2nd time now my butts are just going backwards

Dave Shady · February 2011

put on 2 butts 10# each at 1pm yesterday DigiQII set to 215. 5am they were reading 178. 630am droped to 174.

I just opened the lid to check and moved probe getting same reading in other but 176 now.

Kicked the temp to 250 and let it ride for a while. I had this issue at Newyears also. Butts got to 190 and never got to the 195 I normally pull n foil at all they droped back to 185. I pulled wrapped and they seemed a lil less moist than normal.

CORNFUZED in Iowa :S 18 hours in at 178 right now....
Is 215 just to low for winter low n slow cooking?

Dave Shady · February 2011

This was them when I opened to check probes ect.

gdenby · February 2011

I have had several butts go retrograde. It happened at a lower temperature, when the butts were in the 170 - 175 range, and they dropped to 160s. I can happen because the collagen break-down soaks up so much energy.

And 215 is really pretty low, unless you don't mind the cook taking a really long time.

Griffin · February 2011

Its not that uncommon for them to drop a few degrees while in the plateau. I've also had it do that to me with briskets.

Ripnem · February 2011

Dave,

Happens to all of the butts I've done. It's hung up in the 'Plateau' and this is when all the magic happens.

guess it takes energy to make magic and it cools a bit.

reminds me of the Tweev debates :laugh:

Frobozz · February 2011

I'd definitely cook 'em warmer -- closer to 250. And quit trying so hard. Worrying makes the meat tougher!

Also, since butts are made up of so many different meat fibers running in different directions, you'll get different temps in different locations in the meat. Really, consider the temp a guideline and then probe around a bit. If your probe meets little resistance, your pork is done.

Fidel · February 2011

It has nothing to do with winter.....215 is too low at any time. Cook at 250 dome temp (225ish at the grate) and it will cook faster and you'll never know the difference.

berrygood · February 2011

Fidel wrote:

It has nothing to do with winter.....215 is too low at any time. Cook at 250 dome temp (225ish at the grate) and it will cook faster and you'll never know the difference.

Cosign on pit temp. Also, temp fluctuations in the plateau are normal for big, fatty cuts. As Rip said, this is a good thing - connective tissue is breaking down into succulent, mouth-watering piggy goodness. Jack up that temp and pull at 195.

vidalia1 · February 2011

I cook my butts at 300-375 dome temp. I never have the problem of meat temp dropping. 215 is too low anytime of the year...be not afraid of high temp butts....

and yes you will still have bark & smoke ring at higher temps... :cheer: :cheer:

Egg Master 3000 · February 2011

Remember that as the gap between the internal temp of the meat and the pit temp gets smaller, the rate of internal temp decreases. Since the desired internal temp is somewhere around 195... 215 is not much greater resulting in a slow climb to the finish!

MO Mule · February 2011

Would you tell us more about the high temp butts??

BigA · February 2011

like they have said raise the temp, if your running 215 dome temp the grid temp is not that much higher than 195. it is pretty hard to get to or past 195 when the temp isnt that high

. run between 230 and 275. it will take less time and taste the same if not better :cheer: :cheer:

Fidel · February 2011

A slow climb to the finish? What does that matter?

The slow climb in BBQ is beneficial during the plateau - not so much during that last 20 degrees or so.

CBBQ · February 2011

If you are talking 215 degrees dome it may be too low. I have 3 eggs in different sizes and the variance from "dome to grate" is different in each one. My large usually runs 24 degrees different D to G. At 215 degrees dome my grate temp is only around 191. It's hard to get meat up to 195 if it's cooking at 191. If that's your grate temp then you just may have some stubborn butts. Bump it up as others have suggested.

vidalia1 · February 2011

This is how I do my butts...usually done in 4-5 hours...

Rub butt with your favorite rub 2-4 hours before cooking and cover with saran wrap and place in fridge.

The BGE should be set up indirect with a platesetter and a drip pan. (no liquid necessary in pan). Get BGE to 350-375. ( 400 is ok) Cook butts at 350-375. Use fruit wood (preferably peach) for smoke if you have any. Cook fat cap down.

Cook butts for 2 ½ hours then double wrap in heavy duty AF.(no liquid)

Put the butt or butts back on BGE at 350-375 until internal temp is 190-195. This should take another 1 1/2 -2 hrs. Do the bone wiggle test to see if butt is pullable. Take out of BGE, carefully drain the juice into a bowl. Place juice in the fridge to deglaze later. Wrap butt back in foil and double wrap butt in towels and place in a cooler for a minimum of 1 hr. The meat can go up to 5 hrs like this and still be hot.

When you are ready to pull the pork and serve it, skim the fat off of the pork juice and mix 1/2 cup juice with 1 cup bbq sauce together and heat in a pot until thoroughly mixed. After the pork is pulled, brush the bbq sauce/juice mixture on the pulled pork, serve and enjoy...

:P

stike · February 2011

215 is 215, summer or winter. if it's 215 in there, what the temp is outside isn't having any effect.

.
but i think it's too low anyway.

215 means a long slog until done. go 250 and save yourself the hairpulling

Dave Shady · February 2011

The first 16 hours of the cook was at 215 grate, I use a Digi Q with a probe tree so its getting air temp at the grate. Ramped it up to 240 grate till about 9am when they hit 190 did the 3x foil and towel cooler gig. they looked perty good comin off.

I have done quite a few butts on my eggs most of the time from 215-225 grate but never had this backin up problem until the last 2 cooks.

Thanks again and good conversation and discussion.

Cruezn · February 2011

Glad they turned out. I like a 225 grate temp (with my guru), which translates to about a 250 dome temp. In the picture, I couldn't tell, but it looked like the butts may be touching. If that's the case, it will cook more like a 20 lb piece of meat instead of two 10 pounders. As previously mentioned, temps will occasionally go south during the plateau. It's not uncommon.

MO Mule · February 2011

Thanks for the info. I'm going to cook a couple tomorrow and i may give this a try.

Jeffersonian · February 2011

Yeah, but if you look at his rig he's not quite in the dome with his pit probe. It's on a stalk down by the butts. I try to avoid this by doing all of my cooks (with the exception of low-temp smokes) with the probe in the dome position. I never have to try to guess what my temp ought to be compared to dome that way.

2nd time now my butts are just going backwards

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