Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere but I wanted to see if other owners of the Primo XL Oval find that it takes forever to cook a bone-in pork butt on the Primo. I have cooked, usually, 8-9 pound bone-in pork butts on the Primo using a Digi Q temperature controller. I set it around 240 degrees (to allow for a +- 10 degree differential). It can take as long as 19 hours. Now, to be sure, the pork butt comes out amazing but this seems ridiculously long. I live in Charlotte, NC, and usually cook spring through fall. Caveat: I'm not much for trimming the pork butt of fat and I've speculated that leaving a lot of the fat cap on extends the cooking time. Admittedly, it's easier to trim the fat after its cooked then to cut through it before cooking. Is that my issue? I'm not overly concerned as, modestly, I have to say that my smoked pork is the best in Charlotte (again, I'm being modest here) but would like to cut down on the cooking time. Final word: just got the Pit Barrel and the initial test on baby back ribs was fairly amazing. Thanks all.
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I think leaving the fat cap does lengthen the cook. It also robs you of bark because most don't want to eat the thick fat layer. And to shorten your cook, cut the butt in half. that will give you a faster cook and more bark too. -
Cutting in half works great. I do that on my Egg all the time. I like the extra bark.Comment
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Get all of the fat off that you can. My last one was 7.2 before defatting and 6.2 after defatting. That is a two hours of cooking time.Comment
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I have an XL as well and my times match yours based on my cooking diary. Personally I don't mind since the Kamado holds so well and with the Digi-Q I have zero problem going to bed or work while it does it's thing. Therefore I do not cut in half. I do however, like others, have said trim as much fat as I can. +/- 10 sounds about right with the digiQ...I run, or ran, with a party Q, and while it was much better than without I was still not thrilled with the temp control. I will install a Smobot today and will post the cook. I am very excited to have access to a full cook temp profile.Comment
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Bobmcgahan Just reread your post.....Question...Why did you get the PBC, other than the MCS we have heard so much about. I think the ribs out of the XL are as good as anything I have ever had/made. Just curious.Comment
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Pjlstrat nailed it. My wife tolerates it since it's cheaper than the related amateur photography affliction otherwise known as GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), the needless purchase of the latest high-end photography equipment even though what you have is perfectly adequate for your current use. -
In addition to MCS, I was genuinely curious to see if I could get the same BBQ results more quickly than my 19 hour pork butt cooks on the Primo XL. Don't get me wrong - the Primo is an amazing piece of equipment. Also, as large as the cooking space is on the XL, I wanted additional cooking space for large gatherings. I'm planning on doing a "butt-off" in a couple of weeks whereby I will cook one butt on the Primo and the other on the PBC and compare the results.Last edited by Bobmcgahan; July 21, 2019, 06:33 AM.
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Personally, I’d get a sharp knife and trim the fat. No sense in throwing away all that smokey goodness after it's finished. Less fat cap = more bark & more yum. ;-)
Get rid of that "insulation" and it should speed up your cook times significantly.Comment
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I also suggest upping your temps. I don’t cook butts or briskets (or much of anything really) less than 275*. I’m not really a hot and fast guy (meaning 300* or better) but higher temps really give me the benefit of less time with the same overall end result.Comment
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