First Butt tomorrow! Need to impress! Have questions??!! HELP!

wmflyfisher

Newbie

Original poster

Jul 14, 2010

11

10

Nth West GA

• Apr 12, 2012

• #1

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've visited but I'm doing my first butt tomorrow. I have a few questions if you guys don't mind helping.

1) Do I need to add water to the bowl in my Brinkmann Electric Smoker or leave it empty?

2) Will I need to pre-heat the smoker before placing the butt in?

3) Anybody have a good recipe for rub?? I want a nice thick bark.

ANY help would be greatly appreciated! I have some guests coming tomorrow and I really want to impress them with my smoking skills! Thanks in advance!

 

s2k9k

AMNPS Test Group

Sep 8, 2011

11,324

182

SEUSA

• Apr 12, 2012

• #2

1: You don't "need" to add water but it might add some humidity and moister. 

2: You should always preheat your smoker and get it to the temp you want to cook at and get some TBS rolling.

3: Jeff's Rub recipe is a big favorite on here. I used Tony Chacharre's and Bad Byron's Butt Rub on 2 butts last weekend and they both were very good with a lot of bark.

Good Luck!

 

alelover

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Jul 9, 2010

4,882

169

Concord, NC, near Mt. Pleasant, 2 houses past the

• Apr 12, 2012

• #3

Make sure you have a good thermometer for checking meat temp and the one for the smoke chamber is accurate. Give yourself an extra 2 hours than what you think you'll need in case something goes sideways. There are tons of rub recipes on here. Use the search box up top there. Most use Salt, pepper, paprika and brown sugar with other spices they like. Too many variations to mention. If there's a spice you like, try it. If you don't like a spice, don't use it. Good luck. And take lots o pics.

 

kryinggame

Smoking Fanatic

Nov 16, 2007

543

30

Charlotte, NC

• Apr 12, 2012

• #4

No water;

Preheat your oven as high as it can go and then smoke on or about 225 degrees;

A lot of use use Jeff's rub;

If you have an AMNPS, I recommend hickory;

Here's Jeff's way of smoking it.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/pork-shoulder-recipe.html

And use SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce

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

 

scarbelly

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

Jul 26, 2009

14,315

73

• Apr 12, 2012

• #5

Plan for the stall and like Scott said, give yourself extra time.  Once your pork reaches temp foil it wrap in towels and leave in a cooler (no ice) for at least an hour to allow the juices to redistribute. In the cooler you can leave it wrapped in towels for 8 hours if need be and it is still going to be hot to the touch.

Good luck and don't forget the qview  

 

bama bbq

Master of the Pit

Sep 24, 2011

2,352

72

Rocket City (Huntsville) AL

• Apr 12, 2012

• #6

Others have you covered for the most part.  There are an aweful lot of good recipes for rub. I recommend the "Renowned Mr Brown".

 

rtbbq2

Master of the Pit

Mar 2, 2012

1,412

29

Minneapolis MN/Riding Country USA

• Apr 12, 2012

• #7

Ditto.....Jeff's rub is good. I also like Bad Byron rub as well as Willinghams Wham rubs. All are very good. Byrons is too spicey for some. I personally like it hot. The biggest thing I can tell you is that you should start early. I am smoking two butts tomorrow too. 2-9 lbs will be on my smoker at 4 am. It takes all day so plan on starting very early. The last two I did I slept in and put them on at 7:45 am. I pulled them at 10 pm.

 Put your rub on tonight and inject with apple juice if you want to. You can find lots of injection recipes on here if you do a search. Good luck and yes the posts above talk about a stall. It will happen so crack another beer

 and wait. It will pass. Pull the butt at 200° and let it rest an hour before you pull it.

I love pulled pork....good luck.............

 Get the camera out, we love pics........

 

wmflyfisher

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Jul 14, 2010

11

10

Nth West GA

• Apr 12, 2012

• #8

REALLY appreciate the help guys. I plan to smoke on Saturday so I will rub tomorrow and put them on early Sat morning. They are thin cut. Not like a traditional chunk butt so I'm thinking they will probably cook a little faster. None the less they should be GOOD!

 

sledhead03

Newbie

Jul 4, 2011

2

10

Washington state

• Jun 17, 2012

• #9

I use 2 of those smokers on a weekly basis I prefurer however you spell it to be filled with apple juice smoke with apple and cherry for 6-8 then put in aluminum tray and wrap to finish. Everybody has a different way of smoking so figure out what you like then tweak it to your liking .!!!!!!