Brined Pork Butt for Pulled Pork

[DivotMaker]

I'm trying this tonight - my pork butt in brining as I type, but I have a question (I'm a super-beginner), what does "stall" refer to when smoking? I read that you wrote, "well into the stall".

Also, how long should the meat rest after cooking?

Thanks for your patience with the new guy!

--Mike

Mike, John hit what the "stall" is, in its basics.  Let me add this:  The "stall" happens when the meat cooks enough to bring liquid (rendering fat) to the surface.  What makes the temperature stop climbing, and even reverse a little, is "evaporative cooling."  This is the same thing that happens when we sweat in the wind.  Our bodies cool when the moisture on our skin is evaporated by wind.  Same thing happens to large cuts of meat!  The air moving through the smoker cools the surface of the meat, thus slowing the cooking process.  But, the great thing is that cooking is still happening!  The fat and connective tissue, inside the meat, is rendering down, and being absorbed by the meat.  This is when the real magic happens!

Bottom line:  Embrace the "stall!"  It freaks a lot of folks out, when they first encounter it!  Oh no!  My smoker just stopped working!!  Arghh!!  No, this is NOT the case!  It's the meat.  Once the stall hits, just let it work its way through; it will eventually begin to climb!  The stall can take several hours, after a really fast temperature climb to it.  Don't let that freak you out, either!  You'll watch the internal meat temp climb really fast, at first, but it will NOT continue at that pace!  Expect the 1-2 hours per pound, and watch for the stall!

 

[bubbabob]

Tony,
I'm trying your brined butt recipe today too, and the 1st thing I need to ask is if all of you experience the huge temp differences between what you set your SI at and what the temp inside the unit really is. I set the unit temp at 225 with about 3 oz. of competition pellets in the wood tray and it climbed up to 275. When it hit 275 I went out and dumped the set temp to 175, so it's on the way down right now, and I'm wondering when it will bottom. How can you guys cook with those kind of swings or variations or whatever you want to call it. Is there some way of calibrating the SI #1 to read more accurately? Again, I'm measuring the inside temp with my Maverick and the probe is clipped onto the bottom side of the smoke hole. I stuck my thermapen into the hole and got the same reading as the Maverick, so I know the temp is accurate. Anyone?
TIA,
BB

 

[DivotMaker]

Tony,
I'm trying your brined butt recipe today too, and the 1st thing I need to ask is if all of you experience the huge temp differences between what you set your SI at and what the temp inside the unit really is. I set the unit temp at 225 with about 3 oz. of competition pellets in the wood tray and it climbed up to 275. When it hit 275 I went out and dumped the set temp to 175, so it's on the way down right now, and I'm wondering when it will bottom. How can you guys cook with those kind of swings or variations or whatever you want to call it. Is there some way of calibrating the SI #1 to read more accurately? Again, I'm measuring the inside temp with my Maverick and the probe is clipped onto the bottom side of the smoke hole. I stuck my thermapen into the hole and got the same reading as the Maverick, so I know the temp is accurate. Anyone?
TIA,
BB

Bob, I use chunks, not pellets, but sounds to me like you experienced combustion of your wood to get a temp spike like that.  3 oz, also, is about 1/2 the amount needed for a butt.

Don't try to chase temp swings!  Analog controllers, no matter who's smoker its in, can swing as much as 20-30 degrees.  But, the "average" temp is where we set it.  The temperature swings were one of the main reasons I went with the Auber PID controller...1-2° swings.

Also, I use 235 for butts.  Set it to 235, and don't mess with it until the internal temp hits 195.  No need to monitor, or try to chase, box temp.  Set it, and forget it. 

 

[bubbabob]

Ok Tony. I'll crank her back up. I had to cook it in my egg for the first 5 hours cuz I was doing some baked beans under it and the pan wouldn't fit in the SI 1. That's why only 3 oz of pellets. I had already gotten some smoke in it in the egg, but didn't feel like it was enough. You were right about the pellets combusting. I just changed the set temp back to 225 and there was no smoke at all so they just burned up. Chunks from now on. It's gonna take me years to use up the 40 lb bag of pellets I bought. lol. I think my butt has enough smoke on it now so I'll just let her cook. Seems to be coming out of the stall. 163 and counting. Hoping for dinner around 7 so 2.5 hours to go. The beans turned out great, BTW. Thanks for the quick and timely response. My inside temp is 199 but going up again. I think it's going to work out ok. I made some of So Fla Quers finishing sauce to put on this already delectable meat. Thanks again for posting your recipe.
Cheers,
BB
Cheers,
BB

 

[DivotMaker]

Good deal, Bubba!  I think folks use pellets with either the chip screen, or wrapped in foil, to avoid burning them up.  Hopefully, some pellet guys will chime in!

 

[bubbabob]

Oh, I used the chip screen. It still lit up like the 4th. Chunks! Thanks again.
BB

 

[DivotMaker]

If you want the best quality chunks you can get, check out Smokinlicious.com.  There's a thread on it under What Tree Do You Use.  Fantastic wood!

 

[bubbabob]

I thought you had nailed the reason for the radical temp swing Tony, but my 225 setting just topped out at 280. It's on the way down now, but I haven't messed with it since turning it back up to 225. 55 degrees seems like a pretty damn big swing. I can see why the Auber is so popular. Thanks for the tip on the wood. I'll check em out.
Cheers,
BB

 

[DivotMaker]

Best way to eliminate the temp swings, Bob, is to pull that box temp probe out.   If, or when, you get the Auber, it's a fact of life.  I never saw a spike that high in the #1, but I bet it averages-out in the long run.

 

[NDKoze]

To get up to 280, I think your wood started on fire.

If you are not already, I would recommend using the ramp-up method or the foil boat method to prevent this.

Ramp - Start at temp of 140 for 45 minutes prior to going up to your smoking temperature.
Foil Boat - Cover the bottom half of your wood chunks with foil and set cook temp to your desired temp right away.

Some others even use a combination of the two.

It sounds like several here are having really good results with wood purchased from Smokinlicious and not having to ramp/foil.

My guess is that your wood is very dry. What type of wood are you using and where did you get it from?

 

[SuperDave]

Gregg, he said he used pellets and it reached 275 once, dropped to below 200 and spiked to 280 a second time.  I can't envision a small amount of pellets catching fire twice in a smoke. 

 

[NDKoze]

Thanks Dave. I guess I missed that.

Hmm, that seems like a pretty big swing then.

I would check to make sure you have removed the cardboard piece that covers the smoker thermostat. I neglected to do this when I first got my smoker and had really big swings too. Just something to look at.

 

[bubbabob]

Greg,
Where exactly is the smoker thermostat located. I may not have seen the cardboard either.... Super Dave, right on. the temp swings up to 280 happened even after the pellets were gone (up in smoke, so speak). I'll have to look a lot more carefully for that cardboard. I'm smoking some steelhead today....
Cheers,
BB

 

[SuperDave]

Bob, he is referring to the horizontal temp probe located in the middle of the box on the back wall.  What I might do if I was you, is load a dummy load in the smoker and let it run.  See if it eventually locks in at the right temp or is always high.  If it is always high, there is a way to calibrate the dial. 

 

[bubbabob]

Thanks Dave. I'll check it out. Nope. No cardboard in the unit.  I'm not sure how to do a dummy load...Replace the meat with something else? I'm about 2 hours away from putting the steelhead in, so I can't do it right now, but I'll check it out again today as I smoke the fish. Thanks again for the help.
BB

 

[SuperDave]

Use a foil pan of sand or a couple of bricks. 

 

[bubbabob]

Thanks again Dave. I'll do that.

 

[bubbabob]

I'm starting to get a handle on this now you guys. I relocated my Maverick probe to the same bracket that holds the thermostat for the SI. Now my temperature range is 35 degrees, starting at the set temp and climbing. Since I'm doing some steelhead today I set the SI at 135 and it has been running from 138 to 169 on my Maverick probe. Since I wanted a cooking temp of around 150, this is very good. Thanks again for the help.
BB

 

[SuperDave]

Bob, as I mentioned, the dial does have some calibration in it.  It repeated smokes show an at temp or higher swing, you could center it a little so that it performs closer to 17 high and 17 low. 

 

[bubbabob]

I looked for a set screw or some visible sign that the control knob could be adjusted but didn't see any. I'm assuming there is perhaps a spline that runs up into the plastic knob and I could pry off the knob and reset it such that it more accurately shows the "set" temp in the middle of that 35 degree swing range??? Appreciating all the feedback Dave and all.
BB