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Ran out of lump during my cook

War_Eagle_2244
War_Eagle_2244 Posts: 122
edited June 2012 in EggHead Forum

I put on a 6.5 lb butt last night at 11pm.  Had the egg stabilized at 250 with the DigiQ..plate setter legs up.  Internal temp was at 126 when I went to bed at about 1am.  I did not check on it again until 11am this morning and the pit temp was at 103 andthe meat about the same.  I took the meat off to discover that there was virtually no charcoal left at all. 

When I started the cook, there were some very small pieces of Royal Oak left in the bottom from my last cook.  I put some good sized pieces of fresh BGElump on top.Thought I put plenty in.  Lit it using a Weber starter then put a water pan on top of the plate setter...which leaked and basically put my fire out.  Had to start all over. 

Did I simply just not put enough fresh lump in?  I have the butt in the oven now wrapped in foil.  Going to try and get the internal temp back up to 190.  Will this be safe to eat?

Disaster from start to finish!!!

Comments

  • hartofatiger
    hartofatiger Posts: 204
    Did you fill it up all the way to fire ring? It needs to be that high for a long cook.

    GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!

  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346

    I just did the same size butt, check my link for what i used and how much.

     

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1139999/6-65lb-boston-butt#latest



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346
    Also, look i didnt even come close to the fire lid, and i have half of that left now.



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • It's fine to eat. Finish it in the oven or fire the egg back up and finish like a man :))

    You need to add way more lump. If you load to the top of the box, mine will easily go 30 + hrs. To the top of the ring.....2 days.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • twlangan
    twlangan Posts: 307
    I did a 9 hr butt cook last weekend and started out with fresh Royal Oak, filled to the top of fire box - none into the fire ring. Ran the cook at 275 and was surprised at how little lump I had left. I'm guessing about 3 more hours and I'd have been out. I had four smaller butts on there - about 15 lbs of pork all together.

    I'd skip the water pan next time if I were you. Water only gets to 212 and will take energy to boil it off. I don't think they are necessary in an Egg since they keep existing moisture in very well. You may gain some cook time on a load by not boiling that water off. I used a dry drip pan and it worked fine.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    @ OP-a variable in all the "how long can your BGE run on a load of lump?" is the brand of lump-in addition to the low&slow mantra of "you can never load too much lump as long as you have adequate air-flow" the brand does impact the run-time.  I will not even suggest to go down that road here, but the more dense lumps will burn longer for a given volume.  I am fairly confident that Cen-Tex uses mesquite FYI-.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • @ OP-a variable in all the "how long can your BGE run on a load of lump?" is the brand of lump-in addition to the low&slow mantra of "you can never load too much lump as long as you have adequate air-flow" the brand does impact the run-time.  I will not even suggest to go down that road here, but the more dense lumps will burn longer for a given volume.  I am fairly confident that Cen-Tex uses mesquite FYI-.



    Correct, which notorious for low burn times (burns hot and fast) so any decent lump should get you more than you got should you load enough in.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346
    The coals I had were COWBOY, and they are very very dense, the best I have used.



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • Thanks for all the comments.  I'm pretty sure I just didn't put enough fuel in.  I will probably try it without the water pan next time too...next time as in tonight ;-)
  • Duganboy
    Duganboy Posts: 1,118
    Thanks for all the comments.  I'm pretty sure I just didn't put enough fuel in.  I will probably try it without the water pan next time too...next time as in tonight ;-)
    War Eagle skip the water pan idea in the BGE.  You don't need it----EVER!!
  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
    The coals I had were COWBOY, and they are very very dense, the best I have used.
    Interesting, the bag of Cowboy I just finished had huge pieces but they weren't dense at all. They burned very quickly and produced a ton of ash.
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)