At what point should I PANIC!

Sundown

Put ole' Mr BB in at Exactly 3PM
Temp looks like it's nailed on 200* plus a hair.
Mr. polder was checked with boiling water just two days ago and not used in the intrim.
Internal temp is already 113*!!
The meat, Mr. BB, is 9 - 9.5 lbs Almost square in shape.
Probe in a bone free spot (I think) felt around and didn't here any crunching noises.
He's resing in the rack comfortably
NOW WHAT?![p]Carey

Cat

Sundown,[p]Don't panic. Nothing unusual about a butt reaching that temp in its first 3 hours. It will continue to rise, and at some point (between 140 and 160 internal) the temp will stall out for several hours. This is good for our side. ;-}[p]Is 200 the dome temp? That's a little bit low, but you can always kick it up later if need be. Sounds like you're doing just fine. Have a beer, take it easy & daydream about the terrific meal you're going to have![p]Cathy

Gfw

Sundown, make sure that your dome thermometer probe isn't stuck in the pork roast. Good luck!

Char-Woody

Sundown, It will soon hit idle time and seem to get stuck at 160 to 170 range..stay calm take Cats advice then drink another one...then stay calm again..After a couple hours it will start clicking away the numbers to 200F internal. Takes time. No worry, no hurry!
C~W[p]

Tim M

Sundown,[p]I am thinking your going to be eating around 9pm tomorrow if you continue at 200. Any fat dripping on the fire will put it out at that low temp. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of watching it to maintain 200 for 20+ hrs. I always go atleast 225. If your fire keeps going thru the night - you'll have it licked. Keeping the fire going is the hard part - and that ain't that hard.[p]Go get em!!![p]Tim

Mike Oelrich

Sundown,[p] Sounds like you're doing OK. At this point, I'd follow TimM's suggestion and let the temp work its way up a bit. I'd tell you how mine are doing, but I normally don't even put the Polder probe in until at least half way through. My dome temp went up to 245 when the rain stopped a while ago and I throttled back a bit. Now I'm sitting at about 220. Hopefully it'll stay that way until the morning. I can crank up the heat bright and early if I need to. Last time, my dome temp went down to 150 at 4AM I still managed to get the thing done in under 24 hours. Eight hours down, sixteen to go . . .[p]MikeO

JJ

Sundown,
Why pray tell are you holding the dome temp at 200*? Kick it up to 250* and then go to bed and get a good night's rest. All will be fine tomorrow. Been doing these butts for over 50 years.