Hi all, new to the board...sorta new to smoking.. looking for some input on a New years day smoke

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uga dawg smoker

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 30, 2010
4
10
Ok so i know my way around a smoker but everything I smoke is plain and simple..This saturday, I'll be entertaining some friends for new years to watch some football.  I have a deer hind quarter thawing and just bought a 5 lb pork picnic.  I was hoping you guys could offer some advice: both for the picnic (I swear this time I'm gonna get this thing to be tender enough to pull which I always seem to fail at), and for the venison.  Im thinking about injecting the venison with some garlic butter and covering it in bacon..in addition i figure ill smoke the picnic right above it to drop some juices on it.  I know to cook the venison until an internal temp of ~140 is reached but should I wrap it for part of the smoke? What smoking temp to you guys recommend?

thanks in advance...oh and please offer some input on the picnic as well cause everytime I smoke one it never seems to be tender enough to pull...I realize this is pretty pathetic..seeing as how this is such a fatty-hard to screw up-cut.

Uga Dawg
 
Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. Your plan for the venison sounds pretty good I don't normally foil them until they reach 140 then I take them off and foil them wrap that in a towel and into a warm dry cooler for at least an hour. This will allow time for the juices to redistribute into the meat. As for the Pulled Pork here's a link to a great way to do them if you follow the directions it will pull and taste great.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/57139/basic-pulled-pork-smoke

If you want to take the taste of the Pulled Pork to the next level make some of this and add it to the finished pork just before serving

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/49892/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork  

Have fun and have a great smoke
 
I don't know anything at all about venison the way it cooks. For your pork, I'd steady smoke up to an internal temp of 140-145 before you do any foiling. What type of cooker/smoker will you be using? Someone on here will be able to provide you with some pointers in that respect as all of them smoke a little bit different, especially since you will be smoking two different kinds of meat.

I'd recommend a temp around 220-225 especially in the beginning this should help with your smoke penetration. What I do after 145 is increase to about 235 degrees, wrap two thirds of the way through and then finish it off unwrapped for about 45 minutes to *170 before resting it tented under foil for at least 30 minutes prior to pulling maybe even in a small cooler up to an hour. For that cut of meat you probably want to keep the temp. steady at around 225 and probably just skip the foiling while cooking IMO. Plus, you can get a nice crunchy bark you can chop up to combine into the "mix".  Time is one if not the most important considerations going low and slow. And, I'd recommend going on the light side with the smoke/wood used. Sometimes we can easily ruin a good piece of meat that way then you can increase the smoking wood amounts used with more experience.

There is an awesome finishing sauce on the forum courtesy of SoFlaQuer:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/51933/soflaquer-s-finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork

This is what I did the other night with a few minor adjustments.

1 C. Rice Vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp. Dark Muscovado Sugar

1 tsp. Mignonette Pepper (Black Pepper, White Pepper, Coriander)

1 tsp. Cackalacky Spice Sauce

1 tsp. Aleppo Pepper Flakes

Heat vinegar on stove top in sauce pan under medium heat. Stir in sugar till dissolved, reduce to medium low. Add pepper and sauce. Remove from heat covered, cool and add to pork once pulled with a squirt bottle. I'd do this the evening before so that all the flavors meld together a little more. This is another area where less is more so, be careful to not add to much as this is more than you'll be needing for yours with too much vinegar added meat will turn to mush.

All the best, let us know how it all goes down and enjoy the football!
 
Last edited:
So the venison and port has been on the smoker since 10am.  Im using hickory wood in my new masterbuilt propane smoker and Im loving this thing.  I know the purest probably poopoo on using a propane smoker but for me the convenience is hard to beat when you have kids to chase around the house lol.  Anyway, I'm holding the temp right around 245 degrees.  The pork is now at 135 and the venison is at 130.  I'll try and get some pics up when i'm done.  I'm gonna take the venison out at 145 degrees and wrap/rest it.  Btw, I'm gonna be trying the finishing sauce pineywoods suggested! Oh, did I mention its pouring down rain here in Athens Ga?? At least it isnt windy!
 
Welcome to the SMF. I see you've gotten some good advise already, our members are friendly and willing to help you. BTW, I moved your thread to roll call so that others can welcome you. It's all good my friend. 
 
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