What's in your smoker?

[Stevez]

Your loins look great, but wait till you have the pulled pork shoulder. That just seems to turn out incredible in a smoker after that long smoke with all that fat rendering. Congrats on your first smoke and your new grill. Next stop, brisket! Follow the directions on the Virtual weber bullet website and you'll be fine. They also have storage tips and other methods for holding meet in the cooler. I would suggest warming the cooler up with hot water first because you really don't want that meat to dip below the safe temps before bacteria can develop. Can't wait to see your pics of the butt. Great job.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Stevez

Your loins look great, but wait till you have the pulled pork shoulder. That just seems to turn out incredible in a smoker after that long smoke with all that fat rendering. Congrats on your first smoke and your new grill. Next stop, brisket! Follow the directions on the Virtual weber bullet website and you'll be fine. They also have storage tips and other methods for holding meet in the cooler. I would suggest warming the cooler up with hot water first because you really don't want that meat to dip below the safe temps before bacteria can develop. Can't wait to see your pics of the butt. Great job.

I hope I can please as you anxiously await the pics of my butt.

Thanks!

[MarkinAZ]

Originally Posted by forgop

Here's my first loin off the grill. I pretty much did this without a thermometer cuz the one I have is pretty much junk. 2 loins around 4.5 # each were on about 2h45m right round 225 give or take for the most part. Very moist and good smoke flavor.

Nice looking meat Duane

[forgop]

Here's a peak at my butts after 7 hours on the WSM.

[forgop]

Here they are after 8 hours on the smoker. Waiting to pull them after awhile...

[forgop]

Ok, so I was only really able to hold it in the foil in the cooler for a couple of hours. (It's 1am now and just need to catch some z's before too long to give it any longer).

I pulled the meat off the bones-great color, flavor, and smoke. The only thing I didn't get was the "shredability" of the meat that I was hoping for. Is that due to just not being able to give it another 2-3 hours in the cooler? It's currently in big pieces in the fridge, so what might be the next steps I should take to try to get it shredded?

[688sonarmen]

1st shoulder of the season. Had some baffle plates made to distribute the heat in my Char Griller Pro, with the mild temps I did not need them. Having a time getting it at the 225-240 range, but its there now and I'm chillin!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by forgop

Ok, so I was only really able to hold it in the foil in the cooler for a couple of hours. (It's 1am now and just need to catch some z's before too long to give it any longer).

I pulled the meat off the bones-great color, flavor, and smoke. The only thing I didn't get was the "shredability" of the meat that I was hoping for. Is that due to just not being able to give it another 2-3 hours in the cooler? It's currently in big pieces in the fridge, so what might be the next steps I should take to try to get it shredded?

Possibly, but could be any number of things.

You said total weight on the two butts was 15.5lbs, right? They looked pretty equally sized, which would be about 7.75lb each or so, 8 hours cook time is pretty short if you were running 220F.

What was the internal temp when you pulled it off the cooker? And how did the meat feel when you jabbed it with a fork and twisted or a probe and wiggled?

Foil is kind of a controversial subject, but if you foil a butt toward the end of the cook (around 170F internal) and let it cook that way until it hits about 200F internal, then rest it, it'll practically fall apart on it's own because of the braising.

Use the fine shreds for pulled pork sandwiches with some BBQ sauce, pickles, onions and slaw, take the big chunks, chop them up a bit across the grain and use them for Bob's (chainsaw13) carnitas method about 10 posts back.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by T.G

Possibly, but could be any number of things.

You said total weight on the two butts was 15.5lbs, right? They looked pretty equally sized, which would be about 7.75lb each or so, 8 hours cook time is pretty short if you were running 220F.

What was the internal temp when you pulled it off the cooker? And how did the meat feel when you jabbed it with a fork and twisted or a probe and wiggled?

Foil is kind of a controversial subject, but if you foil a butt toward the end of the cook (around 170F internal) and let it cook that way until it hits about 200F internal, then rest it, it'll practically fall apart on it's own because of the braising.

Use the fine shreds for pulled pork sandwiches with some BBQ sauce, pickles, onions and slaw, take the big chunks, chop them up a bit across the grain and use them for Bob's (chainsaw13) carnitas method about 10 posts back.

My thermometer was giving crazy readings and all I could find to give me any kind of internal temp are those worthless electronic forks to tell you the temp (rare, med. rare, med., etc). I was paranoid about overcooking without having a real number to go by, so I pulled them. I'll also start the butts for an overnighter next time as well to have all day to bring up to the temp needed.

But I learned what to do next time and will be ordering a Maverick ET-73 cuz it seems to be the most preferred thermometer out there.

Now, it's time to excuse myself for some yummy pork.

[forgop]

Pic of my pork. It seems to be a big hit with my son who is extremely picky of what he eats. He would eat fruit for every meal if that's all you'd give him. He's tough to get protein in any form and lately peanut butter has been the only way he'd get it. (This is an autism thing about textures and such, not so much a difficult child that I'd cater to for just being picky).

[Stevez]

Thanks for showing me your butts! Didn't dissappoint at all. Thanks for sharing. Great idea to invest in a good digital thermometer. They are really necessary to cook till tender. The butts will be fantastic I'm sure. Now you'll be hooked. Steve

[688sonarmen]

Yes a digital probe will make your smokes easier and more peacefull. I have a Taylor that comes with an external remote to alert me of temps. Just set and forget, all I have to do is add wood to the fire and wonder about the magic that is going on under the hood!

[forgop]

Originally Posted by 688sonarmen

Yes a digital probe will make your smokes easier and more peacefull. I have a Taylor that comes with an external remote to alert me of temps. Just set and forget, all I have to do is add wood to the fire and wonder about the magic that is going on under the hood!

What model Taylor do you have? I'm less than impressed with the Maverick ET-73 reviews on amazon to be sold on it.

[T.G]

Looks great Duane.

Looking at the photo and your previously mentioned short cook time, I'm leaning toward that it was cooked long enough to be done (160F) but not long enough for all the connective tissue to break down so that it would pull easily (another few hours at 220-230F to about 200F internal give or take), your final temp being somewhere in between, so you ended up with something more like a roasted smoked pork than a pulled pork.

It's hard to say from just the photo and the comments you made but that's what I'm thinking, curious to hear what some of the other guys think about the cooking and why it didn't pull on you.

[688sonarmen]

Just like you said Adam, time and temp. We can get to 200 pretty fast but the fat and tissues will not have time to melt, instead they might dry out and be tough. I once smoked a 6lb brisket for 18 hours at around 200f and when I pulled it out it all fell apart like shredded meat. I think of it as slowly bringing the meat to the "room temp" of the smoker. It would take time but the ideal way would be to get your smoker to the final temp of the meat you are going for and smoke until everything balances out.

[688sonarmen]

Originally Posted by forgop

What model Taylor do you have? I'm less than impressed with the Maverick ET-73 reviews on amazon to be sold on it.

Don't know, its red with a round button pad. It has several settings on it but I only use it to display temp, and set it to what I am going for.

[MarkinAZ]

Originally Posted by 688sonarmen

Just like you said Adam, time and temp. We can get to 200 pretty fast but the fat and tissues will not have time to melt, instead they might dry out and be tough. I once smoked a 6lb brisket for 18 hours at around 200f and when I pulled it out it all fell apart like shredded meat. I think of it as slowly bringing the meat to the "room temp" of the smoker. It would take time but the ideal way would be to get your smoker to the final temp of the meat you are going for and smoke until everything balances out.

Nice comment Jake

[Stevez]

I have never used the Maverick but I have a Nu-temp that I purchased in a group buy many years ago. It is remote with two probes and I really love it. One probe always is used to measure temp at the top grate and the other in the biggest piece of meat. To me it's a crap shoot without it, but I know others have ways of testing the meat without them. I'm just not there and need the thermometer. Biggest single issue most people have with this is cooking by time (never that consistent) or by doneness. You have to cook until tender and that will vary, sometimes quite a bit. You may want to check out the Nu-temps; I haven't priced one but mine was similar in cost to the Maverick as I recall. Steve

[Gonesledn]

Originally Posted by T.G

Looks great Duane.

Looking at the photo and your previously mentioned short cook time, I'm leaning toward that it was cooked long enough to be done (160F) but not long enough for all the connective tissue to break down so that it would pull easily (another few hours at 220-230F to about 200F internal give or take), your final temp being somewhere in between, so you ended up with something more like a roasted smoked pork than a pulled pork.

It's hard to say from just the photo and the comments you made but that's what I'm thinking, curious to hear what some of the other guys think about the cooking and why it didn't pull on you.

i have the same opinion as Adam...

[T.G]

Wes!

Where have you been hiding lately brother?

Say Hi to Cat and Zach for me.