To Trim or Not To Trim?

BuzzandRenegade

A relative newcomer here as we got a MBGE for Christmas 2016. Cooking our 3rd butt today to enter a "best butt" competition for tomorrow. Cooked one last weekend and trimmed the fat layer, cooked until 150, then wrapped in foil to finish the cook. Pulled it at 195 because the fuel ran out. Stuck it in a low oven for another hour or so until it reached 201. Pulled and sauced it but was disappointed in the flavor. So....leave the fat on? Skip the foil? 

WeberWho

Trim the hard fat. (If you're going to pull it you can go through and remove any extra fat that didn't render during the cook) No foil needed. You should fill your egg with lump all the way to the fire ring so you don't have to worry about running out of lump. What temp were you cooking at last time?

saluki2007

I typically do not trim my butt nor do I typically wrap it.  Agree with Weber about filling up to the top of the fire ring.  You shouldn't run out of fuel.

GATraveller

Coat exterior with oil, mayo or yellow mustard to increase rub stickage.  Fill firebox with lump.  I don't foil but I do trim fat down to 1/4 inch.  I also remove at 195 then FTC till ready to pull.  Never have any complaints.

johnnyp

skip the foil.  you'll get better bark. 

some say to trim the fat cap so that you preserve extra bark, but that never seems to be a problem for me.  FWIW, I cook fat cap down to act as a shield for the meat and render down a little better. 

beyond that, if you don't like the flavor, question your rub.  If it seems bland, try something more flavorful.  No shortage of opinions on good rubs from this crowd.

Smokin_Trout

I trim all the fat off the outside. Heavy coat of rub and don't dare foil it. Foil will soften the bark. Good luck

lousubcap

Another no foil and only trim the hard fat (if any) vote here.  Cap down.
Regarding the lump load, as above, you about double your fuel load going from the top of the fire box to the top of the ring.  FWIW-

BuzzandRenegade

Thanks, everybody. Will leave most of the fat on this time for more flavor and going to "beef up" the rub. Having my sister (the Little Queen Egg) over to instruct on the coals. Looking forward to a nice cook and a couple of beers....

bikesAndBBQ

This article I think gives a good explanation of the whole to foil or not to foil.  It gives the pros and cons of using foil which is nice. 
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/texas_crutch.html

BuzzandRenegade

Thanks, bikesAndBBQ for the link. I read the article about cooking today and serving tomorrow, which is my plan. So today will cook butt until about 175, then submerge in ice overnight, then finish it off either in the oven or on the Egg to firm up the crust and get it done. Sounds like it will be much tastier that way rather than pulling the meat tonight and refrigerating it like leftovers.

BuzzandRenegade

WeberWho, I "thought" I was cooking the last butt at 265. As it turns out, my sister noticed that just after inserting the plate setter and closing the lid before cooking the temp shot up to 450. "No way", she said. She set a pan of boiling water on the stove and removed the thermometer from the lid. Once the water came to a boil we compared the Thermapen with the Egg thermometer. As it turned out, the Egg thermometer was way out of calibration and was reading twice as much heat as actually was in the smoker. Also, we were not putting enough fuel in so we were getting half-cooked meat. We are rocking along now at 300 with a 9.15 lb butt and it is actually smoking!! 

WeberWho

BuzzandRenegade said:

WeberWho, I "thought" I was cooking the last butt at 265. As it turns out, my sister noticed that just after inserting the plate setter and closing the lid before cooking the temp shot up to 450. "No way", she said. She set a pan of boiling water on the stove and removed the thermometer from the lid. Once the water came to a boil we compared the Thermapen with the Egg thermometer. As it turned out, the Egg thermometer was way out of calibration and was reading twice as much heat as actually was in the smoker. Also, we were not putting enough fuel in so we were getting half-cooked meat. We are rocking along now at 300 with a 9.15 lb butt and it is actually smoking!! 

I was thinking maybe your thermometer wasn't calibrated right or cooking at too high of temp. It's super uncommon to have a dried out butt come off an egg. Good deal. I'm glad you guys have it figured out!