Question for drum people

[West River BBQ]

So, I tried something new today. I removed the water pan from my WSM (never used it for water anyway, just a defuser) and used it like a UDS. I smoked a pork shoulder at 300, giving the ol' hot and fast method a try. The time was cut way down but a hard crust built up on the bottom. I lightly rubbed the bottom so some sugar might have caramelized, but I'm not sure. Is this unusual? Do I need to wrap earlier or use a pan which would defeat the purpose? Any insight wouold be greatly appreciated.

 

[The Wookiee]

When did you wrap? If not at all yes prone to crust

Hunsaker makes a plop on vortex top to go directly onto wSM basket for not much$ if you like to tinker...

https://www.hunsakersmokers.com/collections/weber-modifications/products/wsm-vortex-plate-plate-only

 

[West River BBQ]

I waited for the bark to set before wrapping, which was around 170 today. The flavor was good but the bottom had to be thrown away.

 

[WilliamKY]

However long your cook took I would flip it the next time at the half way point or guesstimate the half way point. I never wrapped when I had my UDS because I liked the crust mixed in with the pork. I did spritz often though to keep the crust somewhat moist. Good luck.

 

[Nuco59]

I've cooked a lot of butts (for a backyard guy, anyway). I've never done one naked on the grate the whole way- (I may have to give that a go one time). About 160*, I pan it, foil the top until it's tender/done. Prior to the wrap, the bottom might get a bit "done" - but I cook fat down so it's almost a sacrificial layer anyway.

 

[WilliamKY]

I've cooked a lot of butts (for a backyard guy, anyway). I've never done one naked on the grate the whole way- (I may have to give that a go one time). About 160*, I pan it, foil the top until it's tender/done. Prior to the wrap, the bottom might get a bit "done" - but I cook fat down so it's almost a sacrificial layer anyway.

On a drum it's good to keep the fat side down. Just a little extra protection from the direct heat coming straight up. I think it renders much better that way too.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Are you sure that the cooker was actually running at 300? I haven't used a WSM so I am not familiar with the distance between the grate and the fire. I have never had that issue on my Hunsaker at that temp. I've also wrapped way later in the process as well.

 

[jkief]

I haven’t run the WSM. But on my Hunsaker, I run fat side down on a mat at 225-275 ( depending on my mood) Any rub with sugar will caramelize pretty quickly at any temp over 275. I make it a point to keep the temp to sugar ratio below 250 to stop the caramelization process depending on time. 300 degrees for a pork butt with a sugar rub is pretty hot in my opinion.

 

[West River BBQ]

Thinking about the cook after reading of your comments I've decided: I may have trimmed too much fat cap off the bottom and I will likely not rub the bottom next time. The distance from grate to fire was less than two feet, so who knows. I use a GURU with the probe at grate level, so I'm pretty sure that the temp stayed close to 300, but maybe I should tone that down a little.

All in all, it was a fun experiment. There's always a learning curve, but that's half the fun. Thanks for the feedback.