Why did it take so long?

Golfnut34

I've had my Egg for just over a year and I'm starting to learn how to use it.  A month ago I made some flavorful ribs that I burnt and then last week I made some wonderful ribs.  Yesterday I started an 8.5 lb pork butt.  It was thawed the day before and sat in the refridgerator overnight with a rub on it.  I fired up the Egg at 7:00 in the morning, got it to temp, and put the meat on at 7:30.  I have a Green Egg Flame Boss and it kept the temp at a consistent 200 degrees all day long.  The probe says it got to about 157 at 2:00 pm and then it stalled out at 167.  By 10:00 it was only at 176 and I went to bed.  At 2:30 I woke up and it was 197.  I took it off and put it in a cooler until 6:00 this morning and then pulled it apart.  It looked and tastes wonderful.  Should I have used higher temps?

TechsasJim

Welcome aboard!

For a butt I usually go 250F.   They can take a while, especially 8.5# and there will be a stall, like a brisket.    

As for ribs, how did you burn those?    Are you using the plate setter (heat deflector)?    For baby backs I usually hold 225F for 4hrs.   Never had a problem there.

Keep asking questions and playing around with things, there is a bit of a learning curve for sure.

Golfnut34

I didn't have a plate setter for the ribs I burnt so I put a pizza stone in but I don't think it was big enough......and I simply left them on too long.  I purchased and used a place setter for the good ribs and the pork butt.

Foghorn

Welcome aboard.  It all comes down to temperature gradient.  If it isn't "done" until it reaches about 200 degrees, then it will take a long time for the meat to get there if your cooking temp isn't well above the target meat temp.  That's why most of us cook pork butts at 250 or above.  When the meat is 190 there is still a 60 (250-190) degree gradient to heat up the meat and get it across the finish line.  

I hope that helps.

OhioEgger

Do a search on here for "turbo butt" and give it a try. You'll be done in a fraction of the time and I've never been able to notice a difference from low & slow.

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.

As mentioned above, ask all the questions you want.  You will likely get several different answers, any of which will work.  When experimenting change only one variable at a time so you can determine the impact.

You can foil protect any protein that overhangs your platesetter.

Golfnut34

Thanks guys. You confirmed my suspicions. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Personally, I prefer 250+ for most proteins.  220 is fun to do, but not worth the squeeze for me.

bluebird66

I usually do mine somewhere between 250-300 degrees.