24 1/2 Hr. Butt and ThankYou All

PuppyBreath

wow, wow, wow,
delicious and
hair raising
was it the rain that slowed the process? if you can't predict a done time how can you plan a meal?
ThankYou Again
Puppy

Nature Boy

PuppyBreath,
I find that using 250 for dome temp gives me more predictable timing. Even 225 will help move things along at a more predictable pace.[p]Also, the more you do these types of cooks, the more you can control the cook based on your observations of how the cook is progressing. The rain will affect how much air the fire needs, but the bottom line is your cooking temp.[p]Glad you enjoyed! What time did you finally eat?
Cheers
NB

Puj

PuppyBreath,[p]Can't add a thing to NB's reply to you because it is right on, but we are all very interested in the details of your cook. You expressed a ton of angst over the past couple of days so spill the beans when you get the time. [p]Congrats![p]Puj

PuppyBreath

Hi Nature Boy,
did the invites for 5 Vancouver time and ate at about 8...
used latex gloves to do the pulling and )(*^&**^ HOT whoa...[p]do you start at the top at 250*?[p]do you think you could do a lamb leg like this... it's fairly oil rich...[p]Puppy

Nature Boy

PuppyBreath,
JJ is the leg-o-lamb master (and Cat who has been busy and not posting). I think 350 is more like where you wanna do lamb at.[p]I usually start my butts around 200 with smoke, then work up to 250 within an hour or two. Same with briskets. [p]As I found this past week, if you find you are way into the plateau in the morning, you can always knock it back to 225, and that slows things up substantially. Again, it boils down to doing a few cooks, making observations, then adjusting the cook to fit your needs. [p]It also helps to be generous with your time estimates. If the cook is done early, you have a several hour window where your meat can rest in a warm cooler. No remedy to eating late though! 8 is not too bad. At least everyone was hungry![p]Beers
NB

Mike Oelrich

PuppyBreath,[p] Congrats on the first pulled pork cook! I remember the first time I did a true low-and-slow pork shoulder -- sure was an improvement over the foil wrapped ones I'd been doing. Anyway, a couple tips to help your timing and pulling. First, if you want to pull by hand, get a pair of insulated neoprene gloves. I use Ansell-Edmont Neox HI-LO gloves and they are great. You can get them at www.brentonsafety.com and several other places. There is another model I've had my eye on called the "Rotissi-Glove" (at www.katom.com) that reaches farther up your arm, but I haven't sprung for them yet. If you're worried about the timing, plan so the meat will be done a bit early. It keeps really well if you wrap it up in a foil bag (I use the foil Reynolds Hot Bags) with the drip pan jusices and keep it in a cooler or warm oven. I actually prefer mine to have gone through this "rest" phase for an hour or so. And, as I'm sure others have said, it is OK to raise the dome temperature once the meat has gone through its plateau. I normally cook at 200-225 until the plateau, then I kick it up to 275 to finish the meat if it's running behind.[p]MikeO

PuppyBreath

Hi Puj,
well mostly i tried to follow Elder Ward's advice...
made up and used his rub...
put the boar in at six thirty pm day before yesterday and took it off at 195* yesterday at seven...
did most of the cook at 200 or slightly below until hour 18 or so at which time i cranked it up to 250 - 260*...
it was a hard cook in that it was pouring here a lot of the time...(big damaging storm moved through)
the other Major impediment was not having a polder... i'm sure that the 3-4 times i cracked the lid to take the temp was no help at all...
(I think Santa might be bringing me a polder )
ate at about 8
oh yes used the snappy vinegar sauce recommended by Elder...
think that's it
oh yes, except for the eating )))
Pup

Puj

PuppyBreath,[p]Once you get a couple more PPs under your belt you'll make it look like a piece of cake. You have to be a hit in BC with some good southern BBQ.[p]Later,
Puj