First Pork (Bone in Shoulder) on the 3D

[Tom]

First post using the cellphone, so I'll keep it short.I mainly want to see how easy it is to upload photos.

Ahh, I see camera orientation matters. My apologies (fixed).

This is a baby butt, barely 7 pounds. Fortunately, it hasn't been trimmed to death so there's a good fat cap on the bottom (unseen) side. I mixed up a very simple combo of Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning and about 2 T of onion powder. I tend to score my pork butt for more texture and bark surface area. I've always brined my butts, but didn't plan properly, so this one is going au natural. I bought two nearly identical sized butts, the second one will get brined next week, which should help, since it'll now need to be frozen, so it'll definitely need added moisture.

The wonderful thing for me is seeing how quickly you go from prep to couch I think this took 15 minutes, taking my time.

6oz Hickory ( I would have done a mix of hickory along with some of my other hardwoods, but they're temporarily buried behind other junk on the balcony),7 pound bone in butt on @230, smelling incredible already. I put the butt on the second highest shelf, and put a disposable pan on the second lowest. With hopes, this larger pan will catch all he drippings ( I didn't foil the bottom yet).

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[SuperDave]

Tom, looks like you were up early!  Keep us posted. 

[NDKoze]

Normally a drip plan place below the meat is not a good thing and can cause heat flow issues. But, depending on how big your pan is in the 3D it may or may not cause you a problem.

Did you add a water pan? Best to add one on the floor of the smoker bumped right up against the smoke box.

I use these sheet pan lids instead of foil. I have a big thing of foil from Sams/Costco too, but this is sooooo easy to replace.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-chefs-aluminum-steam-table-foil-lids-full-size-15-ct/prod3830043.ip?navAction=

Let us know how your smoke goes.

[Tom]

There's several inches around all four sides of the pan, but I'm starting to wonder a bit myself. It's been stuck for well over an hour without going up more than 4-5 degrees. I took a nap sometime around 9 and it was in the high 120's, but from 11:15 till now, it's been sitting at 156-158 and is just now trickling past 160.

I pulled the probe out about a cm, incase the meat shrink managed to get it closer to the bone, but I doubted it. Even confirmed the low temp on my Thermapen which matches identically.

For a small < 7 lb butt, I wouldn't think it would only be at 160 at 11 hours of cooking time. It hasn't even gotten up to stall temps yet.

[Tom]

And 2 hours since my last post, it's still only gone up 5 degrees to 165. I just pulled the drip pan out and lowered the shelf that the butt is on down to the 2nd from the bottom.

I checked from the beginning to ensure that there was nothing touching or even close to the main thermometer.

[Tom]

Removing the pan and lowering the meat to dead center of the cooker has helped. It's picked up almost 7 degrees in the past 20 minutes. I also noticed other members here noting that they see smaller butts take longer than larger cuts, so I'll just wait it out. I'm at 172 and getting hungry!

[DivotMaker]

Tom, what was your box temp reading all day?  I use 235 for butts, and 240 is even OK.  Although smaller butts do have a mind of their own, 7 lbs shouldn't act like a 4 pounder. 

[SconnieQ]

You can experience a stall anywhere from 150-180. It depends on the mass and density of your meat, fat and connective tissue makeup, moisture, surface evaporation, etc. There is no hard-and-fast rule for when the stall occurs, and for how long. Just trust your probe, be patient, and allow plenty of time. It's funny how many posts there are posted during the panic of the stall, opening the box, repositioning the probe, fiddling with the temperature, wrapping, and so on. The more smokes you get under your belt, the less you'll notice, or pay any attention to the stall.

[Tom]

Tom, what was your box temp reading all day?  I use 235 for butts, and 240 is even OK.  Although smaller butts do have a mind of their own, 7 lbs shouldn't act like a 4 pounder.

Pretty steady +/- 1-2 degrees from 230ºF . I'll definitely try the next one at 235-240. I'm all for slow Q, but there's no reason to wait 18 hours if it can be done in 12.

The meat's right at 189 now, I'll whip up some chipotle crazy sauce to drizzle on it shortly.

[DivotMaker]

Wrap/rest it.  189 is close enough!  Next time, no drip pan, please.    Foil the wood box and floor, and call it good!

[SmokinSusie-Q]

Normally a drip plan place below the meat is not a good thing and can cause heat flow issues. But, depending on how big your pan is in the 3D it may or may not cause you a problem.

Did you add a water pan? Best to add one on the floor of the smoker bumped right up against the smoke box.

I use these sheet pan lids instead of foil. I have a big thing of foil from Sams/Costco too, but this is sooooo easy to replace.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-chefs-aluminum-steam-table-foil-lids-full-size-15-ct/prod3830043.ip?navAction=

Let us know how your smoke goes.

Gregg, will the sheet pan lids fit the bottom of my 2D exactly?  Do you reuse or just throw them away after each smoke?  It would be great not to have to measure and cut aluminum foil before each smoke!

[SmokinSusie-Q]

And 2 hours since my last post, it's still only gone up 5 degrees to 165. I just pulled the drip pan out and lowered the shelf that the butt is on down to the 2nd from the bottom.

I checked from the beginning to ensure that there was nothing touching or even close to the main thermometer.

Tom, your experience mirrors mine with my first butt (see "This Butt's For You").  I wonder if placing my butt on a lower rack closer to the heat would speed up the process.  Maybe someone can provide their experience re: rack placement.

[NDKoze]

Normally a drip plan place below the meat is not a good thing and can cause heat flow issues. But, depending on how big your pan is in the 3D it may or may not cause you a problem.

Did you add a water pan? Best to add one on the floor of the smoker bumped right up against the smoke box.

I use these sheet pan lids instead of foil. I have a big thing of foil from Sams/Costco too, but this is sooooo easy to replace.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-chefs-aluminum-steam-table-foil-lids-full-size-15-ct/prod3830043.ip?navAction=

Let us know how your smoke goes.

Gregg, will the sheet pan lids fit the bottom of my 2D exactly?  Do you reuse or just throw them away after each smoke?  It would be great not to have to measure and cut aluminum foil before each smoke!

They would fit width wise, but would be about five inches too long. But you could cut, fold over, etc. Pretty easily.

They fit perfectly in the #3.

You could use a half sheet lid but at 10" it would be about 4"-5" too short.

[NDKoze]

And 2 hours since my last post, it's still only gone up 5 degrees to 165. I just pulled the drip pan out and lowered the shelf that the butt is on down to the 2nd from the bottom.

I checked from the beginning to ensure that there was nothing touching or even close to the main thermometer.

Tom, your experience mirrors mine with my first butt (see "This Butt's For You").  I wonder if placing my butt on a lower rack closer to the heat would speed up the process.  Maybe someone can provide their experience re: rack placement.

My thought is to not try to speed up the process because the low and slow is what make BBQ so awesome. You especially don't want to push through the stall because that is where the magic happens.

I know many will say that pork butts are a very forgiving meat and that is definitely true. But, my suggestion is to just plan for more time and let the SI do its magic.

[Tom]

It ended up turning out pretty spectacular. Just the right amount of smoke, but as much as I love the aroma of hickory smoke, the flavor doesn't do as much for me. The next one I'll mix it up, once I get a bit more organized.

But the moisture and texture was divine. No complaints there. Like all smoked meats, it was even better the next day.  I'm out of cheap yellow mustard, so I'll swing by the store tonight and make up a simple vinegar/mustard sauce to accompany it as well.