Pulled Pork :: New here and first attempt

[tumbleweed1]

Looks good!

I use an MES30" as well & recently did a 9 pounder in about 8.5 hours (never foiling & not stalling more than anhour or so), going at what the smoker said was 275 (it's max), but with swings from 250-280.

Butt is very forgiving & will still be moist using the "hot & fast" method, in case you're ever pressed for time. And you get all that nice bark when you don't use the crutch.

TW

 

[johnnyrod]

Sorry for the delay Cael! I did 2 butts, for a total of about 15 pounds. I suspect that was a big reason for extending the cooking time. I didn't use any foil, electing to just let it power through on its own this time around. It did stall for quite some time, so i eventually bumped the heat to 250 to try and help it as I was short on time. 

I plan on getting an AMPS, I just wanted to give it a whirl without for the first attempt. The other problem is that I have the newer gen MES, so the AMPS would have to sit on a rack and take up space. Not a huge deal depending on what I'm cooking I suppose, but not as ideal as tucking it underneath like the older MESs. 

 

[beefy bill]

The amount of meat doesn't really affect the time. If the chamber temp can stay consistent it won't really matter. If they're too close together would affect it, because they can't cook from all sides. The time isn't too far off from normal I'd say, given the temp. And no foiling. There are guys here who do butts as high as 275-300 and they say there's no difference in tender Ness or taste, And it cuts down times. I'll bet your bark was awesome...

 

[tumbleweed1]

The amount of meat doesn't really affect the time. If the chamber temp can stay consistent it won't really matter. If they're too close together would affect it, because they can't cook from all sides. The time isn't too far off from normal I'd say, given the temp. And no foiling. There are guys here who do butts as high as 275-300 and they say there's no difference in tender Ness or taste, And it cuts down times. I'll bet your bark was awesome...

I would agree.

TW

 

[beefy bill]

I had it in a cooler for 4 hours and it was definitely still warm.  So its more a question of keeping it warm vs the sweating messing up the meat?  No prob there.  You could even keep it in a warming drawer in the oven no?

I wrap mine at 160 and finish in the oven so I don't basically waste my propane. It ain't taking any more smoke anyway. Once it hits 203 I'll turn the oven down to 160 and leave it there for a few hrs until I'm ready to pull it. So yes, leaving in the oven wrapped on the lowest setting is fine

 

[ibdagriz]

 If you get the 5 x 8 AMNPS it will fit next to the heating element cover on the left side near the bottom.

 Griz