Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

Bob Mundon: Dec 1, 2003; Your Friendly Neighborhood Gun Nut

Last time I did pork butt I left it on a little too long and came out drier than I would have liked, so a little trepidatious this time around.

Currently have 4 butts about finished, and currently the outsides are like butter, but insides still a little firmer than I usually pull it at. What do you guys usually go with? When it averages out to about what you would like, or till the inside reaches your target consistency? Probably overthinking it, but drying out pulled pork will shatter confidence.

Also, do you guys find going with bone in works much better as far as cooking evenly? Not necessarily because of the bone, but with boneless the outside muscles tend to splay out and seem to cook faster.

# ? Jul 4, 2013 19:27

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# ? May 13, 2024 23:33

cornface: Dec 28, 2006; by Lowtax

The reason the outside is like butter is because the connective tissues have turned to gelatin. The reason the inside is tough is most likely because you need to cook it longer until the process finishes.

How are you determining when to pull them and what temperature are you cooking them at?

# ? Jul 4, 2013 19:51

Digital_Jesus: Feb 10, 2011

Cook your butts til around 198-203 at the thickest point. If the outside doesn't look like a charred hunk of space debris, something isn't right :colbert:

.

Even at 198-203 the inside of the meat might still be firm, but that'll right itself when you rest. Foil them, wrap in a towel and set them in a cooler for an hour or so. As the connective tissue in the middle breaks down it'll baste the dryer exterior parts of the meat and you'll have a butt thats juicy all the way through. Consistency isn't what you're going for when you're looking to pull it off, temperature is.

Digital_Jesus fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jul 4, 2013

# ? Jul 4, 2013 20:11

vulturesrow: Sep 25, 2011; _{Always gotta pay it forward.}

Digital_Jesus posted:

Cook your butts til around 198-203 at the thickest point. If the outside doesn't look like a charred hunk of space debris, something isn't right .

Even at 198-203 the inside of the meat might still be firm, but that'll right itself when you rest. Foil them, wrap in a towel and set them in a cooler for an hour or so. As the connective tissue in the middle breaks down it'll baste the dryer exterior parts of the meat and you'll have a butt thats juicy all the way through. Consistency isn't what you're going for when you're looking to pull it off, temperature is.

I pull it off the smoker at about 195 and then rest it. I've never had a problem doing it this way.

I did a brisket today(flat only) and since I haven't done one in a long time I decided to foil it. It was nice and tender and had a good flavor but overall I was a little disappointed due to a decided lack of crust/bark because of foiling it. Next one is definitely going to not be foiled.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 06:15

GEEKABALL: May 30, 2011; Throw out your hands!!
Stick out your tush!!
Hands on your hips
Give them a push!!; Fun Shoe

Started this at 7:45 AM:

Packer brisket about 15 lbs. I trimmed about 3 lbs. of fat off of it before applying rub.
Rub (in order of least to most:
Dry mustard
cayenne pepper
salt
black pepper
Worcestershire sauce (actually goes on last, use just enough to moisten the not-so-dry rub)
chili powder
onion powder
garlic powder
brown sugar
paprika
Rub was applied the evening before. Rubbed brisket rested in fridge overnight, wrapped in foil.
Pit temperature: average 225 degrees F.
I always use Kingsford coal and hickory chunks.
Brisket stalled at about 2:00 PM and 174 degrees F (according to cheap thermometer inserted into middle of brisket):

At that point I foiled it.
When internal temp reached 205 degrees F I pulled it off the smoker and rested in cold oven for 45 minutes. I did not notice what time I pulled it off the pit, too many beers at that point.

This is my most moist and tasty brisket ever but, I did not trim enough fat off the top, and while it was foiled I lost the bark from the bottom of the meat. Next time I will maybe try to put it on a rack inside the foil.
My BBQ has always been pretty good, but thanks to this thread I am going to a whole new level.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 14:32

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

I mentioned this in the chat thread, but my dad attempted to smoke some pork back ribs and they ended up smelling like a house fire and tasting bitter and sooty on the outside. I don't think he did poo poo to monitor the temp inside the weber. Could that be the problem? Too much smoke? Wood burning at the wrong temperature? I need to tell him how to fix this.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 15:04

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

Sounds like the top vent may have been closed, always leave that open. Also he might have put the rack on too early, the smoke should be light, almost blue. If its thick and white because it just started burning its going to be bad.

Also maybe he used the wrong type of wood?

I give the fire a good 20 minutes to establish the correct smoke and settle into temp before throwing anything on.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 17:06

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

The top was open, but it was thick white smoke. I think he had coals burning and then aluminum foil packets of wood chips that he kept throwing in. Should the wood chips be left to get nice and charred before the meat goes on?

# ? Jul 5, 2013 17:11

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

If he's using coals then he should mix the chips in and let them actually smoke/burn with the charcoal, not mess with the packet. Packet is for gas grill.

Edit: Thinking about your temperature question, unless he had the thing ceramic grill levels of ripping hot, it should be fine. I cooked some sockeye last night at 375 and threw in a chunk of wood to smoke it and it came out nicely smoked. Pork back ribs are ~250 so even if he missed by a lot they would have come out tough and not that sooty.

sellouts fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jul 5, 2013

# ? Jul 5, 2013 17:52

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

They came out tough and sooty. He also had a pan of water in there because someone said to.

I think he had the heat way too high, probably had the meat on too soon, and god knows what else. These things were awful.

edit: To keep the heat down, I guess keep the bottom vent closed?

# ? Jul 5, 2013 17:58

unknown: Nov 16, 2002; Ain't got no stinking title yet!

Being up in Canada, I've never seen tri-tip steaks available normally. (Not a common cut here) But my butcher got a whole bunch in, so I snagged one.

Anyone got any recommendations for smoking it?

Everything I've read so far is basically "smoke it at 225-250 until the internal temp is like 140F".

# ? Jul 5, 2013 20:53

Jo3sh: Oct 19, 2002; Like all girls I love unicorns!

That's basically what I do. A lot of people think it's an odd cut to smoke (and it kind of is, because it's tender enough to use for grilling), but I think it's delicious. I put on a Santa Maria rub overnight and then smoke it.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 20:57

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Did a ton of cooking for the 4th.

Main course was pulled pork:

After the butt was done I still had a ton of coals left so we started just throwing stuff on the smoker. Fresh corn, remove the silk, rub with butter and sprinkle with lime juice and chili powder, then smoke hot until cooked. poo poo was insane. I might do the rest of the bag the sameway tomorrow. We also threw a few peaches on there and they were amazing as well. Going to do the rest of them tomorrow as well.

We also did this:

Rotten-ish log with a hole in the middle. We packed it full of charcoal and lit it. When the coals fell through we stuffed it full of mint cut from the field behind the house to smolder and keep the bugs away. After a few hours, it got so hot from the chimney effect that we were able to melt a glass bottle laid over the hole. I am totally going to rummage through the woods for more hollow logs.

# ? Jul 5, 2013 21:42

Mach420: Jun 22, 2002; Bandit at 6 'o clock - Pull my finger

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

They came out tough and sooty. He also had a pan of water in there because someone said to.

I think he had the heat way too high, probably had the meat on too soon, and god knows what else. These things were awful.

edit: To keep the heat down, I guess keep the bottom vent closed?

The smoke's taste was the thick white smoke. Thin blue is what you want, and you get that with properly seasoned wood burning at the right temperature. Thin blue is tasty. Thick white, dark gray, and dark yellow smoke are nasty, nastier, and nastiest, in that order.

I see you're using coals, so try adding the wood earlier, then let the wood "cook" for a little while. That'll dry it out some and gives it time to release all the nasty stuff that makes for white smoke. After it dies down to thin blue smoke, put your meat on.

My general workflow for a weber smokey mountain style smoker is basically...

1. Start off about 10-15 briquettes or the equivalent in lump charcoal in a chimney.
2. Throw a mix of wood chunks and charcoal into the charcoal basket. An 8 pound pork shoulder needs smoke wood chunks equal to two small closed fists in my experience. Have 1 chunk of wood level with the top of the coal pile and the other chunks buried at various depths inside the coal pile. If you have a vertical smoker, read up on the minion method of lighting a coal pile. This is what I do.
3. Charcoal chimney's going good. Dump it on top of the pile of charcoal.
4. Vents wide open, intake and exhaust. Watch the temperature after a few minutes. You will probably be getting thick white or grayish smoke at this point. I also add the water pan at this point.
5. As it starts nearing 180-200F, start closing the intake vent to begin your temperature control. It's better to let it get up to temp slowly then to overshoot and try to bring it down from 300F. Stay by the smoker and look at the thermometer every 5 minutes. Close the vents down more and more as you get closer to temp.
6. About half an hour to 45 minutes after adding the lit charcoal, your pit should be close to the proper temperature and the smoke should be thinning out and turning blue. Once this happens, put the food on. The smoke may turn thick white again because you opened the bbq, but don't worry. It should thin itself back to blue after a while as long as you don't keep opening the thing up to peek at the food.
7. After this, I check grate temperatures every hour or so. Maybe give the coals a stir after several hours to knock off the ash, etc.

As far as my suggestions, try and get some chunk wood instead of chips. They're so much easier to use. Fist size is good.

Water pan is good for temperature control. If your fire is a 300F fire, the water pan will help keep it around 225 or so. It's a decent crutch to use if your fire control isn't quite there yet. You want to find the smallest intake vent setting that will maintain your temperature. If you want to smoke above 225F, like chicken, for example, take out the water pan or you won't get the temps you need.

On that note, your pit temp will drop when you put in your cold food. You could leave it alone and accept it or you can temporarily bump the vents open a bit more to make up for that, but then again, an hour or two later, you could have a fire that's going too hot if you don't watch it. Your choice.

Most important thing is to give it some time to warm up. Don't rush the preheat and your BBQ will come out much better, and the fire will be of a better quality too.

You can't unsmoke something that's too smokey. You want to go easy on the smoke wood until you get a feel for how much smokiness you prefer.

Mach420 fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Jul 6, 2013

# ? Jul 6, 2013 00:39

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Mach420 posted:

You can't unsmoke something that's too smokey. You want to go easy on the smoke wood until you get a feel for how much smokiness you prefer.

Yeah, I think I oversmoked the pork I posted above but everyone seemed to love it so idk. I think that good BBQ is so hard to find in MD that people have very low standards. I used like one fist sized chunk of hickory and maybe like 2-3 chunks of cherry wood. It is a huge pain to try and saw off thick chunks of wood so I usually end up with like 6-8" by 2" thick sticks and I think they burn too fast.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 00:52

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Mach420 posted:

The smoke's taste was the thick white smoke. Thin blue is what you want, and you get that with properly seasoned wood burning at the right temperature. Thin blue is tasty. Thick white, dark gray, and dark yellow smoke are nasty, nastier, and nastiest, in that order.

I see you're using coals, so try adding the wood earlier, then let the wood "cook" for a little while. That'll dry it out some and gives it time to release all the nasty stuff that makes for white smoke. After it dies down to thin blue smoke, put your meat on.

My general workflow for a weber smokey mountain style smoker is basically...

1. Start off about 10-15 briquettes or the equivalent in lump charcoal in a chimney.
2. Throw a mix of wood chunks and charcoal into the charcoal basket. An 8 pound pork shoulder needs smoke wood chunks equal to two small closed fists in my experience. Have 1 chunk of wood level with the top of the coal pile and the other chunks buried at various depths inside the coal pile. If you have a vertical smoker, read up on the minion method of lighting a coal pile. This is what I do.
3. Charcoal chimney's going good. Dump it on top of the pile of charcoal.
4. Vents wide open, intake and exhaust. Watch the temperature after a few minutes. You will probably be getting thick white or grayish smoke at this point. I also add the water pan at this point.
5. As it starts nearing 180-200F, start closing the intake vent to begin your temperature control. It's better to let it get up to temp slowly then to overshoot and try to bring it down from 300F. Stay by the smoker and look at the thermometer every 5 minutes. Close the vents down more and more as you get closer to temp.
6. About half an hour to 45 minutes after adding the lit charcoal, your pit should be close to the proper temperature and the smoke should be thinning out and turning blue. Once this happens, put the food on. The smoke may turn thick white again because you opened the bbq, but don't worry. It should thin itself back to blue after a while as long as you don't keep opening the thing up to peek at the food.
7. After this, I check grate temperatures every hour or so. Maybe give the coals a stir after several hours to knock off the ash, etc.

As far as my suggestions, try and get some chunk wood instead of chips. They're so much easier to use. Fist size is good.

Water pan is good for temperature control. If your fire is a 300F fire, the water pan will help keep it around 225 or so. It's a decent crutch to use if your fire control isn't quite there yet. You want to find the smallest intake vent setting that will maintain your temperature. If you want to smoke above 225F, like chicken, for example, take out the water pan or you won't get the temps you need.

On that note, your pit temp will drop when you put in your cold food. You could leave it alone and accept it or you can temporarily bump the vents open a bit more to make up for that, but then again, an hour or two later, you could have a fire that's going too hot if you don't watch it. Your choice.

Most important thing is to give it some time to warm up. Don't rush the preheat and your BBQ will come out much better, and the fire will be of a better quality too.

You can't unsmoke something that's too smokey. You want to go easy on the smoke wood until you get a feel for how much smokiness you prefer.

Great advice, thanks. I will help him give it another shot!

# ? Jul 6, 2013 03:19

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

I used lump charcoal in my WSM and found that once I had enough gunk on the inside the vents at about. 25-33% open gave me a solid 250 dome with no water in water pan.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 03:43

Mach420: Jun 22, 2002; Bandit at 6 'o clock - Pull my finger

I said something dumb. If you need to smoke chicken, say at 325-350F, don't take out the water pan. Leave it there but don't put any water in it. Happy smoking!

# ? Jul 6, 2013 06:04

McSpankWich: Aug 31, 2005; Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. Sounds charming.

So a guy down the street from my moms house cut down a giant oak tree he had and gave me a huge thing of firewood cut logs and things.

What do I need to do to it to be able to smoke with it? Do I have to take off the bark or otherwise prepare it somehow? Can I just toss it in a tree chipper?

# ? Jul 6, 2013 13:18

Nhilist: Jul 29, 2004; I like it quiet in here

This is the largest brisket I think I have ever seen.

Really liking the Acorn thus far

Curious to see how well it holds the temp.

Nhilist fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jul 6, 2013

# ? Jul 6, 2013 16:13

Crazy Dutchman: Oct 20, 2004

Mach420 posted:

I said something dumb. If you need to smoke chicken, say at 325-350F, don't take out the water pan. Leave it there but don't put any water in it. Happy smoking!

Some people will put a container, like a disposable pie pan, to collect drippings (not just for chicken, either).

# ? Jul 6, 2013 16:17

vulturesrow: Sep 25, 2011; _{Always gotta pay it forward.}

Nhilist posted:

This is the largest brisket I think I have ever seen.

Really liking the Acorn thus far

Curious to see how well it holds the temp.

Out of curiousity, how is that Taylor thermometer holding up? I'm looking for a budget alternative to the Maverick. I found a good 20$ instant read (from Thermooworks) that I really like and I'm hoping there is something I can score for leave-in thermometers as well.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 16:20

Nhilist: Jul 29, 2004; I like it quiet in here

vulturesrow posted:

Out of curiousity, how is that Taylor thermometer holding up? I'm looking for a budget alternative to the Maverick. I found a good 20$ instant read (from Thermooworks) that I really like and I'm hoping there is something I can score for leave-in thermometers as well.

Well, funny you should ask, it just took a dump on itself, not sure if it was the battery, although I rarely use it, after shaking it like a martini shaker, it started working again. I'm thinking you get what you pay for, I left my good thermometer at a friends house, I think I'm going over there this afternoon to reclaim it.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 16:51

Mach420: Jun 22, 2002; Bandit at 6 'o clock - Pull my finger

Crazy Dutchman posted:

Some people will put a container, like a disposable pie pan, to collect drippings (not just for chicken, either).

Yea, that's a fantastic way to make delicious BBQ baked beans from pulled pork drippings. The juice can also be mixed back into whatever you're smoking if they come out a bit bland and dry for whatever reason.

McSpankWich posted:

So a guy down the street from my moms house cut down a giant oak tree he had and gave me a huge thing of firewood cut logs and things.

What do I need to do to it to be able to smoke with it? Do I have to take off the bark or otherwise prepare it somehow? Can I just toss it in a tree chipper?

Strip the bark off and let it sit around in a covered, warm and dry place for a few months to get rid of the water in the wood. At that point, it'll be seasoned firewood and be good to go.

Mach420 fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jul 6, 2013

# ? Jul 6, 2013 17:23

Doom Rooster: Sep 3, 2008; Pillbug

I am burying a whole pig tonight, and have done a lot of reading up on it, and watching videos, but I wanted to see if I could get some Goon Wisdom as well before I start.

The plan for the 65lb pig:

Hose off/dry pig
Drink beer
Thoroughly salt/rub the entire outside of the pig
Inject flavorful liquid
Wrap in parchment paper
Drink beer
Wrap in washed/soaked burlap
wrap in chicken wire
Dig hole 6x4x2 (This will be done way beforehand)
Drink beer
2.5 hours of building fire, adding wood, burning down to coals (Using oak firewood)
Lay 40lbs of charcoal on top of coals and let catch (Is this necessary if I have a large enough bed of coals already? My buddy said that he did this and it turned out great, but I am guessing it doesn't really do anything)
Drink beer
Drink beer
Drink beer
Spread coals evenly
Set down 8 cinder blocks to rest the pig on
Place pig skin side down
Quickly fill hole back up with dirt
Drink whiskey
Drink whiskey
Dig pig back up after 12 hours
Determine if pig needs to rest/cool
Drink beer
Pull with silicone gloves
Drink beer

Is there anything that I am missing? Any tips from Goons who have done this before? Thanks very much.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 17:32

GEEKABALL: May 30, 2011; Throw out your hands!!
Stick out your tush!!
Hands on your hips
Give them a push!!; Fun Shoe

vulturesrow posted:

Out of curiousity, how is that Taylor thermometer holding up? I'm looking for a budget alternative to the Maverick. I found a good 20$ instant read (from Thermooworks) that I really like and I'm hoping there is something I can score for leave-in thermometers as well.

Nhilist posted:

Well, funny you should ask, it just took a dump on itself, not sure if it was the battery, although I rarely use it, after shaking it like a martini shaker, it started working again. I'm thinking you get what you pay for, I left my good thermometer at a friends house, I think I'm going over there this afternoon to reclaim it.

I have one - it works well for a $10.00 - $15.00 Wallyworld special. But, if you leave it in direct sun right next to your smoker it will overheat and stop working.
A better electronic thermometer is next on my list to purchase for my smoking kit.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 19:11

Nhilist: Jul 29, 2004; I like it quiet in here

GEEKABALL posted:

I have one - it works well for a $10.00 - $15.00 Wallyworld special. But, if you leave it in direct sun right next to your smoker it will overheat and stop working.
A better electronic thermometer is next on my list to purchase for my smoking kit.

Yep, I think that is exactly what happened, once I brought it inside in the cool it started behaving again.

On a second note and sorry for the crappy pic but, whelp, if we can't be at Tujaques we will just do it ourselves. The brisket turned out well.

# ? Jul 6, 2013 21:55

jonathan: Jul 3, 2005; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Can someone list the cuts of pig and cow that can be BBQ'd ? In Canada we have a lot of cuts that seem reasonably priced but I never hear them mentioned,

Such as Inside Round...

# ? Jul 6, 2013 23:50

Huge_Midget: Jun 6, 2002; I don't like the look of it...

Over the holiday weekend I did a 9 lb pork shoulder on my WSM. Smoked it over apple and hickory using the Renowned Mr. Brown recipe from the Virtual Bullet website. My god was it delicious.

Meat with the rub getting ready to go on the smoker.

Meat after just over 12 hour at a steady 250 the entire time.

Made some jalapeno poppers with homemade bacon that I had previously cured and smoked. The bacon and the pork shoulder are both from a whole Berkshire hog that I bought last fall. I was going to grill them but the WSM was still running from after the shoulder came off so I said gently caress it lets smoke 'em. That was a wise decision.

# ? Jul 7, 2013 07:06

vulturesrow: Sep 25, 2011; _{Always gotta pay it forward.}

jonathan posted:

Can someone list the cuts of pig and cow that can be BBQ'd ? In Canada we have a lot of cuts that seem reasonably priced but I never hear them mentioned,

Such as Inside Round...

With few exceptions, you want to BBQ cuts that are tough with lots of connective tissue and some fat. Very lean cuts can be put on a smoker but they require a lot of care. The long cooking process breaks down all the connective tissue in the cut and ultimately turns a pretty tough cut into a tender and tasty bit of meat. Without that element it tends to get very dry.

As for the inside round specifically, its a pretty lean cut of meat for beef although it is fairly tender due to where its taken from. Pretty decent for braising but I'd probably steer away from BBQing it.

# ? Jul 7, 2013 07:24

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Smoked Corn was so good on the 4th I am doing up the rest.

Shuck corn, butter, sprinkle with ancho powder and lime juice.

Added a layer of wet husks to the bottom rack:

Piled the corn on top. I added the rest of my peaches to the top rack but didn't get a picture.

I might make a version of Elote with it.

# ? Jul 7, 2013 20:44

unknown: Nov 16, 2002; Ain't got no stinking title yet!

Whoa whoa whoa! You can smoke corn on the cob??

Temp and time to cook?

# ? Jul 7, 2013 21:23

Choadmaster: Oct 7, 2004; I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!

Doom Rooster posted:

Is there anything that I am missing? Any tips from Goons who have done this before? Thanks very much.

The only thing I've ever buried is a pile of tritips; totally different scale, but it was delicious. I want to know how your pig turns out!

# ? Jul 7, 2013 22:47

MixxMaster: Sep 15, 2005

I did smoked corn, kept the inner layer of husks on, just removed all the hairs, added some butter then rolled the husks back over, then smoked it at 225 for about an hour...really good flavor.

# ? Jul 7, 2013 23:44

TouchyMcFeely: Aug 21, 2006; High five! Hell yeah!

Doom Rooster posted:

I am burying a whole pig tonight, and have done a lot of reading up on it, and watching videos, but I wanted to see if I could get some Goon Wisdom as well before I start.

Is there anything that I am missing? Any tips from Goons who have done this before? Thanks very much.

I did a buried pig last summer and it turned out great! The real trick is to make sure you get your fire raging hot and that you have enough coals to last the 12ish hours. If your pit starts to die out before you're ready to pull the pig you've got a problem.

One thing that helps for this is to line your pit with bricks or stones. They'll pickup the heat from the fire and continue to stay hot well after your pig is done.

This year rather than burying the pig we're going to do it rotisserie style. We've already acquired a 170lb capacity rotisserie. I'm just in the process of fabricating a burn barrel to go underneath it.

Good luck and post pictures. Pig roasts are friggin' sweet!

# ? Jul 8, 2013 00:43

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

MixxMaster posted:

I did smoked corn, kept the inner layer of husks on, just removed all the hairs, added some butter then rolled the husks back over, then smoked it at 225 for about an hour...really good flavor.

Yep, more or less this. However this time it was a bit too smokey, last time all the wood had burnt off. When I do it again as am going to go way way light on the wood.

Also I didn't even check temp, just went out and poked the corn with a knife tip every 30-45m.

# ? Jul 8, 2013 01:12

ixo: Sep 8, 2004; m'bloaty; Fun Shoe

Threw a 4 lb pork shoulder on this morning, and after a nice 8 hours @ 225f, my thermometer tells me the meat is.... 151f :whoptc:

Into the oven it goes, and after about 5 minutes in a 300f oven, a different thermometer tells me the meat is... 211f! :shepface:

it is still not pullable, so this is more and more looking like an evening to throw my thermometers in the garbage, order pizza and shop for a new maverick on amazon.

# ? Jul 8, 2013 01:16

PhotoKirk: Jul 2, 2007; insert witty text here

ixo posted:

Threw a 4 lb pork shoulder on this morning, and after a nice 8 hours @ 225f, my thermometer tells me the meat is.... 151f

Into the oven it goes, and after about 5 minutes in a 300f oven, a different thermometer tells me the meat is... 211f! it is still not pullable, so this is more and more looking like an evening to throw my thermometers in the garbage, order pizza and shop for a new maverick on amazon.

What thermometers are you using?

Just finished a 10# brisket for chopped beef, smoked 35# of pork butt yesterday. Life is good.

The TV show airs again at 9/8AM on Sunday if anyone missed it.

# ? Jul 8, 2013 01:39

Doom Rooster: Sep 3, 2008; Pillbug

Well, the whole pig roast was a learning experience. Which is to say, a complete, abject failure that yielded no edible meat, a pretty horrible smell and a 70lb bio hazard to dispose of.

We could tell as soon as we peeled back the burlap(with about 15 people watching in anticipation. Joy.) that it was not supposed to smell like that. When we got the parchment off, poking at the meat yielded a completely rubbery texture.

We apparently did not have even close to enough coals. Also, it was pretty obvious by the way the manager's voice sounded when I called the day before to confirm pickup time, that the place I ordered it from had not actually ordered it, and he called me back an hour later after "confirming with the distributor that the delivery was still on schedule". When we picked it up, it was deep frozen, solid as a rock. I put it in a cooler, with a running warm water hose in the cavity for about 4 hours, and it was then pliable. When using the injector though, I could feel that the meat was still partially frozen. We were about to be overdue for putting it on the fire already, and we thought that we had plenty of coals after 2 hours of burning, so we put it on anyway.

We were wrong. I managed to stomach the smell long enough to temp the pig out of morbid curiousity, which turned out to be at a balmy 118f.

Lessons for next time:

1) Bigger fire, longer, for more coals
2) Find a better butcher, or call them 2-3 days in advance as well to confirm, so it has a chance to thaw out
3) Shovel some coals on top of the pig before burying it

Silver Linings:

1) It was actually a blast hanging out with 4 friends, digging a big hole, prepping a pig, and drinking beer. A badass neighbor taking his horses out saw what we were doing, thought it was awesome, so decided to chill out, then brought out his chainsaw and helped us cut up a big dead pecan tree for firewood.
2) We found a pretty solid BBQ place only 2 miles from the house that got us enough meat to serve 20 people in under 30 minutes.
3) My company was footing the entire bill anyway, so I wasn't actually out the $300 for the ruined pig.

Even though the result was a disaster, the process was so much fun, we already started planning the next one. Can't get any worse that this one, and we learned a lot, so we have high hopes.

# ? Jul 9, 2013 01:35

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# ? May 13, 2024 23:33

coronaball: Feb 6, 2005; You're finished, pork-o-nazi!

This weekend, I'm taking my WSM camping and I have to provide pulled pork for 15 adults, 2 kids, and 4 toddlers. I'm thinking two 5-6 pound boston butts will be sufficient. anybody disagree?

# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:27

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

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