1st butt questions

For sure.  I will post pictures when the cook is all done as it is tough to post due to the size limit on the forum.  I tried to take an iphone picture and upload there but it was over the limit as well. 
 
I always start put my butts in the smoker around midnight. Smoking at 225 will get done about perfect and let me rest for 2+ hours. I used to rest for an hour, but one time ended up having to let it rest for 3 hours and the results were amazing. Now, I start early so I can give a good 2-3 hour rest. The butt is still too hot to pull by hand after 3 hours.

If your wife is home and the butt gets to 190 early in the afternoon, she can turn the temp down to 140 and hold the butt in the smoker until you get home around 5:00. If you are going to put the butt in warming mode, the residual heat will most likely take the butt pretty darn close to the mid 190s which is where you want to end up at. Then double-foil wrap around 5:00 or whenever you get home from work and place in the cooler with the towels on top.

These are my suggestions anyhow. I have used this method many many times and always eat on time. ;)
 
aspenextreme03 said:
For sure.  I will post pictures when the cook is all done as it is tough to post due to the size limit on the forum.  I tried to take an iphone picture and upload there but it was over the limit as well.
Click to expand...

This forum post helps with taking pics and uploading...

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1272.0
 
That is a pretty good idea and I think I said that before.  I ended up getting a 7.5 lb butt so assuming 2 hours per lb that would be just around 15 hours.  That would put me around 3 pm in the afternoon.

So you are saying at 3 if it hits 190-200 I can have her just turn it down to 140 and then when I get home at 5:30 I can foil it for the rest and then eat at 7 pm?

I am thinking this would work pretty well.

NDKoze said:
I always start put my butts in the smoker around midnight. Smoking at 225 will get done about perfect and let me rest for 2+ hours. I used to rest for an hour, but one time ended up having to let it rest for 3 hours and the results were amazing. Now, I start early so I can give a good 2-3 hour rest. The butt is still too hot to pull by hand after 3 hours.

If your wife is home and the butt gets to 190 early in the afternoon, she can turn the temp down to 140 and hold the butt in the smoker until you get home around 5:00. If you are going to put the butt in warming mode, the residual heat will most likely take the butt pretty darn close to the mid 190s which is where you want to end up at. Then double-foil wrap around 5:00 or whenever you get home from work and place in the cooler with the towels on top.

These are my suggestions anyhow. I have used this method many many times and always eat on time. ;)
Click to expand...
 
aspenextreme03 said:
That is a pretty good idea and I think I said that before.  I ended up getting a 7.5 lb butt so assuming 2 hours per lb that would be just around 15 hours.  That would put me around 3 pm in the afternoon.

So you are saying at 3 if it hits 190-200 I can have her just turn it down to 140 and then when I get home at 5:30 I can foil it for the rest and then eat at 7 pm?

I am thinking this would work pretty well.

NDKoze said:
I always start put my butts in the smoker around midnight. Smoking at 225 will get done about perfect and let me rest for 2+ hours. I used to rest for an hour, but one time ended up having to let it rest for 3 hours and the results were amazing. Now, I start early so I can give a good 2-3 hour rest. The butt is still too hot to pull by hand after 3 hours.

If your wife is home and the butt gets to 190 early in the afternoon, she can turn the temp down to 140 and hold the butt in the smoker until you get home around 5:00. If you are going to put the butt in warming mode, the residual heat will most likely take the butt pretty darn close to the mid 190s which is where you want to end up at. Then double-foil wrap around 5:00 or whenever you get home from work and place in the cooler with the towels on top.

These are my suggestions anyhow. I have used this method many many times and always eat on time. ;)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. I have done this numerous times with very good results. You can actually hold it for 4-6 hours. I haven't gone much beyond that as I have never had to.

Yeah, you can set the temp at 235-240 and put it in at 4:00am-6:00am. But I am not a morning person and don't want to have to mess with this before going to work. I would rather get it in at Midnight and not have to worry about it in the morning. I will say that it is hard to walk past the smoker and smell the awesome goodness coming out of the smoke hole on the way to the truck and go to work though. This just adds to my anticipation of good eats for dinner!
 
Aspen, as Gregg eluded to, moving the temp to 140 takes a good amount of time to get temp drop in our well insulated smokers.  You will get a good IT climb even after you turn down the temp.  So, don't take it to your desired temp before turning the temp down. 
 
Thanks and that makes sense. I guess we will see what happens and when it gets to 190 i can make the call. At least my wife will be there to turn it down for me if it close. Looking forward to the finished product.
 
One suggestion, Eric, is to skip the 24 hours in the fridge with the rub.  Saves prep time.  I rub right after rinsing the brine, and straight in the smoker.  After brining, the rub really doesn't penetrate that much anyways, and is really just for surface flavor and bark.  It soaks in as it cooks, so you can save a day of prep time.  No problem doing what you're doing, but if you're ever pressed for time, and want to prep in one night, I suspect you won't see much difference in the final results.
 
I will note the rub for next time. I only did it as i had some extra time to string it out.  By the way, briner jr worked really well. I might buy the briner later on but i can see they both have their purposes.
 
DivotMaker said:
I like my Briner Jr. too, Eric.  Works great for 98% of what I brine!  Just can't do briskets or turkeys in it.
Click to expand...
Does the full briner fit in the refrigerator or is one better off staying with an ice chest once you out grow a briner junior? 
 
Full briner would fit if you take shelves out but would be a pain honestly. It is the size of a normal sized bucket. For me when i get one the only place i can fit it without rearranging is my kegerator.
 
8 hours in and the pork says it of 174. Seems a little fast but i guess the time it takes to get to 190 will be a while with the stall
 
That is what i figured with the 7.5 lb but. I have to say it so nice setting it and then not having to worry overnight what is happening. Was raining when i set it up and covered the maverick just in case. Worked flawlessly so far.

After it gets to 190 i am having my wife turn it down to 140 since i dont get home until 5:30
 
Seems like you are right on track. Once you get into the 170s things really slow down even excluding the stall. Sounds like it will work out about perfect.
 
And my wife just sent me and the IT hit 190.  that was just about 12 hours for a 7.5 lb butt.  She turned it down to 140 to keep it warm.  That means it will be in there for 5 hours before I get home at 140.  Is that ok or should I have her take it out in a couple of hours and double foil?  Or just wait until I get home at 5 to foil and rest?
 
I think you'll be OK. I have held mine for 6 hours and it has been fine. I don't know that I would hold it much longer than that though.

My guess is that she'll see a rise up to 192-195 or so and then start to fall as the temp in the box lowers.

You could have her pull, double-foil, and then place in a cooler with some towels on top around 3:30-4:30 or so. Then it would have a 3-4 hour rest. Even after a 4 hour rest, it will be plenty warm for pulling and eating.
 
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