The first thing we did was cover the butt with mustard and then completely cover with Big AI’s From Texas Hickory Rub. Then we set up the grill for cooking.
Find several large pieces of lump charcoal and place them in the bottom of the egg in the center. Then, what we do is place the largest pieces in the egg, evenly distributing them. Then keep tossing in the largest piece you have left, keeping the lump level as you pile it up. When you get to the top of the firebox, distribute some pieces of hickory on top of the lump (or whatever wood you prefer) then continue piling on the largest pieces of lump from the bin.
When you have reached about half- way up the fire ring you are ready to start your fire. First of all, you need to realize that a butt cooked at 220 degrees will take around 2 hours per pound. Do the math, an 8 pound butt will take 16- 18 hours.
When ready to start cooking, open the egg and put a plate setter upside down into the egg. Place a drip pan on the plate setter and fill it with at least 1 inch of water. Place the grid over the drip pan and finally your butt on top of the grid. Insert your probe, making sure not to let it near any bone. Close the egg. By the time you have done all this, the egg should be down below 200 degrees. Open the lower vent about an inch and the daisy wheel open, meaning the sliding lid is closed, but the rotating part is open. When the temperature reaches 210, shut the lower vent to about 1 1/4 inch and the daisy top to about 1 1/2 open. Now, it’s just basic temperature control. You want to get the egg to 220- 250 degrees. When you are convinced you have the egg stabilized between 220 and 250 degrees, then go to bed. When you wake up, the egg should still be at the temperature that you left it. The meat should be in the 160’s.
Leave it alone. Be a good boy or girl and don’t open the egg until the meat hits 200 and it’s time to eat. That means don’t open it even once.
The meat will hit a plateau at anywhere from 160 to 180 degrees. It will stay in this range for a very long time while all the fat renders and collagen in the meat is converted to gelatin. We hit the plateau in the night, so when we woke up the butt was slowly climbing. Once you get through the plateau, it should slowly climb to 200 degrees. If you do find yourself, or rather the meat, stuck in the plateau and dinner time fast approaching, go ahead and heat the egg up to 275 to 300 degrees to get it going again. But regardless of how he gets there, when Mr. Polder says 200 degrees, open the egg, impress the women, take photographs, shake hands, pop the cork on the champagne, and take the butt indoors and cover with foil until its ShowTime. If the butt gets done before you are really ready, you can wrap it in a couple layers of foil and then wrap it in towels. Place this in a cooler for at least two hours.
[easy-social-share]