First butt on XL

[bbq_esq]

Have an 8 lb bone in butt I plan to smoke tomorrow. Have cooked many on my PBC. Plan to go no wrap as usual and try out my new RFX (was a good off season).

Question about smoking on primo in general - do I need to use the diverter plates? I’ve always enjoyed the flavor from the direct heat cook on my PBC, would that approach work on the primo, or too much direct heat? Plan is full basket of lump, start with a few tumbleweeds and aim for 275 or so.

do the diverter plates play a role in moving smoke? That is, do I get more convection that way or not really a factor.

just thinking it though, though I’d have to try pretty hard to screw up a butt

[Huskee]

I wish I could help with your questions from direct experience but I have none with the Primo.

I think a fun experiment might be using only 1 plate, cutting your 8lb butt in half, and smoking one half over each side, 1 direct over the coals and 1 indirect over the plate. That might give you your answers in only 1 cook. And you're right, it's hard to mess up a pork butt. Have a great smoke tomorrow!

[bbqLuv]

Don't forget the pictures.
Cooking is about time and temp.
Low and slow, should apply
Here are the steps I use on my pellet grill.
1-trim and season
2-smoke at 225*F to 165*F internal and bark is set
3-wrap in foil
4-cook to 205-210*F and probe tender
5-rest for at least on hour.

[JCBBQ]

I always use my diverter plates but an 8lb butt is fairly small so you could get away with using one and move the meat to the other side if you want direct heat. Personally I’d go 100% indirect for your first cook. See how you like it. Then next time play around with it. 275 is definitely where you want to aim for. Kamados cook very differently from a pit barrel- a lot less smoke - so you definitely want to cook between 275-300 for good amount of smoke. Also give yourself a good hour to heat soak the ceramic and slowly bring it up to temp. Resist making adjustments bc you’ll see wide temp swings. Eventually you’ll figure out where the vents need to be in order to get your desired temp. Once you lock in your good for at least 6 hrs at that temp. Also fill up the cooker with lump. You won’t waste much as once you’re finished you’ll close all the vents and the fire will go out fairly quickly w/o much waste. Have fun. Make note especially of where the vents are when the temp locks in.

[Oak Smoke]

Good advice for any kamado. Kamados do cook very differently than other cookers. Enjoy your new cooker. You’ll come to love it.

[bbq_esq]

Thank you for the helpful response. Will report back!

[Brian_M]

The Primo gives a different flavor than the PBC. I’ve never used my Primo without the diverter plates so I can’t help there. I will say that after I figured the Primo XL I gradually quit using (and then sold) my PBC.

[HawkerXP]

[bbq_esq]

That’s kind of what I’m getting at. I don’t have the space (or the wife) to allow me to have 4 grills out there at once, and garage space is at a premium. I’m thinking my Primo can eventually take the place of my kettle and my PBC, both of which I’d sell. Though I’d probably just keep the PBC somewhere. It’s fine outside in the elements and it’s very helpful for the extra cooking space for the few big events I cook for.

[58limited]

I always use the diverter plate on my SnS Kamado (in kamado mode) and my Cypress Grill Kamado. Otherwise the bottom tends to dry out or scorch. I usually shoot for 275^o or so for a pork butt, takes about an hour per pound.

[bbq_esq]

Thank you - I’m so used to PBC cook times which are kind of its own thing. I like to go no wrap on my butts but the PBC is humid. Whether I wrap or not is going to be a function of time - want to have this ready early enough for the kids. My 3 year old loves pulled pork lol

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I have done many butts in my Pit Barrels, but my Hasty Bake Legacy I use the heat shield.
I did one without the shield and it kind of burnt the bottom.
I have done butts with the shield and they came out nicely barked and smokey.

[bbq_esq]

Thank you. Hasty Bake was on my list until I landed this primo. Will run it with the diverter plates and post the results.

[bbq_esq]

Butt went on around 9am. Yellow mustard and killer hogs hot rub. The Good Lump and cherry wood chunks. RFX meat prove in as well as ambient, which is more to learn how the Primo runs and how far off the built in thermometer is. Wouldn’t normally bother for a butt. Running around 275-300 which is fine by me. I do have a pan in below the butt but no water. Will check around 2pm to decide if I need to wrap but would prefer not to. Currently 130

[Jessterr]

Gawd, that cooker is beautiful. 🤢 Congratulations on that!

[bbq_esq]

Noticing some black liquid around the top. Not inside the grill, but where the top vent cover meets the top or the grill? Wipes away, seems like dark water and not oily or greasy.

[Oak Smoke]

You just tossed the makings of liquid smoke. Just kidding, my kamados get the same thing. The folks at Smobot say not to worry about it, so I don’t.

[bbq_esq]

Time to start making money with this thing! But that makes sense. I’m guessing that’s the only spot any moisture is escaping.

[Sweaty Paul]

Great thread. Sorry I'm late to the game. I agree with others above. I always put my deflector plates in and, in fact, I had an old rectangular pizza stone that I had cut into an oval shape so I actually have 2 layers of heat deflection (I tried this after watching a video from Smoking Dad BBQ on YouTube). Seems to make the bark more uniform.

I agree with JCBBQ and the importance of making sure your ceramic is heat soaked and not adjusting the vents too frequently.Like others have said, figure out where your vents need to be set. I'll tell you the top vent is much more important for setting and maintaining temps than moving the bottom vent. This was made abundantly clear to me when I used my Smobot for the first time. I set the bottom vent at 1 1/2-2 (numbers marked on smoker) and then let the Smobot work. The Smobot is only able to open and close the top vent and it does a fabulous job of maintaining temps. Learning from the Smobot I now leave my bottom vent at 1 1/2-2 and adjust only the top vent. Works great.

I will say it was hard for me to fathom how long a load of charcoal would last. I kept taking the deflector stones out to check my charcoal on my first cook. It was a lot of wasted effort and time. The cook would have been done faster and probably better if I had left well-enough alone. Subsequently, I decided to do a test of how long a load of lump charcoal would last cooking at 250. So I loaded my Primo up with Jealous Devil Charcoal and started a fire and then dialed the temp in at 250. 24 hours later it was still going strong at 250. I decided to close the vents down after 29 hours and see how much lump I had left in the morning. There was far more charcoal than I would have anticipated and I imagine I would have had several more hours of cooking time.

Anyway, good luck. I imagine it went great. Looking forward to seeing the results. Enjoy the new cooker!

[bbq_esq]

Ended up wrapping it at 159 just to have it done and holding for a bit. Wrapped in foil, no liquid, then held in 150 oven for 2 hours. Came out excellent, enjoyed with some vinegar slaw.

Really enjoyed cooking on the primo. Very responsive to small adjustments which I liked.

My RFX probe also died after like 6 hours which is a bit annoying. Will double check and make sure it wasn’t operator error.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

Yummy!

[Sweaty Paul]

Looks delicious!