newbie Butt Question

[Midnight Smoker]

Well this is my first smoke and my first post!  I am smoking a 7lb butt as we speak. I have been smoking at 220 for 10 hours and the IT is 170 right now (9:50pm) I am trying to figure out how much longer it will take!  I am guessing I am going to have to get up in the middle of the night to check on it.  Unfortunatley the wireless thermometer I am using only goes up to 175 (just figured that out today)so I can't rely on it for an alarm.  I also thought about taking the heat down to 200 so I might not have to get up in the middle of the night.

If you were in this situation what would you do.
1:  Let it ride at 220
2:  lower to 200 and let it ride
3:  Man up and check it around 2am

Hopefully someone wise can answer before bedtime!!!

Thanks in advance

[GusRobin]

I don't see how you can get away without babysitting it. I would get a snack and you favorite beverage and prepare to stay for the long run. If you have a thermometer with an alarm you could get away with sleeping. The other thing you could do is bring it in house and put it in your oven?

[ArnieM]

I'd go with 1 and 3.  Smoking is work  :D

If you're looking for an IT of 195 and you lower the temp to 200, it'll take a LONG time and probably dry out some in the process.  Keep it at 220.

Gus gave you good advice.

If you think it's done, stick a fork in and give it a twist.  If it pulls, it's done.  If not, time for another beverage.

At 170 it's likely past the stall point and the IT should climb fairly quickly.  When it's done, do an FTC and leave the pulling for the morning. 

Good luck.  I'm going to bed  ;D

[classicrockgriller]

170 could be the start of the stall.

How long at 170?

[KyNola]

I was thinking the same thing CRG.  Sounds like it's in the stall.  Midnight Smoker, welcome to the forum.  Given your first smoke your forum name is appropriate.  :)

Leave the temp as is.  Check to see if the water bowl is dry.  Dump the water bowl and refill.  You got a timer with an alarm?  Set it for a couple hours.  Take a nap and see what temp you're at.  Yeah, 2:00AM is what I'm thinking. 

[Midnight Smoker]

Okay, It is now Midnight and I am at 176.  Water bowl is full again and I am taking a nap!  Thanks for the advice.

[classicrockgriller]

A good Butt doesn't care if you take her to 200 or 205.

Just reduce the FTC time.

[Midnight Smoker]

Okay, first thinks for the advice last night.  I finally got her out around 4 am and FTC until 7:30am. Everything turned out great other than it is done at 8am not 8-9pm yesterday!  I am actually blaming this forum for not being ready at dinnertime yesterday (luckily it is only my daughters and I). If I hadn't found this forum we would have been eating smoked pork last night (just average smoked pork but smoked pork none the less) :o

Here's my story:

I look at Bradley Smokers for over a year before deciding to pull the trigger.  I find this forum during my initial search on Bradley's because I was trying to figure out if the Bass Pro and Amazon reviews were a sign of quality issues or user issues.  I didn't know anyone that owned a Bradley and had my concerns.  Fast Forward to 8/25/10 - I am in Texas traveling with one of my salesman and we decided to rent a house instead of hotel rooms so we can BBQ instead of eating out for dinner.  We get to talking and I tell him about "this smoker" I have been looking at for over a year.  His response, "stop looking at smokers and just go buy a Bradley" I start laughing because I hadn't even told him the name of the smoker I was looking at!  Sold!!!  I never even thought about this website again and decided I would pull the trigger ASAP!

Okay, now you have the background!  

Fast Forward to this past Friday, I went to BPS and picked up my new smoker.  I stopped on the way home and picked up some apple juice and a butt.  I decided I would season on Friday and get up and put the butt on the grill at 8am Saturday (cuz I have smoked butts before and they take 1.5 hours per pound).  ::)

While the butt was on the smoker I remembered this website (good or bad at this point).  After reading everyones comments on butt's I realize that I really have never done it the "right" way.  I decide I want my first Bradley experience to be "right" and still figure I will be done in time for an 8-9pm dinner (Rookie Mistake)...  About 7pm I realize that I really had no clue how to Smoke a Butt and that I had a lot of learnin to do!!!  

While I had the basics covered I was in no way prepared for the "mind of it's own" a butt has.  So I read about ever post I can find on the subject and now I have a slight clue.  Actually it must of sunk in pretty well because while I was pulling it a few minutes ago I realized that it was THE BEST I have ever done!!!  So after all this rambling (sleep deprived from smoking all night), THANKS to everone that contributes to this forum, the Q&A i read helped me more than ever.  Oh yeah, Lunch today is going to be amazing!

Another sucker hooked on Bradley and this forum!!! ;)

[KyNola]

Reel 'em in boys!

Congrats MS.  We'll all be happy to take the blame for your successful smoke. :)

[SouthernSmoked]

Oh Yeah!!!

Two Thumbs Up!

Congrats Midnight Smoker!