Pork Butt 3hrs/pound??

[smokin_jer]

Help!
I tried my first pork butt 4 pounds took9 hours at 225 . It was great!
I just tried a 6.5 pound and it's been 16:43 hours. Lots only at 185!
I've heard 1.5 hours per pound. This seems way too long.
What am I doing wrong??

[Habanero Smoker]

Providing more information about your cook would be helpful. I recall you have a P10. If that is the Bradley you used for your cook, and the times you are recording; that is a very long time. If you are using one of the other Bradley's that time is not that far off. The other Bradley's struggle to get to that temperature and the cook times are about the times you are recording, but the P10 recovers very quickly and keeps steady temperature. I'm also assuming, at 4 pounds it was a boneless cut, so the butt should have cooked even faster. Each cook, and cut of meat is different from the previous cook. The 1.5 hours per pound, is a guideline for butts and brisket, at the temperature you used. It could take a little longer or a little less.

I have a couple of questions (if you are using the P10):
1) I feel there is a discrepancy of what temperature is being displayed, and the actual cabinet temperature. Are you sure the cabinet temperature was 225°F. If you have a third party temperature probe, do a test run with the Bradley - empty. Remove the vent and stick the probe through that opening. If the temperature readings are correct, then with the P10 use a cabinet temperature of 250°F to 275°F. Adjust your cook times, because it will cook much faster

2) What is the internal temperature of the meat you are bringing your pork butt to? You should be looking at a temperature of 190°F - 205°F (depending on the texture of the meat you want).

3) Was the meat partially frozen (not completely thawed), when you placed it in the Bradley??

For my own information, I would like to know what type of smoke flavor, and how long you applied smoke.

[smokin_jer]

Both are bone in at room temperature. I'm cooking in the P10
I'm cooking to 195
The 6 pounds took 18 hours setting the p10 to 225

That said I took a thermometer and it is about 25-30 degrees lower in my cabinet than the settin outside reads

Is that normal?

[Habanero Smoker]

When I first got mine, the average temperature discrepancy between the third party probe and the cabinet display was that my probe was recording temperatures around 40 degrees higher than the display. As I have done more cooks that discrepancy is now down to about 20 degrees above the display reading.

Bradley doesn't provide much information, but what I believe is that the PID algorithmic formula that they are using may be recalibrating during each cook, and over time becomes more accurate. If you are close to the end of your warranty, I would contact Bradley, and see what they say. You may have a bad panel. If you are past warranty, continue to check the inside cabinet temperature to see if there is any improvement over time.

Since I know that my P10 is 20 degrees higher at 250°F, when I want to cook something at 250 I will set the display at 230. I've done a few cooks since I last checked it and I should check it again, to see if there is any change. So if your P10 is 25 - 30 degrees below the display temperature, then your cook times are normal because you are cooking at 200°F. That is the temperature I cook my butts at, and I bring the internal temperature to 176°F - 180°F.

I'm having problems obtaining the correct amount of smoke. Can you tell me what bisquette flavor, and how much smoke you applied.

P.S.
Go to the Bradley site and see if there is an update for the current version of firmware that is installed on your P10. Maybe the update has a fix for your problem.

P10 Software Updates

[smokin_jer]

I smoked the 4 pounds for 4 hours and the 6 for 5 hours. Keep in mind it was about half the total time. When I increase the temp I'll try to keep the smoke to 50%

I have mostly apply but alternate whiskey oak for the first 80 minutes

I'm going to contact Bradley and see what they say

[Habanero Smoker]

If there is a firmware upgrade, you should install that before you contact Bradley. If there is an update for your P10, that is the first thing they will ask you to do.

Thanks for the information on smoke times. I'm finding that my usual amounts of smoke application is too strong, and I'm currently using less smoke then you are.