Longer Than Normal Cook Times

[Bean780]

I have a Pro780. Anytime I smoke a brisket or pork butt it takes wayyyyyy longer than it should to reach an internal temperature of 200°. For example, started a 4 lbs. bone in pork butt at 11 this morning at 250°. Currently it is 830 at night and only at 174° internal. Verified this with 3 different thermometers. Same thing happens with a brisket.

 

[bfletcher]

Along with your meat verification process have you verified your actual pit temp? But also; I have never done a small 4 lb butt but my typical 9 lb butts require much more than 9.5 hours at 250f

 

[Slimpicker]

I take my 9lb butts and cut them in half, more surface bark, HOWEVER NOT finished sooner!!
YES you would think a small butt would cook faster than one twice it's size but it doesn't.
11am is TOO LATE for any BUTT unless you like pulling pork at midnight!!!
I cut 2 9lbs for 4 4.5lb butts, started as early as I could in the morning.... made 9 at the very latest... was still pulling the last butt at 10:30 that night... 13.5 hrs later.

BEAN you need to allow for at LEAST 2 hours resting in a cooler added to the cook time or you are not doing your butt right.

You said NORMAL... normal is whenever the meat wants to be done at!!!!
So that's why you allow MORE THAN "normal"

 

[bfletcher]

you need to allow for at LEAST 2 hours resting in a cooler added to the cook time or you are not doing your butt right.

When needed, I have on a few occasions done a HOLD of my meat in a cooler but I have never RESTED it in a cooler. I pull from the cooker, rest on the countertop ~30 minutes or so, and if I could not serve it after that rest then I would wrap and hold it in a cooler (or similar device)

 

[Slimpicker]

First rule in meat smoking is "patience"... IMO, if you have not taking it from the smoker wrapped tight in foil and a towel, and packed in a cooler for 2 hours, then you are missing out on a much juicier and easier pull. Not to mention adding a "finishing" sauce to the fresh pulled.
1 Cup Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Course Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
squirt this over warm freshly pulled Pork, then kind of mix it up with gloved hands.
If you've never done Pulled Pork with a "Finishing Sauce" before, you're in for a real treat!!!

But hey, to each his own I guess.

At the height of my business "The Fatted Hog", I was doing pulled pork and ribs for Grad parties and weddings...

NO, not boasting, just saying smoking meat on a Traeger isn't my first rodeo

 

[Dugbbq]

When i do a over night smoke i use a wireless duel temp probe one for the meat and one for the grill . I set. The alarm min 100 F just in case grill cool down in the early morning. I check the meat around 8am if the color looks good i go into cooking mode kick temp 275 F .wrap meat at internal temp 160 f .pull it at internal temp 200F then put the meat in a cooler also put a towel over the meat.

 

[TBBandito]

Bean, I’ve been experiencing the same issue lately!! Cooked a single Baby Back rack last week and it took almost 8 hrs, yesterday I smoked a 8.7 lbs pork butt @ 225 deg and it took approx. 23 hrs!!!
Reason I’m looking here is that seems Waaay too long!! Ideas??

 

[RayClem]

When you say you smoked the ribs at 225F, was that the temperature shown on the controller, or was that the temperature verified by a 3rd party thermometer. If the actual temperature was 200F, you would never be able to achieve a final internal temp of 203F, no matter how long you cooked it. Based on your timing, I suspect the temperature might have been around 210F.

I normally cook ribs at 220F (verified cook temp) until the internal temperature reaches the stall phase somewhere between 165-170F. That normally takes around 3 hours. Then wrap the ribs in either foil or butchers wrap along with some liquid and boost the cook temp up to 250-275F and cook until the ribs are around 203F +/- depending upon your desired doneness. That might take 2 hours more or less.. Then remove the wrapping and cook an additional 1/2-1 hour adding sauce as desired. Always cook based on internal temperature rather than time.

 

[roadking51]

Timberline 850.

Whenever I do brisket or butts, that require long cooks, I start at 3 am at 225 for 'SuperSmoke' maximization. Learned that by 10 am (7 hours) the degree of smoke penetration is generally maxed and to our liking. So I crank the temp to 275 -300 for as long as it takes to reach 160-170. Then I wrap in butcher paper for as long as it takes to reach 200. Wrap in foil and rest in cooler for 1.5-2.0 hours. This is usually an 18+ hour cycle overall.

As my wifi connection failed a year ago, I rely on my Meater temp probes to trigger the process steps. Planning to try again to address wifi issue this winter. Crossing fingers.

For rack(s) of baby backs I use 3-2-1 method religiously, with final step on my weber to tighten up the sauce. Results, I can count on.