Cannot get pork butts finished in one load of charcoal

[Jerod Broussard]

B & B Briquets.

[jfmorris]

In my kettle with the SNS, KBB lasts 7-8 hours for a load, while some other brands last 12+ hours. Try B&B or Weber briquettes if you can find them, and see if it makes a difference.

That said, 12 hours sounds like about the right about of time for a load of charcoal in the WSM, and I often have butts take longer than 12 on my offset or kettle, unless I crank the heat up - which of course uses the charcoal faster too!

[klflowers]

I have the 18, and I get about 12-14 hours on a full basket of KBB with a party q fan set up (https://bbqguru.com/StoreNav?Categor...iABEgItOfD_BwE) Do you have a fan? That may get you a few more hours. Or, like Alphonse mentions, try another brand of charcoal. I think some folks say that B&B may burn a little longer.

[Alphonse]

As soon as I read your comment about the outside temperature I was reminded of Harry Soo wrapping his WSM in blankets. I then read that you had done that as well!

Have you thought about changing to a charcoal briquette or lump that has more BTUs/pound than KBB? My son used some over the weekend in his WSM as well and was complaining that they seemed to evaporate. KBB seems to have an awful lot filler, etc. and produce a lot of ash to prove it.

[Hulagn1971]

I cooked a couple 9-10lb pork butts over the weekend in the WSM 22. No water in the pan, used KBB for fuel and fruit woods for smoke. I've been cooking on this thing for years. I kept the temp 250-275 and the cook was overnight. Outside temp was in the mid 30's. At 12 hours the IT of the meat was 185 and the smoker temp had dropped to about 220 (and continued to drop). I had to finish the butts in the oven. I have the door to the smoker taped up as I've never had to use it. Really wish I could get the entire cook done with one full load of charcoal and am thinking of getting this https://www.cajunbandit.com/product/...low-coal-ring/ to solve the problem. Does anyone here have experience with this? I honestly don't want to use the door to add charcoal because of the smoke the addition of fresh charcoal produces. Also, I wrapped the smoker in a welding blanket to help insulate and conserve fuel.