Why the heck do my pork butts take so long to cook?

Jeepster47

@Abter ... had to watch that area of the video twice to understand what was happening.  Yes, it looks like a clip on the stem, but it's really the white ceramic that was shielded from smoke ... stop it at 52 seconds and look closely.  Then slip up to 56 seconds and you can see it a little clearer ... you can also see the white circular ring where the a fore mentioned *&$%& clip has scraped the smoke off the ceramic 'cuz someone twisted the gauge.

pkegg419

@Jeepster47, @lousubcap, @fishlessman thanks for the tips all.  just so i'm clear since i plan on doing this asap, i should get rid of the clip on the stem of the BGE thermo and then drill a hole in a wine cork and slide the BGE thermo through that and position the cork on the outside of my large BGE, with nothing (but gravity) securing the stem inside the dome?  is there a reason the clip throws off the temp?  this is totally news to me so it's really interesting.  thanks for all the help everyone!

Jeepster47

@pkegg419 ... take the clip off ... you have the correct sequence of gauge, cork, egg.

The cork is not a necessity.  It's used to shorten the amount of stem sticking into the egg.  If you've never touched the protein cooking on the grill, then you really don't need the cork.  If you're constantly touching your cook or close to it, then the cork is a good idea.

The clip doesn't interfere with the thermometer working ... until it's tight against the ceramic and the gauge is rotated.  If you rotate the dial to get target temp to the 12 o'clock position, your kids give it a spin when they walk by, the dinner guest plays with it, etc..  When that happens, you've effectively rotated the nut on the gauge and screwed up your calibration.  That's what I was pointing out on the picture above ... the gauge with the clip attached was rotated and scribed a circle in the smoke.

A second reason for removing the clip is so that you can pull the gauge when putting a large object on the grill.  Pull the temp gauge, close the lid on your 27 pound turkey, and then, gently reinsert the stem in the egg.  If you feel no resistance, then you're golden.  If you meet resistance, than you've just saved your gauge because it would have bent when you closed the lid.

Abter

thanks everybody.  I appreciate this discussion, and the translation where needed    Great place for info and advice, as always.

Acn

Abter said:

thanks everybody.  I appreciate this discussion, and the translation where needed    Great place for info and advice, as always.

Don't know where your egg is positioned in relation to your house, but another advantage of removing the clip is the ability to spin the dial.  It is much easier to make sure your temp is staying where it should when you can put your target temp at 12:00.  As long as the needle is pointing up, you're set.

nolaegghead

I didn't read all the previously posted stuff, but cook it hotter.