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first pork butt, which cooker?

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    first pork butt, which cooker?

    I'm going to cook my first pulled pork tomorrow, Lord willing and I'm in a quandary about which cooker to use. I have a PBC and a Weber Kettle with a newly purchased Slow n Sear . I was planning on trying out the SnS on the Weber but now I'm having second thoughts. The PBC has been my go to cooker and i'm pretty confident using it. The SnS would be my first time and I don't want to mess up this big 8 lb hunk o meat. What do ya'll think?

    #2
    Go with the kettle and the SnS. We also like pics. Just in case I haven't already... Welcome to the Pit

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      #3
      Well, both will do the job! What have you been cooking on the PBC? Have you done a 12 hour cook on it, like you will need for the pork butt?

      There's lots of info on doing such a smoke with either cooker in the forum here.

      Comment


        #4
        Gotta do a first time some time!

        Comment


          #5
          Thanks for the replies and the welcome. So far I have cooked ribs, chicken and brisket on the PBC. I have yet to do any 12 hour cooks on either grill/smoker. I will probably try the SnS mainly because its a new toy and I want to use it. But if I am going to be cooking for 12 hours, I may need to go get some more beer. Plus its supposed to be windy and cold here tomorrow so i'm not sure how that will affect the cook.
          Last edited by hortique; January 9, 2016, 12:38 AM. Reason: spelling correction

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            #6
            Look at it this way- if it takes you 12hrs with your kettle you'll use ~1.5 chimneys of charcoal (~120 briquets, = 1 quick & easy refill at the 8-10hr mark) and a few small chunks of flavor wood. How much charcoal would your PBC use in a 12-hr cook? When doing a smaller footprint of meat that easily fits on the kettle grate, the kettle/SnS can't be beat for efficiency. Plus, yeah you do need to break it in eventually!

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              #7
              Ok, I must be excited about this cook. Woke up about 5:00 am, put on a pot of coffee, took the PB out of the fridge, slathered a little olive oil on it and applied liberal amounts of memphis dust. Started 12 coals in one corner of the SnS on the 22" kettle and once lit, added a full chimney starter of coals and three hunks of apple wood to SnS as per instructions. Added hot water to the W. reservoir. Have a meat probe in the PB and a grate probe going to my DOT. Meat went on at 5:45 am. Outside temps around 44 with light winds from the north. Expecting the wind to start blowing pretty good today as another cold front is scheduled to move in later this morning. Current reading on grate is 217 at 6:27. Taking a little while to get up to 225 target.
              Last edited by hortique; January 9, 2016, 06:29 AM. Reason: Forgot to mention the adding of water to reservoir

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              • David Parrish
                David Parrish commented
                Editing a comment
                So far so good! Mind that wind, it can mess with your temps.

              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                Everything sounds perfect. Don't fret on the temp. 215-240 is mighty good. We're getting a doozy of a winter storm (again) tonight and tomorrow up in MI. You can stop sending that stuff our way any time Texas!

              #8
              Click image for larger version

Name:	image_15936.jpg
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ID:	132928 Here is a pic of the PB after applying rub, meat probe is in side and I made sure it wasn't touching bone.
              Last edited by hortique; January 9, 2016, 06:47 AM.

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                #9
                hortique, when your charcoal needs to be refilled here's what I usually do to get the refill done quickly and minimize loss of heat, especially on a windy/cold day.
                1. Put your unlit charcoal in the chimney, ready within reach.
                2. Get your tongs or whatever you will use to move the remaining charcoal in the SnS to one corner, ready within reach.
                3. Using 1 hand, slide the lid just enough to the side to expose the SnS and hold it over the meat.
                4. Using your other hand, use your tongs to flip the cooking grate hinge over the SnS (assuming your grate is hinged).
                5. Use your tongs to move the remaining charcoal to one corner, then pour in the unlit charcoal and flip the hinged grate back closed.
                6. Slide the lid back into place and do an ash sweep to make sure the intake vents are not clogged.
                Of course you may want to take a quick look at that beautiful PB.
                Last edited by fuzzydaddy; January 9, 2016, 07:29 AM.

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                • Huskee
                  Huskee commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Bingo, what he said. Don't forget #6 a time or three throughout the cook.

                • fuzzydaddy
                  fuzzydaddy commented
                  Editing a comment
                  ...and no need to refill the water.

                #10
                hortique, I think about every thing has been said! Except: Eat Well and Prosper! From Fargo ND, Dan

                Comment


                  #11
                  Hey guys, thanks for the tips and words of encouragement, especially the tip on refilling charcoal when the time comes. I'm currently a little shy of 5 hours into the cook. Plugged the meat probe into the dot and got a reading of 157. The grill grate probe has been holding in the low to mid 230's. Weather is nice, 49 degrees, sunny and the wind hasn't gotten too bad yet. Sorry for you folks up north! I've resisted the urge to peek at the PB, but I will definitely do that when I need to add more charcoal later.

                  Comment


                    #12
                    Looks like you've got this cook nailed down. I looked at my cooking logs to see the times and weights of my various pork shoulder/butt cooks. Average size was 8-9# (boneless) tied with string.
                    Cooker times to get to 203° or probe tender. All crutched after stall.
                    PBC 7 1/2 hours (never had to go longer than that)
                    Weber w/SnS 10-11 hours
                    Yoder Pellet cooker 10-11 hours
                    KBQ 10 1/2-11 hours (never crutched)
                    Average cook temps were 219°-230° except the PBC. I highly recommend using Meathead's cooking logs to document your cooks. It all becomes second nature after a couple of times.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      I agree with oldsteve . Meathead's cooking logs have been very helpful in establishing a benchmark to go by when repeating cooks from the past. I also make good use of the section on the bottom of the page to note what I could do Next Time to improve future cooks.

                      Comment


                        #14
                        Yeah, meathead's cooking logs have been very helpful. One of the first things I started doing from this site. Finally decided I ought to join! Btw, I was planning on cooking this thing without the crutch, but that could change depending on how hungry everyone is.

                        Comment


                          #15
                          Well shoot, I think the PB may have hit a second stall. The first one lasted several hours, then it started cooking and smelling really delicious with meat temp climbing to 184. Now its back down to 183 and its been there for about 45 minutes. The total cook time so far has been about 13 hours. We are getting hungry. I'm thinking that this might take several more hours!

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