Plateau at 9.5 hours

ronbeaux · December 2005

At 9.5 hours my butt is stuck at 161F and has been for about one hour. Still holding 250F but I have had to open up on the vents to keep it there. Am I running out of lump?? I started with it 1.5 inches above the holes. (I have not opened the lid, promise!)

Unknown · December 2005

ronbeaux,[p]I wouldn't think so. With lump up to 1.5 inches above the holes, you should be able to go at least 18 hours at that temp. How far did you have to open the vents? Remember that other things can have an effect on it too, like a change in wind or humidity. I would keep an eye on it to make sure you don't spike to 300.

Nature Boy · December 2005

ronbeaux,
You might be...hard to say. If it keeps dropping and you keep opening the vents more, then it's time for some new lump. Double check and make sure the probe is not too close too (or hitting) the meat. If'n you need more lump, just quickly remove the butt add some more lump and roll on. The process might slow things down a tad, but it is really a mere blip re-fuel. [p]Take a peek. See how much fuel is left.
Have fun!
Chris

stike · December 2005

ronbeaux,
a sure sign you are running out of lump is that you have to keep opening the vents....[p]when we do lo-and-slos, i'd bet most of us fill to close to the top of the fire RING, which is 3 inches or so higher than the fire box. [p]your plateau can take a long while... a few hours.[p]you might run out of fuel. not trying to scare you, but be prepared.[p]if you need to refuel, you may want to start some lump off to the side. open the lid, yank out everything all at once, and set it down quickly to the side.
stir what's left to get the ash to fall.[p]then, no kidding, DUMP new lump in, top it with the lit stuff, and stir. put your stuff back on and shut the lid. don't mess with your vents.[p]see where the temp goes. don't go nuts trying to make sure you have a 'good fire' going by zooming to 350 and trying to back down.[p]remain calm, all is well."animal house" reference)[p]it's not ideal to build the fire this way, but you cannot afford the time to do it properly. once a butt has it's temp start tending down, it takes a LOT of time and temp to get it back heading up. thermal inertia.[p]that said, i guarantee this. if you totally pooch it, and the fire snuffs, and you have to panick and put it in the oven, you STILL will have a better BBQ butt than you can get anywhere else.[p]food luck.[p]

thirdeye · December 2005

ronbeaux,[p]Do the Woody wiggle. Bend an L in a straight piece of coathanger, sneak it in the vent and up through several of the grate holes and wiggle. (the rod, not you.) It will de-clog some of the ash. You will be going again in 15 minutes.[p]~thirdeye~

Nature Boy · December 2005

stike,
Thermal inertia. Nice. Good post man.
Best of the weekend toya.
Chris

ronbeaux · December 2005

DaveGa,
WOW! The level of expertise here is outstanding! I had to open the vents about an inch and it seemed to line out. Not an increase, but not a decrease either. I also started to see some smoke coming out thatI have not seen in awhile so I think it is going to get started again. If it don't, I have a metal bucket that I will start some more lump in and do the quicky thing.

Unknown · December 2005

There's been a few times that after 18 hours or so my coals pretty much burn out. I just pull the butts, wrap them in foil and finish them in the over. I've really never seen much of a difference in the taste or texture at that point.[p]BTW, I've thrown a few racks of beef ribs along with the pork butts, and gave them a 10 hr smoke, best ribs I've ever had.

ronbeaux · December 2005

thirdeye,
Boy that sure worked!! I had to choke it off to keep it below 300 in no time flat! Thanks! I still have not opened the lid( I may go to work and grap the bore scope so I can snake it in there and check it out though)

Dr_Redwine · December 2005

Nature Boy,
I don't know if he meant to do it and all, seein' how the the 'f' is right next to the 'g' on my keyboard, but I like 'food luck' better than the 'thermal inertia'.[p]I think I'll use it. 'Food Luck to you, Man,' I like it. [p]Inertia makes me think of many of my old mechanics courses....
DrR

stike · December 2005

Dr_Redwine,
i did it subconsciously... hahahaha[p]food/good luck everyone

stike · December 2005

Nature Boy,
you sound EXACTLY like my brother the way you wrote that....
only problem is he would have been extremely sarcastic saying it, so know i dunno if you are mockin me or what[p]hahaha

Nature Boy · December 2005

stike,
Not really sure how much like your brother I am....I have been known to use a fair amount of sarcasm. In this case there was no mockery. No sarcasm.
Cheers
Chris

Dr_Redwine · December 2005

stike,
[p]Food luck to you!
DrR

stike · December 2005

Nature Boy,
and yet i feel oddly cheated.[p]lesse, stike would have felt foolish if you were mockin him, and yet he's slightly disappointed you weren't ribbing him.[p]yep
just like my brother john.[p]quick what's yer wife's name?

stike · December 2005

Dr_Redwine,[p]road rage![p]food luck to you, you butt smoker!
hahahaha

Nature Boy · December 2005

stike,
Lan. Okay, now I'm being mocked??
Hee

stike · December 2005

Nature Boy,
nope. his wife is christina.[p]just makin sure you weren't him at the other end of cyberspace

Nature Boy · December 2005

stike,
Well, I am Christopher. That is 6 of the same letters as Christina.
Maybe there is a connection?[p]What's cookin in Stikeland? I got some jerky on now and an 8 pound top round roast goin on for some pit beef sammiches during the cowboys/injuns game.[p]Cheers
Chris

stike · December 2005

Nature Boy,
our anniversary was yesterday, and nothing says 'romance' like a matched pair of porterhouse steaks. hahahaha[p]had the butcher cut them about 1-1/2 inches each. Trexed them with salt/olive oil/cracked pepper and served over greens with the same, plus a little parmesan (FRESH of course!) shredded on and around lightly.[p]had a 2002 Stag's Leap Cabernet and later had a bottle of nice shagma-pagma (tradition, even though it's a bit cliche').[p]today, alas, i am working.... rush illustration for 5 tonight.
patriots alreddy played, so i'll be surfing the other teams today while i work.[p]probably eat the rest of the wife's porterhouse.[p]dying for a lo-and-slo, tho[p]
hey[p]enjoy that cowboys game. the NEW New England Cowboys seem to be coming together! (assuming yer a cowboys fan...)[p]

Nature Boy · December 2005

stike,
That's really wierd. Psycho wierd. Our 17th anniversary was yesterday. December 17th. I don't like all these connections.[p]Your dinner sounds good We went out as a family to celebrate...for a slightly better than average meal, a cold draft bass ale and no dishes! [p]I am a skins fan through and through. Born in DC. Hate Dallas. Gonna be a good one. This game is gonna tell which old geezer still has it and which one don't. hehe.[p]Pit beef goin on soon. Gonna do a slow smoke and a sear at the end. Cherry wood. Jerky at 4 hours now.
Anniversary beers toya.
Chris

stike · December 2005

Nature Boy,
go skins....[p]most of us Pats fans can't stand Parcells.
i like to see bledsoe do good, but ultimateyl root for a Cowboys loss. even so, good to see they finally took the deep-sea diving boots off bledsoe and got him to scramble.[p]ciao, brother
time to turn on a game.[p]

Unknown · December 2005

Nature Boy,
What is pit beef?[p]Rob

Nature Boy · December 2005

Pete,
A beef roast (cooked over open coals usually) to a medium rare, that is sliced very thin and served on rolls with horseradish and au jus. WessB has a great writeup on wessb.com. I think it's a Maryland thing.[p]Man it was good.
Cheers!
Chris

Unknown · December 2005

Nature Boy,
Thanks!

Stuart · December 2005

ronbeaux,[p]There are times when things just puzzle you. I placed my 10 lb on at 8 pm last night. 10 hours later I hit the usual 140 plateau, which lasted about an hour or two. As usual it began to move again. Now I'm at 24 hours and stuck at 157. Plenty of lump left and I'm not giving up!

Plateau at 9.5 hours

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