Smoked my first meat today....

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Jman said:
Well, then, let me quote the sage:



:D
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......
whammo.webp
 
yooper said:
Thanks for being straightforward with some real advice for once instead of just being an a******.

Yeah I won't do the oven thing, it's just wrong. You're right to call me on that.

What happened that made me go hot: My first Boston butt was smoked without a thermometer and it was fxxxing amazing, basically I cooked it until it got tender. A couple butts later I got a fancy thermometer and cooked the next one to 175° and it was a little tough. So with the next one I went to 185° and it was awesome, tender but still moist even though it took a full hour longer. I've cooked to 185° since with excellent results. I'm willing to try a lower temp again, maybe I just got a bad piece of meat that one time?

This yankee is just trying to learn. I've made some amazing BBQ in the last few years since I started. I can't fly to Alabama for a sandwich so I've got to do something...
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I experiment with Boston butts at least once a week. The local Piggly Wiggly sells butts for 89 cents a pound. Thermometers are key, and I'm just s***ting you guys with the Yankee thing. I'm a pure blooded Yankee that has lived in the south for a looong time.

I usually stay around 160-170~ish, or try to stay in that range. I start the initial fire with lump/chunk charcoal then I switch to freshly cut water oak for the rest of the smoking. I add about a pound of water oak and a few chunk charcoal pieces ever 45-60 minutes. It spikes at 350 + for about 10 minutes then the temp drops down for the remaining 35-50 minutes. When the fresh wood flames up it usually boils the water pan and just licks the edges of the meat. That is where the char comes from. I personally like the charged ends and smoky fat top.
 
Funny, I like keeping pork shoulders on for ~ 20 hrs.. Start at about 215..
End just below 200 ish

Always turns out moist and falls apart..

:meh:
 
a cookoff would be interesting. my money is on the northerners, the same way i would bet on a mexican restaurant in LA or SFO over one in mexico city.

most specialty dishes benefit from being exported somewhere else where people aren't too hidebound to use decent ingredients and experiment a little to improve on a good thing.
 
beaufort-fj60 said:
I experiment with Boston butts at least once a week. The local Piggly Wiggly sells butts for 89 cents a pound. Thermometers are key, and I'm just s***ting you guys with the Yankee thing. I'm a pure blooded Yankee that has lived in the south for a looong time.

I usually stay around 160-170~ish, or try to stay in that range. I start the initial fire with lump/chunk charcoal then I switch to freshly cut water oak for the rest of the smoking. I add about a pound of water oak and a few chunk charcoal pieces ever 45-60 minutes. It spikes at 350 + for about 10 minutes then the temp drops down for the remaining 35-50 minutes. When the fresh wood flames up it usually boils the water pan and just licks the edges of the meat. That is where the char comes from. I personally like the charged ends and smoky fat top.
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:cool:

I have a side firebox smoker., looks like this, I've modified it a bit for better temperature control:




I use chunk charcoal and hickory and supplement with apple or cherry when I can get it. Try to keep the smoker temp about 225-ish, but it will swing from 180 to 300 temporarily when I'm running out of or adding fuel.

what is water oak?
 
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