbq]

NO Lighter Fluid
NO Soaking.

Not to take away but I use lightwer fluid once in awhile or now and again, so one of you all will just have to bitch slap me I guess.

 

[Q_Egg]

I'm lost with the Fatty! !65*F was too low .. at least for me..

... it was out for an hour or so, but went back in. Now it has the type of crust that I had expected and is about 180*F inside. I just took it off again, foiled it, and will probably have for breakfast. Obviously I need to learn a lot more about Fatties!

I'm not doing a good job with the fire and it is cycling far too much. I will tend more closely for the next 3 hours and hopefully get the Butt up to the 190* to 200*F point. This 1st time, and perhaps many times, I will listen to many here and avoid doing the foil until I understand the process better.
T_B

 

[Q_Egg]

I hear the Cattle Call message loud and clear.....

..... and would have already posted, but my only pics are on a DVD somewhere and I need to find it.
T_B

 

[icemn62]

Foiling is a matter of choice. Some of us do it, others don't, some do sometimes, some don't some times. It is kind of like coke vs. pepsi.

Welcome to the group, grab a cold one and "stay" in the fray.

 

[jsmoker]

I'm not doing a good job with the fire and it is cycling far too much. I will tend more closely for the next 3 hours and hopefully get the Butt up to the 190* to 200*F point. This 1st time, and perhaps many times, I will listen to many here and avoid doing the foil until I understand the process better.
T_B

Patience grasshopper. You're doing great With your willingness to listen to some brotherly advice, you're already a year ahead of where most newbies are during their first smoke. Reward yourself with a slice of that fatty and crack a cold one. The worst thing about this experience is going to be how you and your wife turn your noses up at chain store BBQ from now on.... You'll be cranking out groceries light years better than the drive thru Q joints and you'll be sentenced to endless weekends sitting in front of a BBQ pit, beer in hand and surrounded by friends.

Great job!

 

[bbqinNC]

Tommy, You need to at least eat part of the fattie, you won't believe how good it tastes!! Of course you can eat the rest of it as well. Kinda like Lays potatoe chips, can't eat just one!! I like to think of the fattie as a chef's treat. Of course I will share if anyone is around.

 

[Q_Egg]

Thanks Jason. As luck would have it, you were the first to ....

.........see my call for help and set the tone for the day. Right now, things have sort of leveled out with smoker temp at 240*F amd Butt at 156*F. Do I just hang in there and wait for the normal processes to take effect and then see a temp rise? I hesitate to raise the smoker temp, but I can. Also, I could change the Butt position more toward the bottom (middle right now).

T_B

 

[Q_Egg]

I did taste the Fatty earlier and it was 'just ok'.

I'm sure it is much better now ... I foiled it right after taking it off and it is probably perfect temp to taste right now. OK, I will!.

T_B

 

[jsmoker]

Nah, you're doing just great with how you have it. Pit temp is great, butt position is great. Seems like you said about an hour ago or so that the butt was around 155... You're most likely in that plateau phase. It's going to hang there for a while while the collagen breaks down. Each and every butt is different, so there isn't a hard and fast rule about how long it will hang up. Once it does get out of plateau, it's going to start to rise pretty quickly (relatively speaking of course). Just hang out and enjoy your time. You're getting really close now!!!

Now, for the real question.... How was that fatty!!!!!?????!!!!!!

 

[ggeilman]

Butt position is fine. As long as the temp continues to rise you are fine. If not, foil. It can go as long as 1.5 hours per pound, but it is a rule of thumb only. Can be shorter.

 

[kcquer]

Tommy, I'm naturally impatient so I usually cook my fatties in a hotspot on a low shelf on a corner (not over the waterpan). They crust up real nice that way, and cook in about 90-120 mins. I usually turn the fatty over after about an hour so both sides are crusty.

 

[RichardF]

.........see my call for help and set the tone for the day. Right now, things have sort of leveled out with smoker temp at 240*F amd Butt at 156*F. Do I just hang in there and wait for the normal processes to take effect and then see a temp rise? I hesitate to raise the smoker temp, but I can. Also, I could change the Butt position more toward the bottom (middle right now).T_B

If you are not planning on serving this tonight, I'd leave things well enough alone. If you havn't flipped the butt, you could always do that, but don't open the smoker just to do that. Do it when you were planning on spraying.

 

[chad]

Isn't it remarkable how we sweat out cooking a $10 piece of pork!!

I did 2 butts, a brisket, and a load of chicken Saturday before last...got a late start and put the meat on at 1:30 p.m ...I had it all in the freezer and everything cleaned up by 9 p.m. Two years of competion and getting over the mystique makes cooking this stuff a lot more fun!! And yes, I used my stickburner, but no oven, no slow cooker....

 

[Q_Egg]

Next time the fatty goes in lower! The 2nd time in, one end got ...

... much darker and crustier than the other and that is what I like best. Having it drip on the Butt seems like a good idea, but next time I will only do that for a short time at the beginning. It's not quite 3:00 p.m. here and my timer says 1hr 45min @ 1.5 hrs per pound (5.06 lbs). The Fatty tastes great and I had to open a beer to celebrate! Internal temp is now 165*F.

T_B

 

[jsmoker]

Internal temp is now 165*F.T_B

You're on your way! Way to have patience!!! Pulled pork sammies for dinner tonight!!!!!!!

Um..... By the way, where is the latest edition of the porn!?!

 

[icemn62]

Nothing like the spoils of war. any new pics. We like to look at the pics. Sounds like you are in the stuck zone, nothing to do now but wait. Just remember that it is doing what it (the butt) is supposed to be doing. It is getting ready for you to pull the meat and eat the treat.

have another slice of fatty and beer.

 

[RichardF]

... much darker and crustier than the other and that is what I like best. Having it drip on the Butt seems like a good idea, but next time I will only do that for a short time at the beginning. It's not quite 3:00 p.m. here and my timer says 1hr 45min @ 1.5 hrs per pound (5.06 lbs). The Fatty tastes great and I had to open a beer to celebrate! Internal temp is now 165*F. T_B

Now take the number of times you opened the door and multiply that by 15 to determine the additional cooking time in minutes.

 

[bbqinNC]

Keep in mind for your first cook, that you don't necessarily need to go all the way for pulled pork. Once the meat gets above the safe temperature the meat is fair game for consuming by humans.:-D

If you have the patience then you can go all the way to 205 degrees for fall apart pork. I guess what I am saying is, it is your call as to how far you want to go. If you don't go all the way, it will still be tasty, but you will have to slice it instead of "pull" it.

 

[Q_Egg]

You couldn't wait to say that! I'll need a calculator and another ...

bag of lump at this rate. Smoker at 255*F, Butt at 178*F, If I take a pic I'll have to multiply .... again .... ok, here's the latest ..
I moved the remote temp probe .... might have been too close to a bone ...

T_B