First overnight cook, what do I need to know?

mlamb01 · June 2014

I've had my LBGE for not quite 2 months now, but I have been cooking on it 3 to 4 times a week. Time to do my 2nd pork butt, this time overnight. 10 lbs. Going to vacuum out the egg tomorrow night, then hopefully get it on by 10 pm, so it should be done around 1 pm the next day. I do have a Maverick ET-732, I plan on setting up the warning temps to alert me if anything happens during the night.

Any advice or best practices for overnight cooks? My egg is in a nest, but it is on a wooden deck. I plan on putting a large plastic bucket of water just below the draft vent door, to catch any embers that might find their way thru the screen and the 1/8" crack in the vent door.

hapster · June 2014

Make sure you have plenty of ice.. for sipping an adult beverage or two. And also have some good sticks on hand as well so the egg isn't the only thing smokin'

SoCalTim · June 2014

Auburntgr had a great post not too long ago. I don't know how to post the link, but if you type in 'Rookie First Boston Butt With Forum help' in the search box it'll come right up. Lotsa of great info & pictures.

gdenby · June 2014

Don't cook w. a dome lower than 250F. Many reports of fires going out when cooking lower.

After lighting, put all the gear you plan to use, drip pans, 'setter, etc into the Egg. Once you come to temp w. those in. put the meat in, and give it an hour to come back to temp if needed. The large mass of cold meat will drive the dome temp down, and may block enough air flow that the dome won't return to temp w/o opening the vents farther. If you do need to open the vents, expect to get up and close them down after a few hours as the meat shrinks and heats up.

For long cooks, I usually have my vent closed to a hairline after about 6 hours to stay around 250 temp.

The chance of any sparks large enough to kindle wood escaping the small gap in the bottom vent are realllly small. The bucket won't hurt, but look into it at the end. Most likely, the only thing ion it will be drowned bugs.

lilwooty · June 2014

Put a fire extinguisher under your pillow and sleep with one eye open.

henapple · June 2014

That's 15 hours cook time for a 10 lb butt. I'd give it 20 hours and you can ftc for up to 5 hours. I'd put it on earlier.

Smokinpig · June 2014

I would start earlier as well with a 10 pounder. Plan some extra time for the stall or fire issues and FTC if you finish early.

DMW · June 2014

Make sure you have plenty of beer/whiskey/etc on hand. More than you think you will need. My first few I could barely sleep I was so nervous. Drinks help.

)

NPHuskerFL · June 2014

Fortunately this is a Butt so IMHO they are hard to eff up. Load the lump up as high as you can with your choice of wood chunks mixed into the lump throughout. Get it lit, stabilize temp, insert Butt, and sit back & enjoy the aroma. Most definitely have a warehouse stock of adult refreshment of your choosing. 10# I'd do L&S at 235℉ on the Stoker and would plan on close to 20 hrs unwrapped. If need be you can bump the temp toward the end to finish early. Sit back & enjoy the Slow Ride!
Foghat. Slowride.:

http://youtu.be/9r83ym0GHZ8

Auburntgr · June 2014

Thanks @SoCalTim‌ for the reference.

I still refer to my first post cooking a butt each time I cook another one. Here is the link.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1155049/rookie-first-boston-butt-with-forum-help#latest

HogHeaven · June 2014

There are different ways to fill your firebox with lump... You can fill it by just dumping lump from a big bag and you get what you get... Will it hold a low and slow cook temp of 225/250 for 18 hours without needing to add lump coal... Maybe. However if you want to be able to cook at those temps for 18 to 24 hours... Place your coals carefully. Place big pieces on the bottom 1/3 of the firebox. Place medium size pieces in the middle 1/3 of the firebox and place small pieces and dust on the top 3rd of the firebox. Start your fire in the middle of your firebox and don't over light it... It's a low and slow burn... I learned that on the nakidwize website and I have never had to refill my firebox even when I've done 19 hour cooks.

mlamb01 · June 2014

Butt turned out to be a success! The Maverick did end up waking me up twice, the first time the grate temp dropped to 210, so I opened the vents abit. The next time, it was getting too hot, so I closed them off abit. Used the Mickey's coffee rub that I have been reading about on here, and the bark was awesome. No wrapping, just took it off of the grill and pulled it about 15 minutes later.

Nanook · June 2014

Congrats!

First overnight cook, what do I need to know?

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