Madonna, that's so disappointing. So, there's something wrong with the smoker, or did you just having some really big pork shoulders?

Annie

Sounds like you may have gotten a bad one, might need to exchange it.

Was it cold and windy outdoors? Not sure where you are or what smoker it is, but I know that my smoker can't keep the temp up when it's windy, and especially not if its windy and cold.

Is it an electric or wood smoker?

dcarch

when I put together my smoker (chargrill barrel style with side hot box) I read a lot online and it seemed to be recommended that the joinings between the hot box and the grill portion be sealed with high temp caulk . . to prevent smoke and heat loss. Is that potentially something?

Also, each cooker and environment variables are going to differ. You're doing trial by fire which sometimes can work, but you need to experiment with smaller or easier cuts before throwing two beautiful butts in and expecting perfection out of the gate. This will not be your last failure, and hopefully not your last attempt.

What temp was your smoker set on? For low and slow butts, you'd normally cook between 225-250 degrees and any smoker should be able to keep those temps at a minimum. 190-205 is your typical target temp for a butt and can take 6-12+ hours depending on the size of the butt and your cooker. It should stall around the 160 degree mark and this is normal. You can either cook through it, or wrap it in foil.

Were you opening the lid/cover a lot? Remember, if you're lookin', you ain't cookin'.

Did you calibrate the smoker thermometer or use alternate temp gauge to determine it's accuracy so you're actually cooking at the temp you want to be cooking at? I recommend a dual probe thermometer, one for your meat temp, and one for your cook temp so you always know what's going on. I use a ThermoWorks Smoke, but there are many alternatives that work great.

It just seems to me that if it only got up to 117 degrees, there must be something malfunctioning.

Thank you, everyone. I've learned a lot from your comments already. This is a Masterbuilt charcoal smoker that looks like R2D2. The thermometer is in the lid, but after I saw it wasn't getting up to temp, I got out my digital thermometer, stuck it through the vent that was as closed as much as it would go. and into the one butt. The reader stayed on a side table I had there. Both thermometer read pretty much the same. The butts were 6 pounds each. I couldn't find my charcoal starter chimney so I got the charcoal started in the bottom (closed) right off the bat. I checked it through the side door and didn't put the butts in until the charcoal turned grey. I never opened the lid until I decided to take the butts out. I'd read where you should avoid opening the lid and door. It was quite windy out and just a touch cool. I live in south central Indiana at the very top of the tallest hill. I did wonder about that. I can't take it back because it was bought last summer and the receipt is nowhere to be found. I have a Brinkman charcoal smoker my late husband husband told me to go buy as my Christmas present several years ago since I wanted it, but it was never opened and I haven't been able to find where he stored it. I will not give up. I now have a small pork loin that will go into brine tomorrow to start the process for Annie's Canadian Bacon. Oh, and I had to buy another bag of charcoal today since I used most of the bag I had. Again, thank you each and every one of you. That's what I love about Gardenweb, the helpful people. Only ran into one or two over the years that were not very nice, but they pretty much are gone.

Madonna

Madonna, the Canadian bacon is easier, in my opinion, because the loin pieces are always smaller than the entire shoulder/butt pieces.

I don't know if you have room or an acceptable place, but we put our smoker into the pole barn when it's really cold and windy outside, or tucked into a corner we have with an 8 foot stone wall on the west side, cement stairs on the south side and the pole barn on the north, leaving only the east side open.

We live on a piece of property known as "the windiest spot in North America", at least according to Elery.

Annie

bcskye, good luck with your pork loin - please update on how it turns out. I've never smoked, don't have a smoker, but gosh, Canadian bacon... love it!

annie1992, any chance you might have the link to your Canadian bacon method? Also, do you (or anyone) think it's remotely possible to smoke Canadian bacon in a gas grill with one of those pellet tube smokers? I understand it wouldn't be the same, but...

I have the Cooking Cajun Smoker.

http://www.epinions.com/review/Brinkmann_Deluxe_Charcoal_Smoker_Grill_852_7080_E_Grills_Smokers/20237177/513185451652

I use Kingsford Professional Briquettes because they are pure charcoal and burn slower than the lump that I use on the grill. I use the Minion Method as shown in this article, but I use water not sand in the water pan.

https://books.google.com/books?id=egFoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT70&lpg=PT70&dq=minion+method+southern+living&source=bl&ots=pwCVTKIAOW&sig=pvmHug61L00BVybX12raMgbuszs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT88y-puXaAhXLulMKHUcwABgQ6AEIXTAG#v=onepage&q=minion%20method%20southern%20living&f=false

It really helps to get the temp up and the fire burning for a long time. However, if it is too cool and windy, nothing will get very hot.

2many, I got my recipe from the book "Charcuterie", by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman. The book was a gift to me from one of our other members, Larry Englehardt. Actually his wife Janet was the member and she was a lovely woman but sadly, passed away. He kept in touch with several of us, and gifted me with that book as one of the authors had a restaurant near his home.

The recipe is here:

http://ruhlman.com/2011/02/canadian-bacon-brining-basics/

Smoke away!

Annie

Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Annie... but what a sad story, I can't imagine losing my own spouse. So nice of the gentleman to keep in touch, and give you such a lovely gift : )

I'm amazed all it takes is a pork loin, brining, and a bit of effort - I'll only need to order some curing salt. I'm excited to see results in the gas grill using a smoker tube. I'll let you know how it turns out. All I can find here is Hormel pizza style Canadian bacon.

2ManyDiversions, Morton makes a salt called Tender Quick which I am using. Think I got it at Kroger last year. Since I will be slicing and freezing in meal sized portions it should work fine. Spread your wings!

Madonna

Thank you Madonna! I didn't mind the price I was finding on the curing salt, but the shipping... huh uh! I'll go to our Kroger and look for that!

ETA: Don't forget to let us all know how your Canadian bacon and smoker work out!