What's everyone using to catch drippings?

[1luckytexan]

Do you use a container to catch fat?

what's your method?

thinking about q-ing a pork butt soon.

[ncsmoker]

Which Weber do you have Texan. I have been using Webers since the 70's and have never bothered with any thing to catch the fat. It will run through the vents to the coal catcher. If you have one with the 3 vents just scrape any left over out before starting your next cook. With a one-touch system it will sweep it out for you.

I have probably done close to 100 butts, sometimes 2-3 at a time, in the last 30+ years, the last 3 with the SN and have never used anything to catch the fat. It's my favorite cut of pork. Sometimes I'll only cook it to 175 and slice it for pork dinner, other times take it to 190 for pulled pork. Either way it is delicious.

If you have any questions on smoking the butt please ask.

Tom

[1luckytexan]

have a one-touch

When I cooked the chicken thighs I didn't use anything to catch the fat so, I guess i won't bother with it on the butt. I put ashes in my compost tumbler and usually avoid any meat/fats but, a small amount might be OK - I'll monitor closely.

Yeah, I usually pull butts at 188 or above. done scores but probably not 100, my wife's favorite BBQ meat. We would get the 2-packs of boneless butts from Costco. Q 3  or 6 (along with 3 briskets) , grind one or 2 for chorizo and breakfst sausage. Trying to sell my big pit and downsize to the SN from now on.

thanx for replying

[whiskeycharlie]

I usually put a 9 X 13 drip pan on the open portion of the lower grate. Works for me.

store.weber.com/accessories/category/clean/drip-pans/1350

[ncsmoker]

Hey WC good to see you on the Forum again. I gave up on the single drip pan that you suggest as I normally am smoking more than one piece of meat. For one pork butt it works fine, do away with the water pan on the SN and add a 1/2 inch or more to the pan your using.

Tom

[whiskeycharlie]

Greetings Tom,

I've been lurking the board but haven't chimed in for a while. I've moved my cooking indoors and have been making soups and stews on the stove. We haven't had any rain for a while around Sacramento, maybe I should uncover the Weber. That'll open the floodgates for sure!

WC

[1luckytexan]

well, not too worried about the drippings going into the ash bucket yet, but the cook went WAAAY long. Started a ~7.5 lb butt at about 8:45 am, took it off at 1am !! and, it was only 171*F internal? still, it pulled! (one area was a little dried out)

grate temp may be too low? I will have to try to measure that. (i have a coupla remote therms somewhere....)

[ncsmoker]

Hi 1luckytexan. It does sound like your grill temp is to low a 7lb. butt should take around 9-10 hrs. with a grill temp floating between 220-250 degrees, I will cook on the upper end of the range. Since your butt pulled and you had a dried out area I would question the thermometer your using also. What kind is it, digital or dial and have you tested it for accuracy in an ice water bath.

I think these two areas are the ones you need to look into. Let me know if I can help you further

Tom

[1luckytexan]

yeah, i was hoping for more like 10-11 hours as you say.

definitely plan to check the therms again. Dome temps on a taylor meat therm were in the 250 range, until I tried to feed-in more air to boost the temp.

internal temps were with my taylor electronic which has been good. tested it a few weeks ago in boiling water.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V8A20Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[ncsmoker]

1luckytexan a 250 dome temp is very low. That puts the grill temp at 200-220 in my experience and maybe lower depending on weather. I normally have a dome temp of 180 with a grill temp of 230 with my Maverick 732 on my Weber Gold. It really depends on the weather on what the difference between the dome and grill temp will be.

I also have a Taylor instant read digital www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Commercial-Waterproof-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1410828885&sr=1-2&keywords=Thermometer+instant+read that I use to double check both the grill temp and hood temp as well as the meat. I use the Maverick 732 as my primary meat probe but check other areas of the meat with my Taylor.

Good luck with your next cook, again any questions please ask.

Tom

[Larry T]

ncsmoker,

You made a VERY interesting comment herein: "1luckytexan a 250 dome temp is very low. That puts the grill temp at 200-220 in my experience and maybe lower depending on weather."

I've been using the SN for a couple of yrs and, like a good little boy, followed the UM's rec's  ...  ie.; cooking grate temp's follow the dome temp's just less by around 20-30°F.
That suggests to me that a dome temp of 240-250°F should be 220-230°F at the cooking grate.  Your statement is the first time I've seen an observation that helps account for my recent cook.

Recently I finally started using my Maverick ET-733 on cooks that I've done numerous times w/o it.  To my surprise when my stabilized dome temp indicated 250°F (using the tested accurate Taylor Candy Thermo), my ET-733 at the cooking grate showed 180°F.  Whaaaaaa???  I immediately tried to assign the temp difference to funky probes.  But, no.  I'd already tested them prior to usage.  Then, maybe it was the outdoor temp of 52°F that had a part in this lunacy?  NO way is 52°F going to account to that much deviation.

So you can see why your experience is so meaningful to me ... maybe I'm not going, well you know, crazy.  Needless to say I finished the cook using the ET-733 and the pork butt was wonderful.  However, I now have to re-evaluate all of the temp/cook-times that I have established in prior cooking info logs.

Have you taken the time to establish a gradient map of the OTG w/ SN installed on a average weather day, say 70°F.  A map from 3" below the cooking grate to maybe just below the dome?  I'd really like to know.

PS This info partially accounts for my unusual cook times when I meter w/ my ThermoPen for doneness.

LarryT (alias Smoke'nJoe)

[ncsmoker]

Larry the biggest thing affecting dome temp is the weather. Outside temperature, wind, rain, etc. It takes experience to learn what temp the dome needs to be. Before I got my Maverick I kept an oven thermometer on the grill. A general dome temp of 280 is pretty good for most smokes. In cooler weather or with more wind I would need to push it to 300.

My recommendation is just use your Maverick since you have it and don't worry about the dome temperature any more. But do keep a chart of dome temps to Maverick temps as the probes do fail. Indicate weather conditions, dome temp, Maverick temp.

Also get a good instant read thermometer like the one in my post above to double check different parts of the butt and again because the probe do fail.

[Larry T]

nc,

Thanks for the quick response.  Yes, I have and extensively use a ThermaPen (Orange) so I know the meat, fish, & fowl are cooked to spec.  I was just surprised by the large difference.  There is almost always a breeze here in Oregon and it's usually as cold or colder than the outside resting air.  I cook under a cover so no issues w/ sun -to- shade and back again.  It does rain a bit here, though 

Larry T