Cannot get pork butts finished in one load of charcoal

[castironchris]

Hulagn1971 his email is in his youtube info. He had a webstore but had to turn it off for some reason. or just comment on his video, he usually responds

[Hulagn1971]

castironchris I watched the vid and that charcoal ring is HUGE. Didn't see any links to purchase though. Any ideas?

[Hulagn1971]

Thanks for the input. I usually do cook them at 300+ and wrap to get them through the stall. This cook was a long overnighter and I just wanted to see if I could get them to the finish line without wrapping. I have an iq110 that I've had for years but learned in the last 12-15 months how to cook on it without the fan. I can see though where the fan would help keep the temp from dropping near the end.

[klflowers]

Hulagn1971, no difference that I can tell. It took me years to ditch the water pan, and I thought I would need some therapy to get me through that first cook without it. Now I can see I don't really need it. I may use it for my next brisket, but maybe not. Depends on the day and if I can find the water pan.

[ColonialDawg]

A couple of thoughts:
1) Cook hot and fast. I usually cook my butts at 300 degrees F and they are usually done in almost half the time (I also wrap tightly in foil when I get the bark I want).
2) Finish your butt in your oven if you want low and slow. At 185 internal, the butt has picked up almost all the smoke it’s going to get. Again, you can wrap tightly in foil to speed up the process.
3) Invest in a automatic fan controller and fan. The kettle is easy to modify for a Guru fan. These are worth their weight in gold for long cooks and cold outdoor temps.

[Santamarina]

A lot of good ideas here, though I also wouldn’t shy away from adding charcoal. The extra smoke it produces is minimal. Dare I say most people wouldn’t be able to taste the difference.

[Troutman]

Ask yourself this, how does a PBC or other UDC’s work? No water pans there either.

[Hulagn1971]

klflowers any difference in the flavor profile with meat drippings hitting the coals? Interested in this method.

[klflowers]

Hulagn1971 I finally got up the nerve to ditch the water pan for my last butt and it wasn’t a problem. Went about 12 hours overnight, added a few coals the next morning to finish it out. I don’t use the door, I just lift the body off the base and add the coals. Real easy without the water pan.

[castironchris]

Could contact The Woodshed Smoke and Bbq and get one of his beast baskets. I found his stuff on youtube and like the one I got.

[HouseHomey]

Full disclosure.... me knowing nothing. Sounds like if you would have cooked hotter you would have been fine??? I feel your frustration though.

[Hulagn1971]

Interesting set up. So you don't find it necessary to use the water pan as a deflector of sorts? What about possible grease fire with nothing to catch to pork fat dripping?

[Troutman]

I guess I'm fortunate in that I don't ever cook in 35* temperatures. Hell I don't even leave the house when it's 35* outside

Couple of things come to mind. Yea the B&B suggestion might work for you. I also like the idea of the deeper basket, that will really help with your longevity problem. More fuel more burn time.

One thing I do in mine is to completely remove the water pan. I don't have any need for it. I run a fan controlled by a Fireboard and it runs at what ever temp I set it at until fuel runs out. I also strapped my fuel ring to my criss-crossed bottom grates with stainless hose clamps and pile my charcoal about 5-6" deep. Having said that I get about 13-14 hours of burn time, but if need be do open my door and dump more in. Again more and maybe better fuel in milder weather will do the trick for you.

[Hulagn1971]

Going to stop by Academy Sports this week and pick up some B&B briquettes. klflowers I have an iq110 fan that I've had been using for years but the last 12 months I've learned how to manage the temp without it. I'm kinda' proud of that lol. Thank you!

[smokin fool]

Sounds like Charcoal.
I had the same problem smoking butts on my Keg until I used up a bag of Royal Oak and before that Maple Leaf charcoals.
Those two bags were nugget infested pains were good for 5-6 hours before I had to add to finish a cook.
Brought a new bag of Royal Oak that had plenty of chunks in it, problem solved, got a ten hour smoke on a butt last weekend and it could have gone longer.
They need to put charcoal in transparent packaging so we can see how beat up it is before buying it.
Can't speak for Kingsford, its priced like royalty up here, I can buy 3 bags of Royal Oak for 1 bag of Kingsford.