putting the sears bbq pro to the test

smoke51 · Posted: Nov 16 2008 Post subject: putting the sears bbq pro to the test

well its about 37 degrees right now and ive got two pork butts on the sears bbq pro.....its holding pretty good between 230 and 245....not sure why but it keeps dropping in temp and than going right back up again. i figured it was the wind but its dead out there....i guess it might be the wood chunks igniting and the smoke cooling it down a little.

i decided to put ceramic briquettes in the water pan so i wouldnt have to worry about running out of water but it really doesnt seem like the briquettes are keeping the temp stable that well. but it hasnt even been an hour yet and they probably take a little bit to heat up.

one of the butts is going to be eaten today and the other is going to be taken to my dads house next saturday for the ohio state/michigan game. correct me if im wrong but after they are done i should pull the one for next weekend into a few big chunks and put them in plastic bags and than freeze them and next weekend just put the bags in a pot of boiling water to heat them up to temp and than pull them and put sauce on the meat right?

oh yeah, ill get some pics up later when the sun comes out and they have been on a while.
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Skidder · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 1720

Sounds good keep us posted and include many pics. We like pics!

smoke51 · Posted: Nov 16 2008 Post subject:

here we are at 2 1/2 hours in at an internal temp of 118 but it might be a little off cause i might be close to the bone....ill let it go a while longer and check it somewhere else.....i know its got a lot more time to go.

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k.a.m. · Posted: Nov 16 2008 Post subject:

smoke51, they are looking very nice. Keep us posted.

smoke51 · Posted: Nov 16 2008 Post subject:

i had this thing just gettin it at 240 for a long time and than it started to drop a little so i went out and checked the coals and they were getting really ashed over so i shook them off and it climbed back up a little. i decided that i would light up a chimney just for extra fuel in the cooker....so i put that in just before it ashed over and wham! 290 before i could even get the door closed. so i closed down the vents on top and bottom and it started to come back down.....it got to about 250 and i started to open the vents again and it kept dropping....than wham 270!.....i have a feeling im going to fight this thing for the rest of the day....ive got the vents set right where they were at when it was running 240 and its still sitting at 270.

edit: cooker settled down finally...with the exhaust vent and intake vent almost fully closed...but im keeping a close eye on it so i can open them a little at a time to keep it in the good zone.

here are the butts at 5 hours and 152 degrees internal. approaching the stall zone and there is already quite a bit of fat rendering going on as the juices are starting to really flow

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Beertooth · Posted: Nov 16 2008 Post subject:

Lookin' good smoke51.

Mmm. Gotta love the pork butts! Nice looking cook so far. Man I gotta get to the store. I haven't smoked in weeks. Shocked

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bbq lover · BBQ Fan Joined: 08 Oct 2008 Posts: 129 Location: tracy

looking good and yes you can pull the second and reheat in a bag over water
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smoke51 · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

well about 7 hours in and its at 162 degrees.....i hate the stall period...but atleast it happened early and it should be getting done earlier than i planned. i cant wait to eat....im starving.

thanks bbq lover for the confirmation

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Les · Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

51 I smoked on my Sears BBQ Pro yesterday and it was 35 degrees all day.I've found that I can get it to hold at 225-240 very well as long as I run the top vent wide open and shut 1 bottom one closed and keep the other bottom vent open about 1/4.I start with all 3 open and start shutting the bottome ones about 25 degrees shy of where I want. Had a spike when I added a chimney after about 4 hours but it went right back down to 225.Smoked some Venison sausage and some ham hocks for a pot of beans later this week.

missionsusmc · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

Lookin good man
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smoke51 · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

yeah, i think it would run a lot more stable but im used to my offset where i have to keep messing with the vents and what not to keep it at the right temp so i need to just keep my hands off as much as possible
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smoke51 · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

well....11 hours in and its still 162....the smaller one is up to 168 but its slowly coming up also. i double checked with a pocket digital temp gauge also and its dead accurate and reads the same as the maverick. its gonna be late before i get to eat.
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Cranky Buzzard · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

smoke51 · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

yeah...its full on the top rack but it would fit two more on the bottom rack....i just put a drip pan on there to make cleanup a little easier.
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k.a.m. · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

smoke51, looking mighty fine. your almost home I am getting hungry just seeing that last pic. Very Happy

Burbs · BBQ Fan Joined: 31 Oct 2008 Posts: 363

Nothing wrong with a late dinner. Throw the football game on, you'll be fine!

Good luck
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necron 99 · Posted: Nov 17 2008 Post subject:

Looks great so far! You're right about overshoot and undershoot by fiddling with the vents - I did the same thing, and still catch myself doing it sometimes with my bullet smoker! But, using it for overnight cooks helps me minimize the temptation to monkey too much. Wink

I cooked up 4 racks of baby backs on my new Stillwater offset today, to get to know that cooker a little better. It brought me back to focus on how economical the BBQ Pro Deluxe bullet is for fuel consumption!

I have a 9 lb picnic taken from the meat freezer to the meat fridge, to thaw and cook on my BBQ Pro Deluxe this coming weekend, so it'll be back in action again soon.
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smoke51 · Posted: Nov 18 2008 Post subject:

well the small one was done at 830 and the bigger one right about 930. it was absolutely worth the wait....the bbq was better than ever. but you guys are going to hate me because i accidently left my camera on and the batteries died. i searched the entire house to find batteries but couldnt come up with any. sorry

i swear next time i will get a picture of it afterwards.
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necron 99 · Posted: Nov 18 2008 Post subject:

Glad the food came out great - that's the main thing anyway! We'll look forward to your next cook thread.
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Fatrat · Posted: Nov 18 2008 Post subject:

I find the temp spikes happen usually when the chunks of wood flare.. the spikes dont last long, so when they start to produce that nice rich flavor, and the fire stops, the temps come right back down. Great lookign butts Smoke...

Ray
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