 |
| Butts before |
And let them sit a bit.
 |
| Butts getting their Q on. |
I started the grill using the full on minion method. The last few times I have cooked I have either added the water right when I added the hot coals, or I added the meat. The problem was I could never remember which was correct (the former is correct) and would have to wait hours just for the grill to get up to temp before adding the meat. This method is termed Minion Method - Old School.
I didn't know there was an old school version. So this time I tried the new school version. In a nut shell this involves adding your water and meat right when coals are added. As an aside, I did not add piping hot water as I normally do. You can look at the temp log below to see how it worked, but basically it took 1.5 h after adding coals before I was ready to leave it alone for the evening. Not too shabby. One last thing though about minion which I never thought about, it is pretty key to use good charcoal since you are cooking with freshly lit coals and so a cheaper brand might cause taste issues.
 |
| Butts wouldn't fit |
So I had noticed that the butts looked a bit wide, even for me (and I like big butts). As I was putting them on it became apparent that I would not be able to fit two on each grill. So I took them off and used to string to make them sit up a bit more. Not perfect but good enough considering I was completely unprepared for this. Also, I put the one smaller butt on the bottom thinking it would cook slower (heat rises right?)... more on that later.
| Time | Vents | Notes | grill temp |
| 9:00pm | na | take butts out of fridge | na |
| 10-10:30pm | na | inject | na |
| 11:30pm | na | start chimney | na |
| 12:00am | All 100% | start all @ once | 150 |
| 1:00am | All 100% | none | 180 |
| 1:25am | All 50% | none | 210 |
| 8:10am | put 1 at 100% | none | 210 |
| 9:00am | put 2 at 100% | trying to get heat up | 210 |
| 10:15am | all at 100% | evasive actions; add new charcoal, water and baste | 200 |
| 11:00am | all 100% | water, baste | <200 |
| 12:00pm | all 100% | baste; lil' butt at 153 | 240 |
| 1:15pm | all 100% | baste; lil butt at 162 | 230 |
| 1:30pm | 50/50/100 | baste | 250 |
| 2:00pm | 50/50/0 | water, baste; lil butt at 171, remove and wrap; other lower butt at 174, move to top; move top butts to bottom (170) | 230 |
| 3:00pm | na | top butt at 280, wrap them all and finish | 230 |
 |
| Butts before the start getting basted (to get that bark). |
One big conclusion here is that the butts on the bottom cooked hotter than the ones on top. Make sense, but still good to know. Also, the ones on the bottom definitely get a bit more grease since they are being basted with the fat from above. For the record I generally cook two butts on top and that's all.
Second, I would say there was probably some sort of wind during the night which raised the temp. I say this because the coals seemed more cooked through than normal, and my internal temps were higher sooner.
We also made sauces, and it turns out I don't think the vinegar sauce recipe is on here. Here it is below:
Carolina Vinegar SauceINGREDIENTS:2 cups cider vinegar2/3 cup ketchup1/2 cup brown sugar1 tbsp Louisiana Gold hot sauce1 tbsp lemon juice1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce2 tbsps butter1 tsp red pepper flakes1 tsp dry mustard1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp black pepperMETHOD:Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring constantly to blend well. NOTE: Make sure that you make this sauce at least a day in advance so that all ingredients and flavors have time to mellow and meld together.
 |
| Marion was actually the sauce stirrer. |
Finally we were able to pull the meat, and everyone dug it. I think letting it sit at least 2-3 hours is crucial for good texture.
