Lo N'Slow...Here I Go...Scaaaary!!

Tanya · January 2004

I thawed out a 7 1/2 lb. Pork Butt Shoulder Roast/Bone-in (after reading recents posts on "Enhanced", I read label and realize that's exactly what I have : - ( , too late now). Anyway, I'm going to follow Elder Ward's instructions starting around 3:oo this afternoon and am hoping to have it ready by around mid-morning tomorrow. Sound about right?? I don't have a polder or Redi-Chek yet so will have to check internal temp manually. That's what's scaring me! I'm hoping to have time to do wings and maybe beans afterwards. I bought the cheapest white hamburger buns I could find and am really excited about "pulling the pork" as I've never done this before. Wish me luck! (This Egg is so fun!)

Squeeze · January 2004

Tanya,
I used Elder Ward's method for my first Butt, actually my first cook, and it came out great. You might want to run out and at least find a cheap meat thermometor so you can check the temp of the Butt. I usually shoot for 200 internal temp and the meat is just falling off, pulls itself. Good luck!

Tanya · January 2004

Squeeze, Thanks for the support. I have a meat thermometer that I can insert and it reads in 10 or 15 seconds or so. I'm just worried about opening the lid and losing heat. At what hour should I check for the first time? Any suggestions? And how often? Also, does 18 hours sound like about right or is that way too long for 7 1/2 lbs.?

Tanya · January 2004

Squeeze, We've got a forcast for snow here in the Texas Panhandle starting late this evening so I'm hoping that it won't mess with my temps. I'll be up all night I guess but I'm kind of excited to try this! : - )

Sundown · January 2004

Tanya,[p]I guess everyone's first low 'n' slo is scarey. Mine was and what I found out was, you have to go some to mess up a butt!
Catch the temp (dome) before it gets rolling along too fast I've found as the temp hits 150º - 175º close the lower vent down to a 1/4 inch. I usually have the daisy wheel closed down to a choke point. (You've gone too far when the smoke comes out of the lower vent) You want to stabalize dome temp at 250º. Once you're there you Egg should not require any attention at all. Eggie likes that temp! By the time I'm at 200º dome my lower vent is open less than the thickness of my knife blade. Maybe a 1/16 of an inch? ir a hair less. I may spend more time easing up to the 250º mark than some but then I happy.
Each time you open the dome to check meat temp, even for a "few seconds, you mess with the temp balance and you'll add considerably to your cook time.
I would suggest you do invest in a cheap polder type thermometer, by far the safest way to do one of these cooks. Target Stores (if you have them in the Panhandle) always seem to have them)
I would wait 12 -15 hours at least before you open Egg for a temp check if you don't find a polder. I will qualify some of this by saying every cook is just slightly different from the last. We practice and perfect a cooking art here. Good luck and relax you can' really miss . . . unless ;>)

Tanya · January 2004

Sundown, I sure appreciate the reply. I printed it so I could keep track of where I should be on temps. I also went to Naked Whiz's site and printed his version on a first cook. He cooked and 8 lb for almost 20 hours and never opened the egg, but he had a polder. Looks like I'll get this on around 4:00 this afternoon so will check the first time around 4:00 in the morning. Thanks again and I'll let ya'll know how it goes. What do the people with Eggs with no computer access do? I have to agree that the manual that comes w/Egg is worthless. Sure do appreciate the help and information here. P.S. I have to drive an hour and a half to get to a Target and a snow storm is brewing so will have to rely on meat thermometer I have.

Ohio Boy in DC · January 2004

Tanya,
Good luck, check the thermostat on the top of the egg every 20 minutes for the first 90 minutes....every hour or so after that...[p]The biggest thing I learned is that just nudging the bottom vent or slightly opening the top will create 5-10 degree jumps up or down (give it about 20 minutes after you make the adjustment to regulate).[p]Don't even open that puppy once your temperature stabilizes.[p]If it hasn't moved for a couple of hours before you go to bed...go to bed and don't worry about it...(although I usually set an alarm for 4am just to check).[p]The egg is so efficient that even if the fire goes out it will stay pretty warm for a couple of hours...[p]The Polder advice is great, saves a lot of worrying (but don't forget to lightly wrap the cable with foil).[p]Good luck, I got 16 lbs of butt and a brisket on now

Buck Shot · January 2004

Tanya,[p]18 hours is maybe a little long for 7 1/2 pounds but not detrimental to the shoulder. It should not hurt the shoulder to run that long. You can take it off before 18 hours and have plenty of time to cook your wings and other sides. If you pull the pork off and want to keep it warm try wrapping it in foil and then wrap a towel around it and put in a cooler with another towel if there is extra room and the pork will stay nice and hot and be ready to pull apart when it gets ready to entertain and eat.[p]Chris

GaDawg · February 2004

Tanya,
I know this is too late now, but, use a regular
meat thermometor pointed straight up so that you
can see the face looking down the chimney with a
flashlight. This way you don't have to open the dome.
Chuck

Lo N'Slow...Here I Go...Scaaaary!!

Comments

Categories