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Cooking butt, losing temp

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Iggystooge
Iggystooge Posts: 21
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I am cooking a 6.5 lb. butt right now, my first. I read many directions before attempting this. I started it at 1pm, it's been solid at 250* until now (9pm). The temp is falling, the gauge shows it's about 235* now, I've opened everything up but the temp won't rise. The butt is at 185*. I put plenty of lump in when I started, up to the top of the fire box. I'm frustrated, I guess I'm going to have to pull it out and finish it in the oven. Any advice will be appreciated greatly!
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  • Tennisbum
    Tennisbum Posts: 228
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    try fanning at the bottom door. I was loosing temp early this morning and did that and it brought it back up
    you might also try to gently moving the fire grate to see if it is clogged up
    lastly you could take it off and stir the coals to get them going again. My first shot would be to fan the lower door
    force air into the bottom and drive the fire up
    gp
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  • WokOnMedium
    WokOnMedium Posts: 1,376
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    There has been some success with using a bent coathanger to hook a hole on the fire grate by going up through the bottom vent. They call it a wiggle stick and it may be that your firegrate has a lot of clogged holes. That would stop your fire from continuing to burn at your target temp.
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    Thanks for that hint, I will try it now. I forgot to mention that it is a medium egg. Would that cause the fire to die sooner?
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    Thanks for the hint. I started with this thing completely clean this morning. Would it clog this fast?
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  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
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    I second the wiggle rod!!
    Let us know. You are so close to being done too.
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
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  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
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    no, I have a medium also.
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    Thanks to all of you for the support! I have wiggled the holes, now we shall see.
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    Wiggling the holes didn't work, nor did fanning. I guess I will have to finish in the oven. Very frustrating, I followed directions to a t. Anyone have any insight as to why the fire would die? I am perplexed and would like to know for the future. I thank all of you who tried to help me!

    Paul
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  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
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    What temp is the meat at?
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
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  • smoky b
    smoky b Posts: 648
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    what did the lump look like when you took it off? if the outside lump wasn't burned you may have had a vertical fire.
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    Temp was still declining so I took the butt off to look at the coals. What coals? I had nothing left, which certainly describes my problem. I loaded the fire box with bigger first, then medium, etc., until it was slightly higher than the top of the fire box. The temp was a steady 250* most of the day. Is this normal for the lump to burn up in eight hours in a medium egg? I'm shaking my head here. Many thanks for all of the help so far.

    Paul
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    BTW, I wrapped it in heavy foil and placed it in the oven at 260*. Will this finish it now? I'm depressed I have to bring the oven into this!
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  • WokOnMedium
    WokOnMedium Posts: 1,376
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    It'll finish, and no one but you will know the difference. It will still taste great and that last 30 minutes won't cost you flavor or texture. Sometimes we are way harder on ourselves than the end tasters.

    There has been a lot of talk on here recently about lump. Different brands of lump burn more efficiently than others. What brand have you been using?
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  • Iggystooge
    Iggystooge Posts: 21
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    I used the BGE lump. I guess this is why I am frustrated. I'm cooking for a family get together, so I wanted to make sure I didn't screw it up. I cleaned out the egg, used BGE lump, read numerous threads on the forum about how to cook, foil v. non-foil etc, watched the BGE video again, I tried to do everything right, and then my fire dies. I'm just perplexed. Thanks for taking the time and interest.

    Paul
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
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    All depends on the brand of lump used. Some burn longer than others. Check this site for some reviews of different brands and look at the burn times. Pick one or two that have the longest burn times and you'll get better results.

    What brand were you using?

    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm
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  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,677
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    Next time fill it to the top of the fire "ring". I can get 30 hours on the large with RO which is the same as BGE lump.
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
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    Paul get some wicked good charcoal. It'll be expensive, but well worth it in length of burn. May want to try to stuff the MED completely full of lump for the next one. Remember most here have the LGE for butts and other slow cooks so they have an inherent advantage of having a larger firebox. Hence theirs will hold more lump. I have a MED but have not used it for a low and slow yet. I do all my butts, and briskets on my XL. Keep up the trial and error and good luck. I wish I had the definitive answer why your cook didn't go as long as you'd like.
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  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
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    I've done plenty of low and slos on my med. Got to fill the whole belly up to just under the platesetter. I've not had a problem for over nighters. Trial and error. They were still tasty right?!
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
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  • joec
    joec Posts: 22
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    I just did a 6.5 butt last weekend on a small, and cooked for over 10 hrs and had over half the coals left. I did stack the charcoal to it touched the bottom of the platesetter.
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  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
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    top of the fire bowl isn't much lump, especially in a medium.

    fill it. you can run out of charcoal, but you won't ever regret having some left over after a cook.
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