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Stall won't stop stalling?

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Mosca
Mosca Posts: 456
Hello, and thanks for looking!

First pork butt. 8lbs. Started last night at 10:30PM. At 8AM it was @ 145*. At 9:45AM it was @ 156*. Now, at 2:30PM, after 16 hours, it is @ 170.

I have no problem waiting; it's not like we're eating at 3. But man, this is slow. I paid attention to instructions to use lots of big pieces for my fire, and I made a BIG pile, so I'm not worried about running out of fuel... but about when should I expect the temp to start accelerating? When should I thing about pumping up the dome temp, or putting the roast in the oven?

Thanks,

Tom

Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    Missing a key metric-what is your calibrated (key word) dome temperature?
    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.
  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
    edited July 2013
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    225 on the calibrated Maverick.It has varied from 225 to 230, but has mostly been 226.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    If you are running around 225*F on the grid (Maverick location assumption) then it will take quite a while to get the butt to somewhere north of 200*F +/-.  At that temp you can expect 2+ hrs/# easily.  You can crank the dome up to around 300*F to punch it home-and it will be just fine. 

    Welcome and enjoy the journey!

    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.
  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
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    Thanks, Lou! Since we're not eating until around 5, I'm going to wait another half hour and then start punching!
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    Good call if time is not an issue-enjoy!
    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.
  • RV10Flyer
    RV10Flyer Posts: 140
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    I had the same thing happen a couple weeks ago. Bumped the temp up 30 to 40 degrees and the internal temp started climbing again.


    North Texas

    XL and Small BGE

  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
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    Here we are now @ 5:40. Egg's been puffing away at around 300 for about an hour. Internal is 192 on the Maverick, and an instant-read (cheap Taylor, but still) says 192.7. The bone pulled out. I'm giving this sucker another 20 minutes MAX, then calling it done at 6PM after 20 hours.

    I think I have some learning to do, about my Egg and what the temperature is around different parts of the dome. My hypothesis is that my instruments were reading accurately, but were not placed at the optimal points. I probably could have used higher temps at the points the probes were placed.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    @Mosca-I'm a big believer in "believing your indications".  That said, you can have too many indications and get " axle-wrapped around temperatures" that only confuse you and the process.  I would doubt that you wire your kitcehn oven to determine any thermo gradients-I would suggest not to do the same with the BGE. Pick a temperature location (dome or grid) and sort out how the BGE cooks with that as a point of reference and go from there-Just an opinion and we all know what those are worth....YMMV-
    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.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    If you had your Maverick probe out of the shadow (direct line of sight with the fire) of the plate setter or whatever you used to make it indirect, you'd have a high bias on the reading, and the meat would cook extremely slow.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
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    Thanks, all. It was really good.

    image

    Here's the thing, though: the effort was all out of proportion to the result. I'm used to using my Egg as a grill substitute: burgers, ribs, chicken, and sometimes more complicated stuff, but always meals that start with, "Whaddya want for dinner?" at around 3PM. This was pretty straightforward from one perspective, in that it was trim, oil, rub, and roast. But 20+ hours? That is a lot of time in advance to start a meal!


  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
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    If you go turbo at 350, wrap in foil at 165, you can be done in about 6 hours. Just need to decide 'what do we want for dinner' just before lunch time.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • Parallel
    Parallel Posts: 433
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    Mosca said:
    Thanks, all. It was really good.

    image

    Here's the thing, though: the effort was all out of proportion to the result. I'm used to using my Egg as a grill substitute: burgers, ribs, chicken, and sometimes more complicated stuff, but always meals that start with, "Whaddya want for dinner?" at around 3PM. This was pretty straightforward from one perspective, in that it was trim, oil, rub, and roast. But 20+ hours? That is a lot of time in advance to start a meal!


    I do mine at 250° to 260° and at that temp (dome) it takes about 12-14 hours for an 8 lb butt. I would just bump up your temp a bit.

    Every time my elbow bends my mouth flies open.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    Great result-congrats.
    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.
  • shadowcaster
    shadowcaster Posts: 620
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    I haven't tried turbo butts yet but it is always an option for you. I prefer to do low n slow, not for any reason other than I enjoy doing it. There is nothing like waking up in the morning, walking out back and smelling that Egg that has been going all night long! Kind of makes me want to start one right now! haha
    Pure Michigan
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
  • Egghead_Daron
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    I agree with @shadowcaster that it all depends on how you like doing it. I have done turbos a few times. They turn out great. You sacrifice a little bark but the end result is outstanding. You can have one done in about 5 hours. I still prefer a low and slow. There is something that I really enjoy about getting the temp down as close to 200 as I can and letting go for as long as I possibly can. So bottom line is, get the end result however you want to get it but either way, the Egg will give you a great product.
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200
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    ON low and slow, I don't check the dome thermometer, just the temp at grate level, which I keep at 250. Seems like when I did stabilize the Egg, it was usually 250 grate and 275 dome in the beginning. I'd at least bump your grate temp up to 250 and it won't take you as long. Still haven't done a turbo, but I'm ok with overnighters.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
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    Thanks again, everyone. I shared the leftovers in our small shop the next day, and I was congratulated as a BBQ Pitmaster! I'm encouraged by the praise, and intrigued by the advice. The next one will be smaller. I'll bump the temp and start it in the morning, 8AM to serve at 6PM.