Picnic cooking timetable

Sounds like you're doing everything properly and are on track. 250 degrees will be just fine. Are you looking for an idea of how long the meat will be on the grill? That's up to the picnics, not me...

Brad

Alabama that's a clever setup you've rigged there. Congrats of figuring out how to post pictures so quickly.

I agree that your cooking temperature is fine for that cut of meat. Remember that each larger cut of meat will cook a little differently, not all briskets cook at the same rate and each ham or shoulder will vary as well depending on the fat content and density of the muscle. If you're looking to estimate when the meat will be finished, it will depend on how you want it cooked. For slicing you'll only cook it to 170-175* but if you want pulled pork you'll be cooking the meat to 195-205* and it will take a lot longer. A best guess is 1.5 to 2 hours a pound but some take longer.

I would highly recommend keeping a log of your cooks, especially the longer ones. My memory fails me more than I'd like to admit so logs are a valuable tool to refer back to when you attempt to do it again later.

Alright, I'm new here so I need help with some of the lingo that's used on the board. What's cut of meat is a "picnic" or "pork picnic"?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the board Grillin' Ando!

Alabama Boy,

Welcome to the joy of smoking. I can only say that once that roast gets to the plateau, it will seem like it stays there for ever. I bet it may not even be ready when you get back from your meeting. Just hang in there. Left over pulled pork is very good.

Good Morning Alabama Boy,

How did the pork turn out? This was indeed a good learning experience, some butts cook faster than others and some just want to take their time and mosey up to temperature while taking a few breaks on the way up. Looks like you got a slow one but I'll bet it was good.

I'm glad to see that you're pleased with your cook. That's a big hurdle. Now you're well on your way for tweaking, experimenting, and just plain having fun at the pit.

BTW, for now I have a note pad that I jot down the following info.
Date, cut of meat, where purchased, price per lb, total weight and total cost.

Next, note how the meat was prepared for the pit. For example, note the rub you used.

When the cook starts, make notes such as start time, weather conditions (If applicabale) and anything else that may be a factor.

During the cook, everytime you check the pit, note the meat internal temp and other factors such as grate temp, lid temp, etc. as you go along. I usually note when I dump ashes, and when I load more fuel.

At the end, note finish time, final prep methods and yield. Add any other comments such as "needs more salt", "too much salt in rub", etc.

Print copies of pix, if any. Put those and the notepad notes in a top loading sheet protector.

One day I may work up a word processing form with blocks for these items and print out a bunch of blank copies, but for now, the notepad works fine. Tried going from raw notes into a word process doc but that turned out to be too much trouble. (For me, at any rate. )

Hope this helps, a bit.
Longmill

Longmill have you seen the downloadable BBQ logs:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cookinglog.html