On 4-Feb-2008, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:
> Bill Riel wrote:
> > In article <KLJpj.1838$G94.721@trndny02>, says...
> >
> >> Why did you want to rotate the butt?
> >
> > Probably for no good reason! I thought I had read somewhere that it
> > would help encourage even heating, though when I think about it, it's
> > not likely to matter.
>
> If you're cooking in a horizontal pit with an offset firebox, then you've
> got definite hotspots and coldspots which may benefit the meat by
> rotation.
> You don't need to worry about it on the WSM.
>
> The pork turned out fine, it sounds like to me. The only 'problem' was
> that
> it took longer for the butt to cook. Next time, you can do the exact same
> thing that you did the first time and you'll be fine. Just adjust your
> start
> time and you'll be fine. Keep a log of start times and finish times for
> various sizes and cuts of meat (ribs, brisket, shoulders, butts, etc) so
> you
> remember when to get things going.
>
> --
> Dave
What Dave said. I cook in an offset and there's a large variation in heat
from the firebox end to the far end of the cook chamber. I rotate butts
180° at about the halfway point, but do not turn them over. Butts cook
in an area that runs about 275°F and they typically finish in about 7 hrs.
Ribs are cooked further from the firebox (about 250°) and they usually
take about 4 hours. Just when I get complacent about the time, I get
an exception. Every piece of meat is different.
About that temperature "PLATEAU". That's what we call it when a
piece of meat hangs at one temperature for a period of time. With
pork it generally occurs between 160° and 170° and is usually quite
pronounced. A two hour hang is not unusual, especially when cooking
at the lower end 200° of the BBQ temperature range. It is caused by
a standard law of physics. That is "huge amounts of energy are consumed
or released in the conversion of matter from one state to another." We're
talking about solid to liquid or liquid to gas or vice versa. Solid to
liquid
absorbs huge amounts of heat. Liquid to solid releases huge amounts of
heat. It's the basis for every refrigerator and air conditioner on the
planet.
Finally, there is no need to cook butts at a temperature that takes
longer then 7 or 8 hours to finish. Several folks here, myself included
cook at 275° to 325° and get excellent BBQ in a lot less time. (Ribs
in my cooker take about 4 hours usually. I cook them around 250°.)
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)