Curse of the Butt: My Destiny

bdavidson

I am in the process of making a Bostonian Buttimous to take along to the campsite tonight for dinner (camping in 90+ degree heat always tends to put me in a great mood anyway...). I cleaned out the firebox, gave Humpty a nice supply of fresh lump and even replaced the ceramic grate with the metal trivet, ensuring adequate airflow. At 5:00 I started the egg and had the temp pegged at 225 where it stayed until I went to bed at 11:00. I didn't touch the vent or Ms. Daisy after 6:00 last night. "Maybe this time," I thought naively that I would escape the curse of the butt, knowing that my egg was secure within the 200-250 range as I brushed my teeth and my head hit the pillow. [p]BUTT NO!!!! This AM I awoke at 6:00 to find that Humpty's dome temp had slipped to around 160 and the butt's internal temp was at 132. There is still plenty of lump in the firebox, and there are active coals, I just gang-loaded the vents and removed the daisy. We'll see what happens. [p]Frankly, I'm getting a complex. I have no temp problems when cooking any other pieces of meat, and I'd stop making butts if they weren't so good! Overnight butt cooks and I simply don't agree. I guess Humpty has a mind of his own, musing "well, you're asleep. Why shouldn't I be too?"

Sundown

bdavidson,
Your therapist, over the course of many years and many $$, should be able to help you through your conflict with Mr. Egg.
A few observations;
One must treat MR. Egg with respect at all times.
One should talk softly to Mr. Egg too.
And above all one should caress and fondle Mr. Egg before any long cook afterall he is going to be doing a lot of work for you.
So, from my many Eggspierences I would suggest you sit up all night and watch the dome temp, which will not change one degree all night while you are there. I conclude with this thought...Mr. Egg is lonely...have you hugged your Egg today?[p];>)[p]Carey

BD

Sundown,
I must print this response off to show it to my wife (who already know's I'm crazy), just to prove that there are other people out there who do occasionally forget their antipsychotic medication! Ha ha ha ha. Thanks, Sundown.[p]

Sundown

bd,[p]I take my meds every night before bed and there's nothing wrong with US...it's just that THEY don't understand the bond between a boy and his Egg! Have a great day!
;>)[p]Carey

Mike Oelrich

bdavidson,[p] To be honest, I've never been able to sleep through the night knowing Mr. Avocado was out there workin' alone in the dark. I usually end up getting up every two-three hours or so just to check on him and make sure he's not gettin' lonely. According to him, this helps keep him alert. When he's not cooking he seems to sleep better than me, as long as I pull the cover up over his head . . .[p]MikeO

WessB

Sundown,
LMAO...cant wait to see who is the first to run down the road with the bumper sticker reading " Have You Hugged Your Egg Toda"...still LMAO..let em try to figure that one out[p]Wess

WessB

WessB,
obviously should read " Have You Hugged Your Egg Today"

bdavidson

I thought I finally had the problem licked, Mike, and that I'd be able to sleep soundly without worry of low temperatures. What I need is one of those remote low/high alarm thermometers that NB keeps talking about. Anyone know where I can get one?

BD

and they always seem to enjoy the fruits of our labor!

BillB

bdavidson,
Don't know if you have a Costco in your area but as I learned on this site. they sell a combo package of the Nu-Temp 701 remote thermometer and temp fork for 29.95. I went and got them earlier thus week. It's a great price for the remote.

BD

BillB,
I drove by the future site of Costco on my way to Target last night. The foundation is there and the retention wall complete. It's just a matter of time. I was salivating just looking at it.

Unknown

bdavidson,[p]Have you tried the Elder Ward method of sorting the lump first? Layer the lump from bottom to top with the biggest pieces on the bottom and the smallest on top. I have a pail of big lump chunks specifically for long low-slow cooks.[p]Regards,
Jobu[p]

BD

Jobu,
I must admit that I have considered the idea, but I am just not that obsessive (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Gretl

Sundown,
I give my Egg a smile and a gentle pat on the dome when I leave the house every morning. Does that count?
G.

Unknown

bd,[p]I hear ya. I don't go through each bag of lump. When I add lump to the Egg, If I see pieces big enough to make me go "Whoa! Those would be great for a brisket, butt, etc..." I just remove them and add them to a pail with other such lump.[p]Later,
Jobu

BD

Jobu,
I'm using a new bag of BGE lump, and the larger pieces tend to migrate to the top of the bag, so I haven't added any lumpdust. Temp's back up now, so I'm not worried, but it's just the virtual predictability of a flameout that gets to me! It doesn't seem to matter what I do, Jobu, it just happens when a butt's on the menu for the next day. I'm going to have to start cooking them 48 hours in advance!

Sundown

Gretl,
A resounding...YES! Little wet kisses count a lot to Mr. Egg too.[p];>)[p]carey

Mikey

bdavidson,
I've only done 2 butts so far, but my second attempt was a bit better than my first. I did have the help of the remote thermometer from Costco, but there were some other things I learned from the first cook too.[p]I don't sort the lump, but I do try to put some big chunks in the base. In the 2nd long low and slows I've done, ash buildup has been the culprit for the falling temps overnight. This last cook, I did build myself a geniune C~W ash kicker (a bent up coathanger). I ran it up through the bottom of the grate about an hour before bedtime. You might want to do it a little sooner though, since I noticed the temp rose a bit when I did that and I had to adjust the vents a tad.[p]The wireless thermometer is great. On both attempts I woke up every 2 or 3 hours. On the second cook, with the wireless, all I did was a quick glance and then back to sleep versus having to go outside and check. The alarm did finally go off when the temp hit 220 and I got up and stirred the ash again (about 5 hours after the last stir).[p]I am going to be doing another but this next week, so I will see if it goes about the same. The second but was only 2/3 of a pound smaller, but took almost 3 hours less to cook. Every one is differnt.[p]Though I've only done 2, they are by far my favorite thing to cook now. I am still amazed at how good they taste and how most they are after 14 - 20 hours of cooking. Now if I could just get ribs down....[p]Good luck to you,
Mikey