Turbo Vs. Low n Slow Butt

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Is there still going to be a stall in turbo mode? I would guess so, just a shorter one yes?

yep

Brownie

Is there still going to be a stall in turbo mode? I would guess so, just a shorter one yes?

yep

My temp has stayed at the last posted temp of 172* for the last 20min. My guess is this is it since it's really the only time my temp stayed at one place this long.

michigan_jason

I stalled between 172 and 177 basically for about 2 hours.... you have an hour or so to go for sure...

Brownie

Six hours.

Cookbook_Chip

I feel like I am checking in on a long baseball game with espn.com on my phone every hour to see the score. What fun!

michigan_jason

mine is at 195, getting ready to pull......

Brownie

Seven hours, and weird things are happening.

michigan_jason

Lol, looks like someone opened the dome....

Brownie

Actually I haven't. Domes been closed since the butt went in. Temps were steadily dropping, so I forced some air in to get heat back up. (wasn't coming back with minor adjustments) Been that way for the last 45 mins or so. I thought the dome would catch up by now.

michigan_jason

Well, your grid and meat temp is all you need to worry about, so have a drink and let her do her thang.

Brownie

No worries............. Just hangin out, wishing this thing would finish so I can hit the pool at the in laws.

michigan_jason

I am out of here guys, butt is at temp and i will FTC for transport. Serving at 6pm with pics to follow.

CHEERS ALL!

J

Brownie

Just about at 195*.    Dome temp is still down, think I may want to do a calibration tomorrow to sort this matter out.

Brownie

Here she is boys, What do you think....

Brownie

I think I may have to do another Temp time check photo. This butt is teasing me @ 194*.....OOOH it just went 196* I'll be back.

Brownie

Giving it a little longer. I found a few spots that were only 190*....All the places that were 195-200* felt like I was putting my TP (Thermapen) into a tub of warm butter....

Brownie

At first glance this turbo butt has nowhere near the amount of crust or caramelized near as much as my low n slow.

This is my low n slow butt from the 4th. 

Rubmyrock

Looks great. Let us know if you notice any meaningful difference in the two cooks.

Brownie

Looks great. Let us know if you notice any meaningful difference in the two cooks.

FWIW, I will.

LizzieSamps

Yes, what if any difference.

AleBrewer

Looking really good!

Brownie

Had a little set back. Ready to FTC. Gotta go. Hour 9.

Brownie

So my set back was I ended up running out of coals a little over six and one half hours into my cook. I worked it through trying to ramp my temp up, but simply didn't have enough of a lump mass left. By hour eight I was quite certain of what was going on, but still hoped it was done so I opened up the dome, it wasn't finished in some spots. From opening it to check for tender, I had lost too much heat and couldn't regain a desired temp. So I quickly raked and add fresh coals and re lit them with my heat gun. 45 min later it was tender everywhere so I FTC and left for the party.

Here it is pulled.

ncbbq

So what is the verdict? Is the turbo butt as good as the low and slow?

Brownie

Final thoughts Turbo vs. Low n slow

Lump.......Lump for the low and slow got a whole lot more life. Filled to top of fire box. I preheated 2hr and smoked about 250* dome for 17hr. 19hrs total, and had enough lump to cook my 6 pizza party the following day without adding. Temp was maintained effortlessly.

...Lump for the turbo, with cleaning prior to the cook and filling to top of fire box, I was out of lump within 8.5 hr with preheat included. I had to add to go the last hour. Started out at 385* but maintained between 350*-370* first half of cook. Temp was harder to maintain. With more lump it would have been easier.

Crust for low n slow had a lot of flavor and even though it was crispy, it had a nice easy to chew texture in your mouth

...Crust for turbo ended up appearing to be the same at first glance, but didn't have near the flavor or tender texture (it was much tougher to chew and lost much of that sweet sugar flavor)

Smoke for Low n slow was noticeable and had a pleasant fragrance and taste.

...Smoke for turbo was not noticeable at all.

Pork from low n slow was tender all over, and had very nice attributes from the smoke and crust, but lost its moistness within 20 min from pulling.

...Pork from turbo had much less flavor than the low n slow, took a higher internal temp to get to tender, But had much more moisture and pulled without effort (it fell apart).

Final thought.
I think they are both great ways to make a butt, For turbo next time I would use a rub with little to no sugar, and a whole lot more lump. For low n slow the only thing I would have wished for is the moisture from the turbo. They were both hits at the parties from which I received many compliments......If they only knew it was the Egg and not me!

LizzieSamps

Sounds like they both worked out for you!  Great job!

MikeG

I did an 8.8 lb bone in today on my Small.   I was too lazy to get up at 5am to L&S it so had to go the turbo route. 

Most of my cook was at 350 deg but I was juggling rib and appetizer cooks as well + a trip the store and temps got away from me to 400 for probably 45 minutes, including the time when it would have been stalled.

Cook time was about 5 hrs and it made some really wonderful PP with nice tasting bark.   Foil wrapped in towels & into the cooler for 1.5 hrs before my Brother pulled it.  We were both impressed.

We served it as part of a buffet next to a plate of crepes my wife made.  Folks were able to make pulled pork crepes (a spoonful of smoked jalapeno & cream cheese dip optional), no sauce on the pork but a drizzle of Blues Hog over the crepe after rolling.   Folks were in heaven and much less filling than rolls = more room for ribs & desert!

lousubcap

@ Brownie-thanks for taking the time to run and document this experiment.  Figuring you went at this unbiased, your results mirror the great majority of turbo assessments that I have read. Looks like this adventure saved you around 8 hours of quality BGE time.  Anyhow-thanks for the insights-and stay cool out there.

Brownie

Lizzie, Thanks. It's nice to know I am able to achieve good pulled pork in less than half the time.

Mike G, First off  PP Crepes? and no pics? That's not fair, you should share! Love the blues hog! Did you smoke the jalapeno yourself? Sounds delish!

lousubcap, Glad to hear my comparison is truthful and somewhat educational. The turbos by MikeG, and Eggucated both cooked much faster than mine. I will want to retry with more lump and possibly try the T Crutch in future to see what suits my taste and time frame. But until then I'm happy with both styles. BTW, do I pronounce lous-ub-cap?

Brownie

Please feel free to critique my post, this has been a great comparison for me,  but I know that I will be achieving better PP in the future with your input and feedback. Thanks.