doing my first butt. 8lb been in fridge seasoned and wrapped since ywsterday. dinner is tomorrow at about 5ish. from what i have read i know time is out the window its done when its done at about 190-195 It. i just need to know about where to put my damper,open.3/4, half,? :-[
Wide open Brother.
k wide open whole time? and water in a pan that i change evry 4-6 hrs right? sorry 1st time :-[
Vent wide open the entire time. Assuming you are going to smoke the butt for 4 hours, after you have finished the smoking period dump the water bowl and refill and place back into the smoker. The water bowl should be good to go for the next 4-6 hours at least, probably longer depending on your cooking temp.
Don't worry about it being your first time. We all had a first time, especially me! Relax, enjoy the ride and if you have any questions don't fail to ask. We're all here to help. :)
:) right on man..thank you get back to your fam its x-mas eve .
My fam is sitting right next to me on the couch. My wife and our 2 Scotties. Quiet night for us. Spent a portion of the day and a portion of the evening prepping and cooking for tomorrow's lunch.
From my experience, with one butt, 3/4 open is fine, maybe even half open. I'm one that feels vent adjustments are useful. There are some foods you, at least, want to start with the vent wide open, such as chicken with skin, or picnic cuts with skin. Depending on what is in my smoker, opening the vent too wide, I loose heat.
Quote from: slc smoke on December 24, 2011, 06:22:48 PMi just need to know about where to put my damper,open.3/4, half,? :-[
I recommended 1/2 open for a pork butt - that's what I do on mine. For something like poultry, which has a lot of moisture, you should open it full. The Bradley didn't come with an adjustable vent for no reason. ;)
I use vent wide open for most all things. Especially when trying to remove moisture or large pieces or a full load. Smaller pieces I will close some but not much. Right or wrong it works for me. I started when I first got my OBS with the racks full of ribs. I had the vent closed to save heat. But it worked backwards. As i was later told when my smoker wouldn't get to temp. They said Open vent wide. Well I did and temp started climbing. So now most the time its open.
thanks everyone. i left the vent wide open the whole time and 15hrs at 200* it turned out awesome. best thing i have done yet
There ya go! Nice job.