Long Smoking Sessions Vs. Serving Guests... How do you do it?

[Puertex]

Here's a couple of Pork Butts logged by Fireboard on an overnight cook, I wrap at 165 and raise the pit temp to finish the cook and leave ample time to rest.

After the wrap, you can adjust the final timing with that temp increase, 225, 250, etc, as needed.

View attachment 5487

Sorry RemE, I got confused with all the responses...
This is a great chart...And I will be doing this next Friday...
I have been thinking about using a UPS to avoid any issues during the night with electrical glitches.
Thanks for sharing !

 

[Slimpicker]

As a reference, I cooked mine at 250 F from start to finish.

I use 250° a lot, but like Timmy stated I usually start at 225°, then I get impatient and hungry. Besides I always got my smoke tube going with cherry pellets, and 2 different wood chips. My way of making up for not having "SuperSmoke" on my rig.
When meat reaches the 140°F mark, it stops taking in smoke anyway. This can mean surface to smoke ring depth. So I (personally) don't have any problem cooking at 250° for the whole cook when in a hurry or crunched for time.

I can't tell you how many times I would walk away from my coal/wood smokers for 30 minutes only to find them at 300-325° and then have to choke the fire back to 250ish, but that's about the lowest I could go without losing my fire. Even with those SPIKES, I never ever made a bad Butt or ribs, PORK always seems to find a way to be forgiving.

 

[RemE]

Sorry RemE, I got confused with all the responses...
This is a great chart...And I will be doing this next Friday...
I have been thinking about using a UPS to avoid any issues during the night with electrical glitches.
Thanks for sharing !

I'm all about adding a small UPS for all long cooks, an overnight flame out would be heartbreaking!

 

[RemE]

Just to be clear the FireBoard post is @RemE .
But yes I pretty much do the same thing, but I go to around 225f not 250f.

Ya, I prefer 225F as well, that particular cook was when I had a flame out due to leaving the hood open while wrapping. That was the first time, and was a bit hectic to clear and restart.

 

[bfletcher]

When I read you don't have interest in getting up at 3-4 AM I assumed you didn't want to do an overnight cook but with the good detail provided by @Timmy it sounds like you are not opposed to that. But keep in mind there sometimes can be "events" that require you to get up in the middle of the night and tend to your cook. Aside from that, doing as you said by cooking the day before are good options. If ever you do that, consider this: I believe most folks will pull [shred] and store a shoulder immediately after the cook (well, after a rest) and will store the brisket whole and slice on the day of serving after the reheat. Correct me if others of you feel differently on this pulling and slicing approach of these two meats.

Good luck!

 

[Puertex]

When I read you don't have interest in getting up at 3-4 AM I assumed you didn't want to do an overnight cook but with the good detail provided by @Timmy it sounds like you are not opposed to that. But keep in mind there sometimes can be "events" that require you to get up in the middle of the night and tend to your cook. Aside from that, doing as you said by cooking the day before are good options. If ever you do that, consider this: I believe most folks will pull [shred] and store a shoulder immediately after the cook (well, after a rest) and will store the brisket whole and slice on the day of serving after the reheat. Correct me if others of you feel differently on this pulling and slicing approach of these two meats.

Good luck!

Regarding your comments about cooking and storage, I plan to vacuum bag and freeze what is not consumed during the cooking day.
Then reheat in a water bath between 130 and 150 F at a later day (sous vide ).
I have not done this yet but the feedback I am getting from forum members indicate this is the way to go.
I like this option because cooking a brisket or a butt takes so much effort that I want to cook a decent amount to use for days afterward.

 

[Puertex]

Ya, I prefer 225F as well, that particular cook was when I had a flame out due to leaving the hood open while wrapping. That was the first time, and was a bit hectic to clear and restart.

RemE,
Back to your chart, it seems that the smoker was started at 8:45ish pm.
Did you top off the pellets before going to bed and then left alone until 7ish am? Since it was burning sub 200 F, pellet feed rate had to be lower.
I really pay attention (and appreciate) to these details because I am a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel...

 

[bfletcher]

Regarding your comments about cooking and storage, I plan to vacuum bag and freeze what is not consumed during the cooking day.
Then reheat in a water bath between 130 and 150 F at a later day (sous vide ).

I agree with this (not that you're looking for my approval), though more oft than not I place the frozen vac bag in a pot of simmering water if I don't want to pull-out the Sous Vide device.

 

[Slimpicker]

I do too Fletch!!!

 

[GrillMeister]

For me, it depends on what I'm cooking. I figure on 15 hours for brisket or 22 for pulled pork.

I also figure on keeping it hot in a cooler for up to 4 hours, which gives me a buffer. It's just calculating when you want to eat and when you put the meat on the BBQ and with a cooler, you have a buffer so you don't have to slice till it's time to eat.

 

[RemE]

RemE,
Back to your chart, it seems that the smoker was started at 8:45ish pm.
Did you top off the pellets before going to bed and then left alone until 7ish am? Since it was burning sub 200 F, pellet feed rate had to be lower.
I really pay attention (and appreciate) to these details because I am a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel...

I start a long cook with a full hopper. I did insulate my Timberline so it's very heat efficient and burns less than half a hopper. I also made a pellet stirrer in the hopper to prevent pellet "tunneling" and inaccurate level reporting.

Without those perks, I'd start with a full hopper, check it before bed, maybe top up if needed, or just level the pellets by hand.

 

[Puertex]

I start a long cook with a full hopper. I did insulate my Timberline so it's very heat efficient and burns less than half a hopper. I also made a pellet stirrer in the hopper to prevent pellet "tunneling" and inaccurate level reporting.

Without those perks, I'd start with a full hopper, check it before bed, maybe top up if needed, or just level the pellets by hand.

Thanks !

 

[Timmy]

I also set a low temp alarm on my FireBoard for the pit. Usually around 150 to 160. That way if the grill drops temp it’ll wake me up. I was really worried when it was 10f on one of my overnight cooks, it went without issue.

 

[Puertex]

Ya, I prefer 225F as well, that particular cook was when I had a flame out due to leaving the hood open while wrapping. That was the first time, and was a bit hectic to clear and restart.

What needs to be done to clear and restart if you lose the flame?

 

[RemE]

What needs to be done to clear and restart if you lose the flame?

I foolishly first just tried a re-start, it overloaded pellets and then promptly billowed SO MUCH smoke that you could not see the grill from 6ft away! I pulled the meat, placed in cooler, donned grill gloves and a water spray bottle.

I pulled the grate, drip tray, battled the flames, pulled the firepot cover and then used a big spoon to scoop all the burning pellets into an foil pan of water. Then quickly vacuumed the area re-assembled and re-started, it only took a few minutes.