Excessive Cooking time for PB...disappointed with the #2 partially filled

G man

G man

Member
Strange situation this weekend....

Put in an 8.6 pounds PB at 6:30pm along with a stainless steel tray of beans...The PB was on top, with the beans below slightly about the smoke box.

At 6:00am the PB was at 157.  Ok, not bad...should be coming out of stall soon.  At 2:30pm, the PB was only at 174.  That is 20 hours.  I surmised that the beans and its container was taking up to much of the heat.... Have to say kind of disappointed that the #2 wasn't up able to cook both at the same time.  I eventually had to put the PB in the oven to finish. 

Is this normal that the #2 will struggle with a full load?  (and I don't consider this full).....

 
Sounds like the beans were acting as a heat sink and blocking part of the heat to your butt.  Maybe I'm wrong but that appears to be the case
 
Would have been better to put the beans above the butt. The beans were definitely the issue.

In a #3, you might have faired a little better with more room for airflow, but I would not recommend this in a #3 either.

Live and learn. :)
 
I wanted the beans below to catch all the drippings....It was intentional.

I wonder if a PID would have worked better?  Even if the container/beans were soaking up heat, why did that effect the interior temp?  The location of the temp probe in the #2? 

On a side note, the beans were exceptional.
 
G man said:
I wanted the beans below to catch all the drippings....It was intentional.

I wonder if a PID would have worked better?  Even if the container/beans were soaking up heat, why did that effect the interior temp?  The location of the temp probe in the #2? 

On a side note, the beans were exceptional.
Click to expand...

The #2 probe would have been below the beans and with the heat reflecting downward told the temperature probe that the temp was at the desired setting, but the area above the beans is not measured so likely was way below your set temperature.

A PID with a wall-mounted probe above the meat/beans (recommended 1" from the top) likely would have eliminated the problem. The only issue with that is that it would heat the box until the area at the top where the probe was located to your desired temp. But, the area below the heat sink (beans) would have most likely been quite a bit higher than the area above because the smoker had to heat extra to get the temps above the beans to the set temperature.

This all depends on the size of your pan. In a #3, there would be more airflow access, which might eliminate some of the airflow issues. But when you put a pan of beans in the #2 if you are using a foil sheet pan like many do, the airflow will be more restricted.

These are my thoughts anyhow.
 
Thanks Doze...your thoughts reflect mine.  I understand it why it happened..(just not happy about it)

Next time I'll leave the beans in for the first three hours or so....plenty long enough to get that nice smoky flavor...and plenty of drippings from the butt. 

G.
 
Gordo,

This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the #2 not being able to "keep up" with a full load.  It has everything to do with you creating a setup that fooled the #2.  I have seen this many, many times, with the same results.  The pan of beans, below your pork butt, redirected the heat flow from the smoke box/element, up around the sidewalls.  The effect, is that the temp sensor on the back wall gets "fooled" into thinking the box temp is much higher than it actually is.  I would bet money that your box temp wasn't anywhere near what you thought it was.

I NEVER put anything between the meat and the heat.  Why?  I believe the meat is the main attraction, and I don't want to do anything to effect that process.  Side dishes, like beans, must go above the meat.  Period.  The 800 watt element can more than keep up with anything you throw in the #2, but if you channel the heat up the sides, you will have the same results, every time.  If you want some drippings, put a small loaf pan on a shelf directly under the meat, but not any larger than the meat.
 
One of the very first things I learned after getting my #2. Setting a tray in there blocking the heat/airflow made for really long smokes. But now all is right and the darn thing is amazing.
 
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