New smoker in Denver - I love smoked meat

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

b ray77

Newbie
Original poster
May 27, 2013
4
10
Hi All - I got a Masterbuilt Extrawide Propane smoker for Christmas and am using it all the time.  Just cooking whole chickens is amazing, I've tried brisket, brats, salmon, pork loin and chops.  I can't believe how good things taste coming out of this thing.  And thanks so much to this forum for giving me advice as a newbie.  Decided to join in - hope to give back but have a question right now...

I've been using the stock door thermometer, but never felt it was trusty.  The wife gave me a Maverick Redi-Chek ET-73 so I'm putting it through the paces this weekend - Happy Memorial Day everyone and thoughts to our vets.  I cooked chicken and brats Friday and everything turned out fine.  Yesterday I started a 5.5 pound pork shoulder at 9:30am hoping to eat it for dinner, which I found was not realistic.  Here's a summary of the day:

9:30am - Meat in (w/ mustard and rub on it from night before), smoker reading 225 on my new thermometer, about 190 on the original smoker one.

1pm - Kept smoker temp at 225 +/-.  Put temp probe in meat and it read 140.  Original door therm. reading about 190.

3:30pm - Meat probe reading at 150.

5pm - Meat at 160.

5:30 - dinner guests arrive

6:30 - Meat at 165.  We eat tacos.

10:30pm - Meat at 172.

2am - Meat at 176.  I take it out, wrap in foil and put in oven at 210 degrees, afraid something is wrong I just want to get it up to temp and ask the forum if it is edible.

8:30am - Meat at 200.  I take out and am letting it sit.  Maybe last nights dinner can be today's lunch?

So I've got it resting in foil.  I'll post pics once I take it out, but when I transfered it at 2am it was looking delicious.  A couple of questions:

- Is it normal for a 5.5 pounder to take 23 hours?

- From reading other posts, it is probably safe to eat, but I'd like to make sure...  this thing is edible, right?  No bacteria problems with this long of a cook?  Don't want to get my 2 and 4 year olds sick, or the mother in law.

- I haven't had a chance to check my new thermometer, but does it sound like something is off?  It was great using it, I could keep my temp right around 225 the whole time, feeling good about it from a distance.  But the difference with the door therm. and the long cook time have me concerned.

- I had my smoker probe next to the meat, is this a bad idea?

Thanks for any help.  I'll post pics.  And thanks so much for the forum.

Brian
 
Welcome to the forums! Glad you've joined us. You've found a great place to learn and share ideas on our favorite pastime...grilling and smoking great food! There are lots of friendly and knowledgeable people here who really enjoy helping one another. Just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.

23 hours for a 5.5 lb. is pretty long, but not unheard of. It was in the dreaded stall for quite a long time. You can actually smoke a butt at considerably higher temps with good results. I do them at 250 or higher most of the time. It tends to shorten cook time quite a bit. It sounds like you have nothing to worry about, you didn't probe it until IT was 140, and it was within the acceptable danger zone limits of 40-140 in 4 hours.

Red
 
Last edited:
We welcome you to the Family. But , you must send us some Q-view. Not as proof , but as incentive to get up and top ya
ROTF.gif
.

Have fun and as always . . .
 
Great, thanks Red!  

Other quick questions:  I didn't trim the fat before cooking.  Does that make a difference?  

Also, how long can I let it rest, I'd like to let it sit for about 3 hours then eat for lunch.  Are there any rules of thumb for this?

So nice to get feedback about this stuff.  Thanks!!
 
Hi Brian! :welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it!

The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

Would you do us a favor and add your location to your profile, it helps others to know where you are when they offer advice, Thanks!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-Course, it will teach you all the basics plus a whole lot more!
 
welcome1.gif
to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! Happy Memorial Day!
smilie_flagge13.gif


If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/terms-of-service

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat
 
Ok, here's the final results.  Tasted great.  Everyone said it was out of this world, I think it might have been a touch dry but yummmmm.  Spicy brown mustard rub seemed to give it a little kick, maybe?  I might give it more smoke next time, too.

 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky