How long would it take you to smoke a 15 lb butt at 250?

5/14/2018 7:43:24 PM

probably 16 hours or more. my controller does the work while i sleep, though.

if you really want to buy his huge butts, just get him to cut them in half.

there are "hot and fast" methods where you cook at 350 deg instead and it works fine. i would recommend wrapping in foil after a couple or 3 hours if you try that. if i didn't have a controller and had to cook a 16 lb butt, i'd go with the cut in half method, personally.

[Edited on May 14, 2018 at 8:03 PM. Reason : afds]

5/14/2018 8:00:00 PM

i always keep it at 225 and takes right around 2.5hr per pound to hit 203 usually - i would cut a 15lb in half as well or just go to costco and buy their 2 packs that are 14-15lb

5/14/2018 8:08:48 PM

ditto on the costco butts. not gonna taste any difference in a fresher butt from a butcher shop.

5/14/2018 8:15:34 PM

Quote :

"i'd go with the cut in half method, personally"

More bark too

5/14/2018 9:13:35 PM

Gracias mis amigos

5/14/2018 9:17:21 PM

^^hell yeah

i did 6 chicken halves on my uncle's akorn for mother's day. brined overnight and rubbed with some basic homemade rub. it was a big hit.

[Edited on May 14, 2018 at 10:05 PM. Reason : das]

5/14/2018 10:04:23 PM

I smoked a meatloaf on the akorn this evening. A lot more kitchen work than I typically like for grilling, but damn it was good

[Edited on May 22, 2018 at 9:04 PM. Reason : ^^^^^if it’s taking you 2.5 hours per lb you’re lower than 225. No way a 10 lb butt should take 25 h]

5/22/2018 9:00:42 PM

anyone used dome grills or vision grills? how do they stack up to kamado joe and BGE?

5/24/2018 12:42:20 AM

KJ and BGE are nice, but you're really just paying for the name. i'm sure those others will be fine.

5/24/2018 5:01:06 PM

Buddy has a vision and loves it

5/24/2018 7:08:01 PM

https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/best-kamado-big-green-egg-alternatives-smoker-grill-equipment-reviews.html

5/24/2018 8:11:41 PM

Amateur question for those more in the know. I don’t have that nice of a grill, it’s a charbroil 4 burner I got from Lowe’s for a couple hundred 4 or 5 years back. I’ve never been particularly handy either, but I’m trying to replace my burners today which were just giant rust holes at this point. I finally was able to find replacement burners for my model on amazon (because Lowe’s doesn’t carry any that would work apparently) and they hooked me up with the one day shipping. My question is about the burner cross over. I wasn’t able to get a replacement for that today, but is it’s only purpose to help light the other burners? My auto igniter hasn’t worked for quite some time, I just use one of those long lighters, so does that crossover even matter?

6/2/2018 11:02:35 AM

Probably. Isn't that the thing that routes the gas to the other burners?

6/2/2018 11:16:52 AM

If it's the crossover ignition thing, then, no, it won't matter. It burns when the "start this burner first" burner is lit and provides an ignition source to the other burners. If you use the lighter, it won't matter.

The gas manifold usually has the knobs and is what routes the gas to the other burners.

6/2/2018 12:47:14 PM

^thanks

6/2/2018 4:29:55 PM

family is coming down tomorrow. smoking 2 picnic shoulders tonight.

6/15/2018 6:54:42 PM

nice

6/15/2018 7:48:50 PM

almost 12 hours in now

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NsXuarYzgTFUJXcu7

6/16/2018 10:00:55 AM

Not the picture I was expecting, but equally gorgeous surprisingly

6/16/2018 2:48:23 PM

here's a little video of popping the lid for the first time in 13 hours

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pxoDk7Q34NTDj96Q7

[Edited on June 16, 2018 at 3:40 PM. Reason : the times on the x-axis of that graph are wrong. forgot to sync the timer.]

6/16/2018 3:36:08 PM

Beautiful. How tight of a fit was that?

6/16/2018 7:35:46 PM

could've put a third one on there if i really wanted to. i didn't even have the upper rack in there when i first put them on, but decided to use the riser so i could center them up and make sure none of the grease got down in the coals. just prevents mess down in the bottom.

[Edited on June 16, 2018 at 8:37 PM. Reason : c]

6/16/2018 8:31:47 PM

got a grill dome locally since the HQ is 40min from my house and they had some demo models for more than half off. I only cooked burgers on it so far, but it was pretty awesome. I need an indirect rack and either to build a heatermeter or buy a cyberQ. any opinion on those or some other thermostat/fan setup?

6/17/2018 8:45:00 AM

Cyberq is pretty awesome and I think it does everything the heatermeter will. I do like having a servo/fan combo to control mine. Once I got stabilized, the demand stayed below 25%, so the fan didn't even come on. This keeps you under natural ventilation instead of forced draft, which I think makes cleaner smoke. I've made good BBQ with a fan-only setup too, so it's not a big deal, but that is one advantage the heatermeter has.

6/17/2018 9:33:04 AM

got a Masterbuilt digital electric smoker as a gift and am still trying to figure it out - have only done a chicken so far, which turned out great.

I'd like to do some ribs in it this weekend. Does anyone have any advice? Is it important to brine? Night before? Should I use a light wood like apple/cherry/pecan/oak or something like a hickory - or a mix of both?

It looks like people recommend removing the silver/fat, rubbing it down thoroughly, smoking for 2 hours on each side at 225, then using a wet sauce and wrapping in foil and finishing (~3-4 hours) also at 225. Does that sound about right?

10/3/2018 5:00:55 PM

I don't brine, plenty moisture to go around in there. I usually smoke with apple for pork, just make sure u do some reading on the different types of wood. Some impart a much stronger flavor than others (hickory/mesquite eg) and you will want to us less wood for those.

I don't wrap my ribs but it can't hurt if you want to, except losing some texture on the bark. Method sounds fine to me. Some people save the wet sauce till the end and hit em with high temp direct heat at that point.

10/3/2018 5:55:10 PM

just look up the 3-2-1 method and do that. i find i need to shorten the times up a little or they just fall apart. no need to brine. folks worry way too much about types of wood. about anything is fine for pork. my rib method looks like:

remove membrane
apply rub
lump charcoal and a few chunks of apple or hickory or peach or whatever
250 deg
2.5 hours in the smoke
1.5 hours wrapped in foil with maybe some squeeze butter or apple juice
unwrap and apply sauce
30 mins unwrapped

10/3/2018 7:18:30 PM

Picked up an extra Akorn at Walmart on clearance for $196 after taxes

10/3/2018 7:54:21 PM

What man needs TWO Akorns?

[Edited on October 3, 2018 at 8:07 PM. Reason : ]

10/3/2018 8:05:34 PM

For $196 what man doesn’t??

10/3/2018 8:28:01 PM

I already have two other grills...guess I could justify it to upgrade the Weber Kettle

10/3/2018 8:55:32 PM

Nah, keep the kettle, it’s hard to beat a Weber kettle

10/3/2018 9:16:02 PM

Quote :

"remove membrane apply rub lump charcoal and a few chunks of apple or hickory or peach or whatever 250 deg 2.5 hours in the smoke 1.5 hours wrapped in foil with maybe some squeeze butter or apple juice unwrap and apply sauce 30 mins unwrapped"

This is more or less the method I use, though I usually let the rub sit overnight.
How long you keep it in the foil and how you place it back on the grill will impact how falling-off-the-bone you get your ribs. Personally, I like mine with a little more chew so I won't foil as long and place meat-side-up. For more tender, flaky ribs I find a little longer in the foil and meat side down with a little more liquid in the packet is the way to go.

10/4/2018 8:09:39 AM

I use my akorn and kettle equally

10/4/2018 8:15:41 AM

ribs turned out exceptionally well - some of the best I've ever had, restaurant or otherwise. I used Bone Suckin Sauce's original dry rub and just coated it as much as possible. Did 250 overnight (was at least 12 hours) with water in the basin and added apple wood chips to the smoker a couple of times before I went to bed, so maybe 2-3 hours of smoke and then just left it uncovered, didn't touch it, but they turned out awesome - nice crispy crust but fall off the bone tender. Didn't need wet sauce but I had a few options for others to add to it.

Gonna do a pork shoulder or two this weekend for the Clemson game. I'll probably use the same rub/smoke but I don't want to over smoke the shoulder so I'll probably wrap it in foil after about 3-4 hours under smoke and then go to bed and let it slow cook for another 12 (or whatever it ends up being by the weight I end up with) with vinegar in the basin this time.

[Edited on October 16, 2018 at 1:21 PM. Reason : .]

10/16/2018 1:21:01 PM

12 hours is too long. Ribs shouldn't really fall apart.

10/16/2018 2:34:21 PM

this was new to me: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/dining/monroe-county-pork-steaks-bbq.html

anyone had it?

10/24/2018 1:57:15 PM

Nope. Sounds interesting though.

10/25/2018 8:15:53 AM

I'm trying to a Turkey on my Akorn for Thanksgiving. It's 12 pounds. Anyone have any experience doing Turkeys on an Akorn? Am I going to have enough room to do it Spatchcocked? Rub preferences?

11/15/2018 1:36:35 PM

I spatchcock and cook at 400 deg on the Akorn. It will fit no problem. Brining is key. Nothing fancy, just a bucket or cooler with water, salt, and sugar. I like to make compound butter with rosemary and other herbs and put it under the skin. I use some stuff called 8th Wonder on the outside.

11/15/2018 2:25:53 PM

how long does compound butter stay good in ur fridge?

11/15/2018 2:54:22 PM

I bought a Butterball turkey and it says it was frozen in an 8% solution of water, salt, etc....I'm afraid that it might be too salty if I brine it.

11/15/2018 3:34:42 PM

^^i've only ever made it and used all of it immediately.

^i'd still brine it

[Edited on November 15, 2018 at 8:23 PM. Reason : adfs]

11/15/2018 8:21:12 PM

itll be good a few days and fine for a week or two at least, depending on what you are using in it

but use all your butter upon making

[Edited on November 15, 2018 at 8:25 PM. Reason : i mean shit i leave my butter out room temp, its prob fine for a long while]

11/15/2018 8:23:54 PM

as long as it's salted butter, it's fine at room temp. don't do that with unsalted butter.

11/15/2018 8:26:19 PM

https://altonbrown.com/why-i-still-brine-my-thanksgiving-turkey/

Quote :

"(This is all assuming you haven’t purchased an augmented bird i.e. Butterball, which I hope you haven’t.)"

11/16/2018 10:16:03 AM

we've got a backup ham so i may try salt crusting a small turkey. you don't get the crispy-ish skin, but it's supposed to be the best for really juicy meat.

11/16/2018 10:24:16 AM

you can still get the skin to crisp up if you puncture it all over with a meat tenderizer or a needle. You don't want to puncture the meat, just the skin - it gives the skin enough surface area to still crisp up even with the salt on it.

11/16/2018 10:57:47 AM

^^^Yeah I've read that. I didn't even really think about it when we bought it.

11/16/2018 12:11:10 PM