Thanks to all of the members of the Forum. I spent two months researching what kind of smoker I would like to have. I spent another month reading the vast volumes of your collective experience. The result was the best damn Boston Butt I have ever eaten. Despite my fancy, shmancy gourmet attitude I decided to go pure Oklahoma on this one. First I bought a butt bred here in NE Oklahoma. About 6.5 lbs precooked
Then I put my trust in Jeff and used his rub recipe. Note: I have posted elsewhere that I did not care for his rub. I have officially converted! The secret is the yellow mustard. My theory is that the mustard seed and tumeric blend well with the rub to marry with the paprika and sugar to make a perfect combination. Of course I HAD to use Oklahoma mustard and sauce (confession: the meat was so good, we never opened the sauce).
So I followed Jeff's recipe exactly. Used Ozark Oak Lump charcoal to get things going. Brought the heat up more with two pieces of pecan with a high limit of 250F. Continued the smoke with fist size hickory chunks when the temperaure dropped to 215. I was a bit concerned as I produced a lot of smoke initiallly. Kept the stack open to avoid creosote buildup and dampened the fire often. Everything was managed using a Maverick ET-732 with probe placed directly over end of the baffle. All this in a BellFab 24" smoker. The thick steel of the BellFab really kept the heat well. I used maybe five pounds of charcoal and 8-10 chunks of wood.
This shot was taken at the 140F alarm. I sprayed the whole thing with a mixture of 1/3 bourbon: 2/3 apple juice.
I continued to about 165F ( about five hours into the process) then decied to double wrap in foil and finish in the oven to 190. Bad weather began to develop and I didn't want to lose out on my first try. I really wanted to avoid the foil and get some more bark.
Notice the blade simply pulled out without effort.
Pulled apart nicely with just a couple of forks. We couldn't wait for it to cool off because it smelled so delicious. The end result was something this side of KICK-ASS! Again, Thank you to everyone who has spent five minutes to share both your success and failure. My best advice is to listen to the advice found within the forum. I will be conquering brisket and chicken next.
Then I put my trust in Jeff and used his rub recipe. Note: I have posted elsewhere that I did not care for his rub. I have officially converted! The secret is the yellow mustard. My theory is that the mustard seed and tumeric blend well with the rub to marry with the paprika and sugar to make a perfect combination. Of course I HAD to use Oklahoma mustard and sauce (confession: the meat was so good, we never opened the sauce).
So I followed Jeff's recipe exactly. Used Ozark Oak Lump charcoal to get things going. Brought the heat up more with two pieces of pecan with a high limit of 250F. Continued the smoke with fist size hickory chunks when the temperaure dropped to 215. I was a bit concerned as I produced a lot of smoke initiallly. Kept the stack open to avoid creosote buildup and dampened the fire often. Everything was managed using a Maverick ET-732 with probe placed directly over end of the baffle. All this in a BellFab 24" smoker. The thick steel of the BellFab really kept the heat well. I used maybe five pounds of charcoal and 8-10 chunks of wood.
This shot was taken at the 140F alarm. I sprayed the whole thing with a mixture of 1/3 bourbon: 2/3 apple juice.
I continued to about 165F ( about five hours into the process) then decied to double wrap in foil and finish in the oven to 190. Bad weather began to develop and I didn't want to lose out on my first try. I really wanted to avoid the foil and get some more bark.
Notice the blade simply pulled out without effort.
Pulled apart nicely with just a couple of forks. We couldn't wait for it to cool off because it smelled so delicious. The end result was something this side of KICK-ASS! Again, Thank you to everyone who has spent five minutes to share both your success and failure. My best advice is to listen to the advice found within the forum. I will be conquering brisket and chicken next.
