British BBQ Society Forums

First cook on WSM47 and it was woefull !

Firstly , i am sure this isnt the first beginner post like this , so i do appreciate any feedback.

This is how i messed it up.

6.1lb pork butt with Bad Byron rub cooked for 9 hrs . Cooked on bottom shelf with a Weber thermometer shoved in it. I used Weber briquettes and the Minion method.

Now , i had read some posts on here so i was anticipating the stall which came at 68c internal so i was happy enough to ride it out , but It sat there for about 5hrs and wouldnt increase , i covered it in foil but it only went to 70c I had the oven temp around 110/125 all day but kept lifting the lid to mop with a spray and maybe this didnt help.

The sun came out and it got really hot , well out of the smoking zone , so i wedged the lid up half an inch and shut all bottom vents. Big mistake ?

I also put three racks of ribs on top shelf for four hrs , some were ok , all were dry , some end ones tough . I kept spraying them every 45mins or so.

The results . Pork was tough , a bit dry and couldnt be pulled in a million yrs. With the ribs , i dont know if i cooked them too long , too hot , not long enough . They certainly wouldnt tear apart easily and were a bit dry.

As for the Weber briquettes , i cleaned the WSM out this morning and it looked like half of them hadnt burnt , although i did shut all the vents last night to keep the air out and extuinguish them.

All in all it was a complete disaster , what the hell went wrong.

Any advice well appreciated and thankyou in advance

Youch! Well, first of all I would say stop lifting the lid and secondly it's important to note that the temperature on the lower shelf will be lower than the temp on the top. Are you using the lid thermometer? Because those things are often way out of whack. And I'd say that even if the sun comes out and heats things up a bit, do not close off the vents and lift the lid - that'll totally bugger up your cook. Just ride with the higher temps for a while, close off some vents (keep the lid vent wide open and don't close all of the bottom vents - the fire needs to breathe) and let the cooker do its thing. Fighting temps is always counterproductive. You can cook ribs and pork butts just as well at 325F/160C

If your pork butt was dry then chances are you didn't get it to the right internal temperature to melt down all that collagen and connective tissue. You want to shoot for an internal temperature of 90C+, 93-96 being the optimal region according to most folk.

For your next cook - keep it simple. Cook a pork butt on the top shelf with a basic rub, do not lift that lid at all, do not spray or mop and ride with the temperature fluctuations. It sounds like your product was undercooked as it was on the lower shelf where the temps will be lower. It's easy to overcomplicate and over think BBQ. Really you can get some great pulled pork by not mopping or spraying or even lifting the lid once during the entire cook. Get the cooker set around 225-250, whack the meat in there and don't even think about looking at it for at least 6 hours

Thanks Dave

Yes , i was using the lid thermometer. I have just ordered a Maverick ET733 from USA ebay.

What do you make of the Weber coals ? I was thinking of the Heatbeads for next time .

Would i be better off foiling ? As for the ribs overdone or under do you think ? They were on the top shelf

Thankyou

Heat beads perform much the same as the weber coals. I doubt very much that fuel was your problem. As Dave says sounds undercooked to me and you fussed too much with the cooker. i personally don't mop or spritz pulled pork though I know some do. The lower grate in a WSM is cooler than the top one but were not talking by a huge amount I've cooked similar sized butts at the same time on both grates and the difference in cooking time wasn't that great. Personally until you are happy with cooking one meat I would attempt different types at the same time. It will get better every cook is a learning experience.

I have mopped in the past, but it's not necessary. I'd second only going with one meat until you get that right, once you get more comfortable then move on to cooking more than one cut at once

Get one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... n&_sacat=0

The best investment you can make..

Cheers Tommo ,

I ordered one last week " fast delivery" , still hasnt turned up yet though

yup it was definitely wedging the lid up that has messed up your cook, as well as lifting the lid a lot, control it with the bottom vents, never wedge the lid up, try and avoid lifting the lid only if your doing something like checking temps or wrapping with foil, and keep it off for as little time as possible

If you're cooking a big cut of beef or pork then never underestimate how long it can take, foiling through the stall helps. Always plan your meats to be ready 2-3 hours before you need them, when done double wrap in foil and wrap in a towel and store in a picnic cooler if you have one. You may want to let the meat cool slightly before wrapping and storing so that it doesn't overlook.
If you're in a rush then crank the temp up, open up the bottom vents, always leave the top vent open. And if really necessary then crack the lid slightly to get the temps up.
And for pulled or sliced pork I'd be looking anywhere at anywhere from 87-96 Celsius, probe and pull when it's tender enough for you.

Thanks all.

I think i may of got a bit carried away with the wood as well.

Just over half a bag of the Weber apple chunks !! Kept chucking it in there , it looked good though. Should you just add at the beginning ?