Wild temp swings generally just make cooking times longer, but they can also keep you in the 'danger zone' too long for food safety protocols (bacterial growth), so making sure everything is accurate is a priority.

Which brings up another point we have a saying around here: if you're lookin', ya ain't cookin'!' In other words, don't keep opening the lid to check progress - that will lead to wild temp swings. Temps briefly plummet when I remove the lid to add the coals, but rebounds quite nicely. Of course, I also add wood chunks when adding the coals. I add 8-10 coals about every 35-45 min and can maintain an incredibly stable 250* cook temp indefinitely this way. I get a 3/4 load chimney load of coals hot and divide them equally into the 2 side baskets. Check both by testing with boiling water, if appropriate for your thermos.Īctually, I find the Weber is quite easy to maintain steady cook temps.

My guess is your cook temps are much higher than your thermos are telling you (or the meat probe is way off). The meat is probably blowing right through the connective tissue break-down phase (commonly known as 'the stall'), which is probably why you had to slice the last one and will probably have to slice this one. A 4# butt should take much longer to reach foiling temps than 2.5 hours at the cook temps you describe. My first question regarding your situation is 'are your thermometers accurate?' Given your numbers listed, I believe something is off by quite a bit. Your plan and method appear to be largely correct: cook between 225-250*, foil around 165* and take to 200* internal temp, rest for 1-2 hours and pull. I began my smoking hobby on the Weber Kettle using the indirect method.

Minion butt gif minion bottom gif