A Tale of Two Butts

P

prudentsmoker

Member
I put on 2 butts (approx. 7 lbs. each)  last night at 8:00 at 225 with 8 oz of seasoned apple.  I woke up at 5AM and the one on the bottom was at 203.4! I immediately took it out and noticed there were parts of it burned to a crisp. The upper one, close to the top was at 200 @10:00 AM.
They were both on parchment paper and the bottom one really stuck to the paper, the top one did not.
Now i have only had this #2 for less than 2 weeks, but I am wondering if the bottom one, which was on the closest setting to the heating element, was not only effected by that, and it maybe the wood caught fire, which I would think would not happen at 225.
I appreciate you comments and thank you in advance.
 
Interesting outcome!  You may very well have experienced some combustion but that alone should not have caused such a wide fluctuation, or burning the meat to a crisp.    Was the parchment paper burned?  Did you have the lower butt on the bottom rack or the next one up?

For future smokes, I would suggest only 6oz of wood...8oz seems a bit much and perhaps might have contributed to a fire.  How did the smoke box look when you finished?  Was the wood reduce to ash?
 
Why usr the parchment paper?  The environment is exceptionally moist without needing to wrap.  I think this is another of the methods that is used in less than air tight smokers to assist in moisture retention.  It may also hinder smoke penetration.  I agree that 8 ounces may be a bit much.  Those 2 items may not be prudent........ :P.  Next time will be better, I'm sure.  Welcome aboard.
 
If I may respond to both posts here-I did not wrap it in parchment paper, simply placed them on a single sheet as it makes cleanup so much easier.
The wood was reduced to ash, it seemed to me that 8 oz. being the max suggested would be the right amount for such a long smoke.
The bottom butt was on the lowest rack.
Parchment was more burned on the bottom butt. Actually stuck so much I had to throw out some of the butt.
I am actually quite fond of the parchment. I have put a frozen cod filet, seasoned with "Slap Ya Mama" on the #2 at 225 for 1 hour with very good results.
 
Sounds like there's no talking you out of parchment.  If you want your shelves easier to clean, just spray a little cooking spray on them before cooking.  I would rather have good smoke penetration, ALL the way around, than worry about a little extra scrubbing!  The parchment is also, most likely, channeling the heat around it in a weird way, which may have contributed to your results. 

I also agree that 8 oz is too much for that smoke.  Part of what you are calling "burnt" may be built-up creosote on the meat.  It will only absorb smoke until it hits about 140, then it just coats the surface.

You might want to check out this post:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2078.0

Let us know if we can help, and welcome!
 
Here is my thoughts, If you want clean racks, spray them prior to putting food on them. Any residual bits can be brushed off with a grill brush. When mine get real bad I chuck them in the gas grill and cremate the residual bits. No scrubbing needed. Your loosing an a large section of bark like that.

As to the wood amounts that does seem to be a bit much you could have done half of that.

Regarding the time and temp on the smoke. You had two seven pound chunks of meat. To me that cooks nearly the same as one seven pound chunk of meat. If it was one fourteen pound mass it would cook very different. You started it at 8pm and started taking out meat at 5am, nine hours later. I think you should have started your smoke much later. I don't know about your #2 but I would have had both butts on the top shelf nearly touching so that they got equal heat. You don't mention if you were using a probe thermometer, one with an alarm feature would be best. Probe the smaller chunk of meat first.
 
Thanks Divotmaker. I will start with 6oz. max. You are correct about my use of parchment paper. Not only does it make clean up easier, it makes fish easier to remove. As far as absorbing smoke, I would point out that Myron cooks everything in aluminum pans.
 
Agreed. For butts, 5-6 ounces depending on the type of the wood.

I have never had a problem with clean-up. There may be a couple of small pieces that stick to the grate, but I can usually pick them off by hand or definitely with one or two strokes of a grill brush.

Like Brian said, I would think this would prevent the bark on the bottom of the butt from forming very well and I want all the bark I can get.

Brian's also right about trying to get both butts on the same shelf. Even if they were almost touching, I would try to get both of them on the same shelf. Brian and I have #3's. So, getting two butts on one shelf is not a problem. But I would still try to get two on one butt if at all possible.

I am curious what your temps were running at during the smoke. Did you have a smoker probe in there? I always start my butts (typically 7-8 pounders from Sams) around midnight and they usually take about 18-20 hours.

So for me, the one pro of easier clean-up way outweigh the numerous cons of using parchment paper or any type of pan. But to each his own and I respect you opinion since it seems you are pretty stuck on using the paper.

I hope your next smoke goes better.
 
I did not measure the temperature this time, but a few days ago I checked it every five minutes for two hours and it averaged 237, being set on 225.

I like the idea of two butts on the same rack. It looks like I have my original Oklahoma Joe's sold and will be giving the #2 to my son as soon as I get my new #3. I will make sure I share this with him.

Can you get a whole brisket on the #3?
 
I fully understand useing the parchment on fish since it is delicate & thin.  I choose to use the seafood grill rack & have had good success with it.  I dont understand the use of it on large fatty cuts like BB or brisket.  The quantity of rendered fat is too vast to make a substantial difference.  This should be apparent due to the drippings in your drip pan as well as what is left on the foil @ the bottom of the smoker.

Don't cook in a pan in these.  There is a good chance (as reported by many on this site) that it will cause false readings to the thermocouple causing problems with maintaining desired temps.  Depending how much real estate is covered by the parchment paper, this may occur with it as well.

According to your post, the average temp was 12 degrees high.  This probably contributed to your quick cook times.  You may need to calibrate your knob to reflect the appropriate avg temp.  A post on this site outlines this procedure.  You should be able to find it with a quick search.

I hope this helps.
 
Yes you can fit a brisket in the #3. The #3 is 22 inches deep. While I haven't done a whole packer cut brisket, I have fit a whole pork belly easily on one rack. Racks of Baby Backs fit with several inches of open space at either end.
 
I can relate to the "Rest"
I always thought I was letting them rest when I laid them on a cutting board with a foil tent for 30 min.

When I got the SI2 I did a butt and pulled @ 298 two layers of foil into the cooler wrapped in a towel for two hours.
Best pulled pork I ever had.
 
prudentsmoker said:
Thanks Divotmaker. I will start with 6oz. max. You are correct about my use of parchment paper. Not only does it make clean up easier, it makes fish easier to remove. As far as absorbing smoke, I would point out that Myron cooks everything in aluminum pans.
Click to expand...

Myron is a stick burner guru, but doesn't smoke in these smokers.  Don't use pans, and don't rely on Myron's methods (other than rubs and prep techniques) for these smokers.  Totally different animal.
 
I am well aware of the difference. I just sold my Oklahoma Joe's to buy a #3 and give the #2 to my son. I was simply trying to point out that if smoke can work well enough in aluminum pans to win competitions, then surely it can work with parchment.
 
prudentsmoker said:
I am well aware of the difference. I just sold my Oklahoma Joe's to buy a #3 and give the #2 to my son. I was simply trying to point out that if smoke can work well enough in aluminum pans to win competitions, then surely it can work with parchment.
Click to expand...

No worries...whatever works for you.  Cool thing is, there are no rules!  We're just trying to help.
 
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