SF Test cook for graduation and help ID log type

[2FunKids]

Can I ask for some advice? My daughter is graduating from high school and I am cooking pulled pork and a few ribs for her party. I did a test run Sunday. I started by getting up at 6:30 am. I had 4 butts and three racks on by about 7:15. I wrapped in pans when butts were @145f and pulled the ribs at 2. I pulled the pork at 3:30 but i had one that went to about 4. The ribs were almost falling off the bone and were at risk of breaking if I didnt support them well enough. From there I rested until 4 then pulled from the tins-re-wrapped in tin and in the cooler they went. I called on family to test and all 15 of them showed up, lol. Those trailer brackets you see are so I could test temp with my temp gun using them as targets. Here is where I am asking for help:

• Going to foil in pans @ 145f ended up almost filling the pan with drippings. Should i have went longer before wrapping?
• The pans took too much room, if I just foil will it be ok that there isn't room to collect the drippings?
• I wrapped at 145 bc I was concerned with too much smoke. I had clean smoke up to that point and I think I was seeing the smoke from the drippings hitting the baffle plate and thats why I wrapped early. Should i be concerned with the drippings hitting the baffle and causing any type of off flavor?
• Off topic, but what type of log does this pic look like?

So after all this I figure I will start cooking 12 hours before the party and ribs will go on 3-4 hours after the butts. I will be cooking 10-butts and 10 racks. I pulled the remainng pork after everyone left and the butts were still almost too hot to handle. I am planning on pulling it as we serve it so it's fresh and hot. My brother said to pull it first then cooler it but to me that seems like it wouldnt be as moist that way? Any other recommendations? Thanks, appreciate all the help.

 

[CT-Mike]

I always let the butts rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably and hour before pulling.

Don't know much about trees, but that might be a hickory of some sort.

 

[IamMadMan]

Can I ask for some advice? My daughter is graduating from high school and I am cooking pulled pork and a few ribs for her party. I did a test run Sunday.

• Going to foil in pans @ 145f ended up almost filling the pan with drippings. Should i have went longer before wrapping?
• The pans took too much room, if I just foil will it be ok that there isn't room to collect the drippings?
• I wrapped at 145 bc I was concerned with too much smoke. I had clean smoke up to that point and I think I was seeing the smoke from the drippings hitting the baffle plate and thats why I wrapped early. Should i be concerned with the drippings hitting the baffle and causing any type of off flavor?
• Off topic, but what type of log does this pic look like?

So after all this I figure I will start cooking 12 hours before the party and ribs will go on 3-4 hours after the butts. I will be cooking 10-butts and 10 racks. I pulled the remainng pork after everyone left and the butts were still almost too hot to handle. I am planning on pulling it as we serve it so it's fresh and hot. My brother said to pull it first then cooler it but to me that seems like it wouldnt be as moist that way? Any other recommendations? Thanks, appreciate all the help.

There is no magic single technique to cooking pork butt, However if you foil, I would suggest letting the meat enter the stall which starts around 160° before foiling. This will allow more smoke to react with the meat.

The hold in the cooler for pork butt is important to continue to further breakdown the remaining connective tissue into collagen.

Typically I estimate a four hour hold time for cooking pork butt; This will give you extra time for a cooking buffer if it takes longer to cook the meat than anticipated.

Take the drippings during the hold and chill them so you can peel the solidified fat from the top, and mix the de-fatted drippings back into the meat after it's been pulled.

As far as the log, It's hard to be sure of the type without seeing the crosscut grain of the wood, at a quick glance it looks like it could be hickory, but a picture of the grain would be most helpful.

 

[Shagdog]

As to your Butts and ribs, you never mentioned what temp you are cooking? Since its a Shirley I would guess around 275?

You can definitely leave your butts naked for much longer. I never wrap em, but if you do, wait until they hit the stall, like madman says. If you are cooking at 275, the stall will probably be closer to 175 than 160, but its always different. When the temp of your meat has just stopped going up, you'll know you're there. When the pork finishes (at 275 that may take 6-8 hours) let it rest for 20-30 minutes, then cooler them until its time to eat.

If you start ribs 8 hours ahead of time, they'll be sitting for 4 hours or more... Why not just start them 4-5 hours before serving, and serve them hot?

The dripping on the baffle is totally normal, and noisey. It will not affect your flavor at all.

Got any leaf pics? Could be a shagbark hickory, or a maybe a locust. Have to see a leaf....

 

[punchy]

another hickory vote. need to get it off the ground hickory is one of the fastest to start rotting on the ground.

 

[THoey1963]

Mad and Dog have provided you a lot of what I was going to say:

Need to know what temp you are cooking at.

I pan and wrap the butts when they get a nice mahogany color, cause that's the way I like it. The longer it is out of the foil, the more chance it has to get smoke (up to a point). This is all personal taste.

When I pull my pork, I like to mix some of the pan juices and some more rub into the mix. Some people de-fat the juices first as Mad said. I like some fat, so I don't. Up to you.

Agree with starting the ribs later so they get done right before serving time. Depending on what type of ribs they are, that would determine how early you need to start them. If those are St. Louis cut ribs, mine always took up to 4 hours at 275*.

Sorry, don't know anything about wood...

 

[hachi-roku_fan]

I usually do not wrap at all, and do not worry about the drippings. Maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time?

I'm curious, what size is your cooker? As much as I want a bigger one, I think your size is basically all I would ever need.

 

[Stlsportster]

I usually do not wrap at all, and do not worry about the drippings. Maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time?

I'm curious, what size is your cooker? As much as I want a bigger one, I think your size is basically all I would ever need.

Ditto on the cooker size. Is that the Shirley patio model 24x42? Hard to tell from the pic but is that top rack totally full or could you have squeezed more on there?

 

[blazinfire]

+1 to everything posted.

 

[2FunKids]

Sorry I was working and Yep, it's the 42" patio. I kept it at about 235 at the second rack and 208-215 on the bottom rack. Thanks for the advice. I will
Follow up in a bit after my sons double header ball game.

 

[2FunKids]

Ditto on the cooker size. Is that the Shirley patio model 24x42? Hard to tell from the pic but is that top rack totally full or could you have squeezed more on there?

I need to look again but I am pretty sure I can get 10 on the top rack. 5 wide, two deep.

 

[OneHump]

Did you finish those butts at 8.5-9 hours at 235F? Seems very fast to me. What temp did you pull them at? I suppose wrapping them early could have accelerated, but my butts (~8lb) tend to take 12-15 hours at 225F when wrapping at 165ish.

 

[2FunKids]

Did you finish those butts at 8.5-9 hours at 235F? Seems very fast to me. What temp did you pull them at? I suppose wrapping them early could have accelerated, but my butts (~8lb) tend to take 12-15 hours at 225F when wrapping at 165ish.

I was planning on 1.5 hours per lb (12 hours). It's warmer towards the top and I was 235-240 at the shelf so maybe it was that and the wrapping that sped things up? I pulled it at about 203 and I had to let one 8.5 lb one go a little longer (9 hours).

 

[OneHump]

I was planning on 1.5 hours per lb (12 hours). It's warmer towards the top and I was 235-240 at the shelf so maybe it was that and the wrapping that sped things up? I pulled it at about 203 and I had to let one 8.5 lb one go a little longer (9 hours).

That's probably about right. I'm sure that foiling early sped things up a bit. There are so many variables as well. My pork might have been at 35F when I started while yours might have been a bit warmer.

I just started reading "Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto". The first five chapters don't include techniques, but there's a lot to learn.

Something that I pulled from it so far is the value of logging your cooks. A lot of people do this and this is how Harry Soo found his success on the KCBS circuit. He's a project manager for the LA County Water District and applied his skills to BBQ. It made him one of the best. Tuffy Stone on the original Pitmasters is also famous for his spreadsheets.

I'm going to start doing this as well. Aaron Franklin says that it made him a better cook.

 

[2FunKids]

Here were my temps measured with temp gun. The 300f was measured by putting my meat probe into the port. I think this is really good heat distribution considering the size.

We just heated some up with the skimmed drippings and my kids said it was better this time than it was Sunday! I like the idea of the 4 hour rest so I can pick up before guests arrive.

Thanks to all of you for helping! It's greatly appreciated. Cheers~

 

[THoey1963]

That's interesting how varied the temps are.

 

[Notorious Q.U.E.]

Great pic! My SF traditional door 24 x 50 runs about 20 degrees hotter by the firebox, but I know that the flow dynamics are different than a cabinet. Enjoy and happy eating

 

[2FunKids]

Great pic! My SF traditional door 24 x 50 runs about 20 degrees hotter by the firebox, but I know that the flow dynamics are different than a cabinet. Enjoy and happy eating

Mine too and thats why I put the water pan in that area.

 

[Notorious Q.U.E.]

Nice work. I think I'll be doing likewise this weekend Sir!

 

[2FunKids]

That's interesting how varied the temps are.

Ya, I think all cookers have it tho. The top shelf left and right temps are the same. Here is how I am making sense of what I am seeing. We know heat rises right, so throw out that 300f reading. The Top middle is less because I had that one close to the door and the path of hot air/ heat travels the most effeciently through the middle and not around the edges. The doors are also cooler from outside exposure causing the front middle target to be cooler. The Bottom left is where the heat wraps up and into the cook area so thats also expected to be slightly warmer. On the bottom right I have a water pan sheilding the radiant heat from the firebox where the hottest air passes under the the baffle that should be cooler from the evaporating water. Taking a look at the right end you will see the color difference in the area of the firebox shaped like an arch and I figure thats from the firebox heat. The metal shelf to the right of the water pan is about 145 (near firebox again). Really when I think about it its pretty impressive to have a 20 degree average swing from one grate to the next and the same temp right and left at the 2nd shelf. My xl bge and Weber are all much much hotter right at the top too so no concern there. I have a video of myself checking the temps but I couldn't get it to load (too big i think). I just wanted to understand it better. Has anyone else checked different areas of their cooker like this? What are your discoveries on variation?