Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Butt - What's Going On?

atlegg22
atlegg22 Posts: 33
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello...

I put on my first ever butt (9 lbs) last night around 10 pm. Made sure to clean the BGE, put new lump up to the firebox, lit the egg in 3 different places, put on the plate setter / grate and waited for the temperature to stabilize (30 - 45 minutes) around 250ish before I put the butt on. I thought I could go to bed and get a good nights sleep but that wasn't the case. I ended up babysitting the butt every hour because of the temperature swings. The grate temp would go from around 240ish down to the mid 220's before I had to open up the vents and get the temp back up in the 230-240 range. Any idea why my temp wouldn't stick? Also, is their any problem of letting the butt cook at extremely low temps (around 220?) as long as it get's done. The butt temp seems to be cooking a lot faster then I anticipated so I was hesitant to up the temp. Any suggestions?

Thanks.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    you are fine at that temp if the egg wants to settle there. it sounds like you set up a cycle of chasing your temp. it takes a bit for a draft adj to level out the temp for that setting. as long as it did not go out for a length of time and the butt cooled off and set you are good. what is your temp of the butt now?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • atlegg22
    atlegg22 Posts: 33
    No, the fire never went out but it did go down around 215ish at one point. It feels like I've been chasing the temp all night. It's never been above 250. Right now (after about 10 hours), the grid temp is 236 and the butt temp is 164. My goal was to have it finish about 3pm (7 more hours). Looks like I'll finish WAY before that time now.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    hmm maybe, but you are probably in the plateau and might hang there for a couple of hours as it renders out the fat. but I think you will be fine. when setting up it looks like you were fine and had everything set good and the temp good. but maybe just needed to give it more time to get back to temp when you put the butts in. that is a large mass of meat and will take a bit. if the setting was good and the temp where you wanted it when you put them in, then give it about a hour even to come back as long as you did not move the draft door or daisy wheel loading. have you got a cooler to put them in if done early?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    One thing that helps is a wiggle rod to remove any ash or small lump from the lump grate.

    Nothing at all wrong with cooking at 220 from a safety standpoint. Anything above 140 is keeping the meat safe.

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • atlegg22
    atlegg22 Posts: 33
    yes, I have the cooler, tin foil and blankets ready for when I pull at 200 degrees. I understand the butt will stay hot for close to 4 hours.

    Maybe out of pure nervousness, I wasn't patient enough at the start to wait for the temperature to come back. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

    My biggest concern / question was if the butt could be smoked at an extremely low temp like 220ish.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    it will be fine and you will be ready for bed tonight LOL that makes for a long night stressing over temps. really think that is all that happened. enjoy dinner :) Julie
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GirlyEgg
    GirlyEgg Posts: 622
    Just sent u email...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • netsurfr
    netsurfr Posts: 1
    Short answer is yes. A lot of folks strive to maintain a temp of 225. Five degrees off of that is not a big swing.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • PhilsGrill
    PhilsGrill Posts: 2,256
    +/- 25 degrees is just fine to cook with. You were chasing the temps you should just set it and forget it.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories