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Butt on the small

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saluki2007
saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
in Pork
I've had my small since February but have never done a low and slow on it. Use it mostly for grilling and let the large do the fun stuff. Welp that ends today. 10.5 pounder on. It settled in at 270 so I'll let it ride from there. 


Large and Small BGE
Central, IL

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,375
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    SBGE is a hacker- as long as you max loaded the lump you will be fine. I have found that the vent settings are much tighter than my LBGE-no worries as the temp drives the cook.  Enjoy the cook and follow-on eats.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,654
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    I've done several butts on the small but never one that big. Looks great so far, enjoy.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

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  • rifrench
    rifrench Posts: 469
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    Looks good, I may try that!
     1 LBGE, 1 SBGE, 1 KBQ and a 26" Blackstone near Blackstone, Virginia
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    looks good! i really like my (borrowed and not yet returned) small. only dislike is that it's hard to clean the ash out.
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    blind99 said:
    looks good! i really like my (borrowed and not yet returned) small. only dislike is that it's hard to clean the ash out.
    Agree that it's tuff to clean out. I bought a kick ash basket for it and that's helped tremendously.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • Budaman5000
    Budaman5000 Posts: 87
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    Looks good. That's a big butt...
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    How do you use the KAB? Does it replace the fire grate?
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    blind99 said:
    How do you use the KAB? Does it replace the fire grate?
    You do not have to replace the grate, but I did take mine out. So whenever I'm ready to clean just pull the basket out and vac out the ash in the bottom. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    Good stuff. I can imagine a vacuum making the job a lot easier 
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,375
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    I use a High-Que grate and the SBGE ash tool.  No issues with clean-out, just have to be patient getting the tool into the ash collection area.  The deep off-set from the base opening is where the challenge exists.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • RV10Flyer
    RV10Flyer Posts: 140
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    Let us know how it turns out.  I just bought a small a few weeks ago and have not done a low and slow.  I need to do a test run to see how long it can hold 250 since I have no idea how long it can go.  I'd like to be able to do briskets but I'm not sure if it will go that long without a refill.

    North Texas

    XL and Small BGE

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,375
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    @RV10Flyer -  the single biggest issue you would have with the SBGE and a brisket is the size it can handle.  No doubt it can deal with flats and a small packer (likely up to around 10 lb/pre-trim) but after that space becomes a limiter.  You will likely find the vent settings are quite tight to get into the 240-270*F dome thermo temp range-but it can certainly run there and for as many hours as you need for the cook.  Just load the lump to to the top of the ring, light and enjoy the cook.  FWIW-
    Give the search function a look as I believe there have been some very creative ways to shoe-horn sizable proteins under the hood.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    I've been fighting the temps. Been trying to hold 275-300 since I started late. Went ahead and pulled the Daisy wheel and just going really slim on the bottom vent. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    Guess I should specify that the temps kept dipping to 230-250. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • SoCalTim
    SoCalTim Posts: 2,158
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    I love this cook - gonna look into a small!
    I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca.
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  • RedSkip
    RedSkip Posts: 1,400
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    A controller for the small would be nice, no worries on up and down temperatures.  
    Large BGE - McDonald, PA
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    lousubcap said:
    SBGE is a hacker- as long as you max loaded the lump you will be fine. I have found that the vent settings are much tighter than my LBGE-no worries as the temp drives the cook.  Enjoy the cook and follow-on eats.
    I've found the same thing on mine.  Mine will cruise at 200 with no issues. Only done it once because it takes to long to cook stuff at that low temp. 

    saluki2007 said:
    Guess I should specify that the temps kept dipping to 230-250. 
    I've noticed the same on mine when really loaded down.  My guess was that the dome thermo was blocked enough that it wasn't reading correctly.  I did a turbo 9lbr 3wks ago in 6hrs.  Stabilized at 350 after the meat went on I never saw anything higher than 275. Just trusted the egg.  

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Love the photo of that big butt on the small!  Good eats ahead for sure!
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    RedSkip said:
    A controller for the small would be nice, no worries on up and down temperatures.  
    Must admit I like running long cooks on the small using the flameboss. I can dial in a temp on the large pretty easily but haven't learned to do it as well on the small. 
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    I knew the thermo would touch so I pulled it out most of the way. No touching bit there isn't much room between it and the meat. I do have my maverick grate thermo going too. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    After about 50 min were crusing at 295. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    Sounds perfect!
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • Mikee
    Mikee Posts: 892
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    The small egg is plenty big enough to cook a pork butt. I do load it up with lump, it easily can cook for over 12 hours. Bottom vent opened up at 3/16 to 1/4" once the temperature comes up after putting in the platesetter and the pork butt. The temperature remains relatively constant for the whole cook.
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    I feel like I'm on a Kings Island roller coaster with this thing. Temps have been all over the place. Anywhere from 235-320. We had a torenchal down pour for about an hour that caused flash flood warnings. The butt is sitting at 190 right now. 


    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
    edited August 2016
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    Next time I will go with out the kab and put the grate back in and see if that will help with more stable temps. A smaller butt might help too. Not sure if the size of this is affecting airflow or not. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    13 hours later...will pull here in a little bit.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
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    Looking tasty

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


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  • Budaman5000
    Budaman5000 Posts: 87
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    Job well done
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    So here is the final product.



    So not my best product.  I pulled from the egg when it wasn't quite probing like I wanted, but though I would FTC for an hour or so and that might do the trick since it was getting late.  Thinking I should have just left it FTC'd until I woke up this morning as it still wasn't quite done.  Definitely edible and will be great for making nachos and what not for the next couple of weeks.  Biggest lesson I learned during this cook, don't go to your parents house to swim when doing something for the first time even if you are only 5 min away.  I had my nest cam helping me monitor what was going on, but that really can only do so much.  Second lesson, only do pork butts on Friday and Saturdays.  I know it could have been a better product if I just had the patience to let it do it's thing, but I was getting tired and was ready to go to bed.  I will be doing another one on the small again in the near future when I can be home to monitor and let it do it's thang.  I will pull the KAB and use the stock grate (don't have any other kind) and see if I can hold more steady temps.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • RedSkip
    RedSkip Posts: 1,400
    edited August 2016
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    No science behind this comment... Id think the KAB will help you maintain temps due to air flow not being restricted.  With the factory grate, I'd suspect you'll see swings in temp due to the air flow being choked off.  

    It it will definitely be interesting if you can compare the cooks.

    Either way the food will be great!
    Large BGE - McDonald, PA
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