Butt hovered at 152 for hours...

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LowRent

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
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I did my first Boston butt on my WSM w/the brand new Stoker yesterday. Sorry, no pics. Waaaay too many irons in the fire yesterday.

Pit was set to 225. The 7 lb bone-in butt hovered at 152 for many hours... even after I raised the pit temp to 245 in an attempt to get the thing going. I never lifted the lid.

Is it common for a butt to stay at 152 for so long?

By the way, after 9 hours I foiled the butt and within 30 minutes or so the temp started moving up and was at 190 within a couple hours. It turned out very well, tho I barely ate any because it was so late.
 
Every butt is different...when I do my butts I keep the temp in the 245 range...lots of fat in those buggers to keep um moist! ;)

I usually run in to 2 stalls during a butt cook...one in the 160s and again in the 180s.
 
Greg Rempe said:
Every butt is different...when I do my butts I keep the temp in the 245 range...lots of fat in those buggers to keep um moist! ;)

I usually run in to 2 stalls during a butt cook...one in the 160s and again in the 180s.

I've had them stall / hover at a temp before, but I remembered it being a higher temp. That said, it's possible I had the probe in a pocket that was just reading a little lower.... Who knows.
 
Like Greg said each butt is different. Yes it's normal for butts to plateau and not raise one degree for several hours. It's also not uncommon for them to drop a degree or two during the plateau. Some butts plateau earlier than others. The plateau is a good thing, you certainly don't want to rush it. However, butts are pretty forgiving, so it won't really hurt alot if you needed to rush it to get the food on the table sooner. I don't like to foil butts to rush them due to all the fat, I don't want my meat boiling in it and becoming mushy. If you want to rush the cook, just raise the temps.
 
Temp

Many times the meat will seem to want to stay at about 160-165 forever. This occurs when the collagen (fat) starts to break completely down and render out of the meat. It WILL go up. Be patient.
Smoke On!!!!!!
 
It's not uncommon for a butt to stall a little early..they usually stall at 165* but can stall earlier...how acurate was the therm that you were using? Like the rest of these guys said around 165* is when the collegen starts to break down..and where the magic happens..most people don't rush this plateau....this is where the tenderness comes from
 
I just did a 6+ pound butt that took almost 14 hours at 225 degrees. I always figure 2+ hours per pound, that's in a Smokin Tex.
 
exactly!.....

That wasn't a temperature plateau... is was a beer thirty alarm!

plus ya gotta remember.... the longer the cook time................

the shorter the "honeydew list" is.... heh heh heh heh :twisted:
 
Nick Prochilo said:
The stall is a great time to down a couple of beers!

you mean i'm not supposed to drink before the stall? :shock: i'm usually drinking as soon as the charcoal's lit.....

Rob
 
Personally I try to pop one before I start anything.

I have never found it fair that anyone or anything gets LIT before me....including the charcoal...... [smilie=rlp_smilie_242.gif]
 
Smokey_Joe said:
Personally I try to pop one before I start anything.

I have never found it fair that anyone or anything gets LIT before me....including the charcoal...... [smilie=rlp_smilie_242.gif]
:LOL:
 
brian j said:
what is your first impression on the stoker? any do's and don'ts?

I like it a lot. It does what is advertised, plus, per the recent podcast, will do much more in the near future.
 
What time of day are you guys starting your butts, anyway? Back in the fraternity days we used to start drinking around 6:30 am when we (pledges cleaned up after parties, thus, the 6:30 am start time) began cleaning up from the party the night before... but I don't generally start drinking at 6:30 am anymore.
 
The best thing about working midnights is I can still drink at 6:30am...somedays I start my butts in the am....and others I go for the overnight route...
 
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