My butt... the Elder Whiz version

abundell · September 2010

Since there's nothing left to do now that my butt is in the egg, I got to thinkin'. Ted Williams used to say, "if you don't think too good, don't think too much", but that didn't stop me.

I went to Costco and when I said pork butt/pulled pork, the butcher there sold me an 11 lb. boneless pork shoulder. I opened it up and there were two pieces. I did the Elder Ward/Whiz fire with the large chunks on the bottom and used the chimney and the fist of hickory. Using a plate setter. No pan of water. I put on some Elder Ward rub and I put the butt in the egg as soon as I dumped the chimney coals. I had planned to use a V-rack, but couldn't find it. So the butt is sitting in a foil pan. (And that's the one thing I'm maybe not liking. My preference would to have the butt raised or over a drip pan. But the pan keeps the two pieces together... more like a single piece... which seemed like a good idea.)

I thought about the Elder temp of 195. And I thought about the Whiz temp of 220-250. After 2 hours, I'm kind of dialed into about 220 and liking it.

So here's my question...

Since you're cookin' this thing dead, do these little variations really change the end result? I can imagine there's a benefit to not lifting the lid and keeping a consistent temp, but if one guy is saying forget the water and another is saying go ahead and use it, if one of them were really right, wouldn't they both say it? If 195 was the right temp, no one would say 220-250.

Ok... I'm done thinkin'... back to drinkin'.

hornhonk · September 2010

195 is what you want the internal temp of the butt to be when it is done. The other temp is what you want your egg to be. 250 is great for butts. The reason for the water in the drip pan is to keep the drippings from burning. Some add water, some don't. I'm in the latter group. If you cook your butts in an aluminum pan, you're gonna have a gease-laden butt with no bark on the bottom. :pinch:

abundell · September 2010

A few folks have mentioned that the 195 degrees refers to the internal temp of the butt. I understand that. But that also is the dome temp that Elder Ward recommends. Here's what his recipe says,

"You're working way to hard, sit down and stare at the dome temperature gauge and sip some more of that Jack Daniel's, or what ever sissy drink you happen to have, until the thing reads about 195°. Close the bottom vent until the heat stabilizes around that heat level."

I'm running the dome at more like 220-225, but he runs it at 195 and then kicks it up when the internal temp gets to 175-185 and runs it hot until the meat hits 200.

OK, it's time to hit the sack. Hoping the temp holds till the morning.

thirdeye · September 2010

Well, nothing is absolute. And what works for one Barbecuist might not work for another. If you're going to cook that low, keeping the lid down as much as possible is a good idea.... keeping your eye on the thermometer is another. Check it every 3 hours through the night, and if your cook turns South, move your butt to the oven while you get the Egg back up to cooking temps.

My butt... the Elder Whiz version

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