Patience tested

[dannyboy]

So i smoked a butt for Memorial Day.. First one this year by the way.  Butt was bone in that I picked up at Publix, weighed 7.5 lbs.  It turned out amazing. My wife said it was the best one we had ever done. Here is my question. As I stated in topic title. I have no patience. It took 27 hrs for this butt to get to 200 degrees. REALLY?? 27 hrs. I have read on here where 2 hrs per lb is normal. Mine took close to 4. What is up, or do I need to just learn to be patient and plan for long smokes, and enjoy the good BBQ when it is done.

PS. Cooked at 225 with 5oz of peach, and apple juice in pan inside.

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[gregbooras]

So i smoked a butt for Memorial Day.. First one this year by the way.  Butt was bone in that I picked up at Publix, weighed 7.5 lbs.  It turned out amazing. My wife said it was the best one we had ever done. Here is my question. As I stated in topic title. I have no patience. It took 27 hrs for this butt to get to 200 degrees. REALLY?? 27 hrs. I have read on here where 2 hrs per lb is normal. Mine took close to 4. What is up, or do I need to just learn to be patient and plan for long smokes, and enjoy the good BBQ when it is done.

PS. Cooked at 225 with 5oz of peach, and apple juice in pan inside.

I have done three with bone in with my #2 and 11-13 hours is the norm for me. I do brine which does cut the time down but still that's a really long time. My unit has the 800 watt heater element. Have you tested to see what temp your smoker is putting out?

Greg

[swthorpe]

27 hours is definitely too long!   I would check your controller to make sure that you were getting up to 225F in the smoker.   Also, I now ramp up the temp; instead of 225F, I go closer to 240F.   I did an 8# butt over the weekend and it took 11 hours, just under 1.5hrs/lb.   

[SuperDave]

I believe that your P.S. statement is the cause of a lot of your frustration.  I've read numerous reports now where the 225 guys have experienced 20 hour smokes, so, I don't believe that this is just a coincidence.  I have yet to read a post where a 235 - 240 guy has experienced more than a 2 hr per pound smoke.  And most are between an hour and an hour and a half per pound at those temps. 

[Grampy]

I agree 27 hours is too long. I just did an 9.5 lb bone in butt it it took 12 hours on my #2. I definitely suspect something is wrong and your smoker is not getting up to the proper temp.

[dannyboy]

So i smoked a butt for Memorial Day.. First one this year by the way.  Butt was bone in that I picked up at Publix, weighed 7.5 lbs.  It turned out amazing. My wife said it was the best one we had ever done. Here is my question. As I stated in topic title. I have no patience. It took 27 hrs for this butt to get to 200 degrees. REALLY?? 27 hrs. I have read on here where 2 hrs per lb is normal. Mine took close to 4. What is up, or do I need to just learn to be patient and plan for long smokes, and enjoy the good BBQ when it is done.

PS. Cooked at 225 with 5oz of peach, and apple juice in pan inside.

I have done three with bone in with my #2 and 11-13 hours is the norm for me. I do brine which does cut the time down but still that's a really long time. My unit has the 800 watt heater element. Have you tested to see what temp your smoker is putting out?

Greg

Soaked in brine for 10 hrs before smoking. How do I test output. This is my second smoke in the #2 and both took 24 hrs. I thought this can't be right.

[swthorpe]

Do you have a remote temp probe that you can put in the box to check ambient temp?   Many of us have Mavericks with a probe for the smoker and one for the IT of the meat.   

[dannyboy]

Yes I have a Maverick732. I did not know it would monitor cooking temp. as well. Guess I should read instructions some times. I will monitor it next week. I have another smoke planned for company. I'm curious to see what the temp gets up to inside the box while cooking. Thanks for all the info. from everyone.

[swthorpe]

Good to have the Maverick.  The little probe with a clip on is the one that you can use to monitor the box temp.  Drop it in and hook it on one of the racks and this will give you a sense of what temps you are reaching in the box.   If you have the knob set for 225 but the Maverick never gets above 200, for example, then you may need to adjust the knob on the SI...instructions can be found on the forum.   Let us know if you have more questions or concerns!  Cheers

[gregbooras]

Earlier today pargolfr2003 posted some results on the #2 smoker

Foil on wood box and bottom.  No wood, water, or heat sink.  Empty cabinet.

Results;

15 minutes    152 degrees
30 minutes    240 degrees

I would not put food in the smoker just put your probe in the box and do what pargolfr2003 did. See what temp you get, also see when the box is set to 250 degrees what temp you have.

If needed here is a link on how to adjust the temp

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1219.msg5104#msg5104

Greg