So yesterday, I christened the new MES 30" / AMNPS combo set up with some pulled pork.
SMOKING DETAILS
I bought an 8lb pork butt from Peoria Packing in Chicago (which is a meat smoker's and griller's paradise, by the way). Used an Oklahoma Joe's knock off rub since they make the single best BBQ I've ever had. Wood pellets were a 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry wood.
My MES ran about 10 degrees hotter in reality than what the controller said (the Maverick ET732 was rock solid). For time reasons, I had it dialed in between 245 and 250 for the full smoke to try and shed a little time. It went on at 6:00am, foiled at 175° and 2:00pm, came off at 195° and 7:30pm, had a 30 minute rest, then we dug in at 8:00pm for dinner.
QVIEW
The rig:
Right out of the smoker:
After pulling:
Pulled pork, a little sauce, cole slaw, pretzel roll, and some good St Louis Urban Chestnut Brewing Winged Nut Ale:
LESSONS LEARNED
For my first smoke, I was pretty pleased overall. But I learned a ton.
First, It took me about an hour and a half to get the pellets smoking correctly. I cannot understate how important it is that everyone follow Todd's instructions for the AMNPS. I finally settled on this setup: chip tray out 1" and the chip loader all the way pushed in. I was having a lot of trouble keeping the pellets lit over the first 90 minutes, but that air flow setup really helped a ton. It is also really important to follow the directions for lighting the pellets. When I first lit it, I doubt I kept the torch on the pellets for longer than 15 seconds. I saw a quick flame and left to go keep prepping the pork. When I came back, the fire was out but there was smoke. I thought "sweet, it's ready!" But it wasn't. You really need some good embers in the AMNPS so I'll be a lot better about that next time.
Second, I really pushed the process as fast as I could. I didn't realize my smoking times would run as long, so I ran the smoker a bit hot (near 245° for most of it), I fell back to foiling, and I think that I didn't get as good of bark development as I could have. Next time, with an 8 lb butt, I'll start the thing at 2:00am, won't foil, and keep the temps down near 225° to try and promote a crustier bark development.
Third, since I lost 90 minutes up front due to constantly having to try and re-light the pellets, I was afraid that my window for smoke absorption was rapidly dwindling. As a reaction, when I finally followed Todd's lighting instructions on the AMNPS, I lit it on both ends to try and force more smoke into the meat before I lost the chance for absorption. Not sure what impact that had, but I'll aim for a little less smoke, starting right away, through out a longer cook time on the next run I make with the MES.
Fourth, I loved the idea of using someone else's rub recipe as a base, and I now have some edits I'll make to it. More garlic/onion/sugar, less paprika/chili powder.
QUESTIONS
1) In the second photo above (right out of the smoker), there's an orange-ish patch on the bark that was a bit gummy in texture. I'm guessing that's from where I had way too much rub applied. Is that ever possible, to over-rub a pork butt?
2) My Maverick thermometer had a little black circle with an arrow on it kind of like this appear on the bottom left corner of the display about eight hours into smoking. Any idea what this thing is and what it means? I can't find a mention of it anywhere in the instruction manuals or online.
3) Does anyone salt their meat after shredding it? I found it needed a little salt in the flavor department, and I'm not sure if that's something I can accomplish with the rub, or if it's acceptable to salt after it's off the smoker and has been pulled.
WRAP UP
That's it! I know this was long winded--and I feel bad for my girlfriend who has had to listen to too many explanations of "what I learned on SMF today"--but thank you for reading and I'm eager for round two.
SMOKING DETAILS
I bought an 8lb pork butt from Peoria Packing in Chicago (which is a meat smoker's and griller's paradise, by the way). Used an Oklahoma Joe's knock off rub since they make the single best BBQ I've ever had. Wood pellets were a 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry wood.
My MES ran about 10 degrees hotter in reality than what the controller said (the Maverick ET732 was rock solid). For time reasons, I had it dialed in between 245 and 250 for the full smoke to try and shed a little time. It went on at 6:00am, foiled at 175° and 2:00pm, came off at 195° and 7:30pm, had a 30 minute rest, then we dug in at 8:00pm for dinner.
QVIEW
The rig:
Right out of the smoker:
After pulling:
Pulled pork, a little sauce, cole slaw, pretzel roll, and some good St Louis Urban Chestnut Brewing Winged Nut Ale:
LESSONS LEARNED
For my first smoke, I was pretty pleased overall. But I learned a ton.
First, It took me about an hour and a half to get the pellets smoking correctly. I cannot understate how important it is that everyone follow Todd's instructions for the AMNPS. I finally settled on this setup: chip tray out 1" and the chip loader all the way pushed in. I was having a lot of trouble keeping the pellets lit over the first 90 minutes, but that air flow setup really helped a ton. It is also really important to follow the directions for lighting the pellets. When I first lit it, I doubt I kept the torch on the pellets for longer than 15 seconds. I saw a quick flame and left to go keep prepping the pork. When I came back, the fire was out but there was smoke. I thought "sweet, it's ready!" But it wasn't. You really need some good embers in the AMNPS so I'll be a lot better about that next time.
Second, I really pushed the process as fast as I could. I didn't realize my smoking times would run as long, so I ran the smoker a bit hot (near 245° for most of it), I fell back to foiling, and I think that I didn't get as good of bark development as I could have. Next time, with an 8 lb butt, I'll start the thing at 2:00am, won't foil, and keep the temps down near 225° to try and promote a crustier bark development.
Third, since I lost 90 minutes up front due to constantly having to try and re-light the pellets, I was afraid that my window for smoke absorption was rapidly dwindling. As a reaction, when I finally followed Todd's lighting instructions on the AMNPS, I lit it on both ends to try and force more smoke into the meat before I lost the chance for absorption. Not sure what impact that had, but I'll aim for a little less smoke, starting right away, through out a longer cook time on the next run I make with the MES.
Fourth, I loved the idea of using someone else's rub recipe as a base, and I now have some edits I'll make to it. More garlic/onion/sugar, less paprika/chili powder.
QUESTIONS
1) In the second photo above (right out of the smoker), there's an orange-ish patch on the bark that was a bit gummy in texture. I'm guessing that's from where I had way too much rub applied. Is that ever possible, to over-rub a pork butt?
2) My Maverick thermometer had a little black circle with an arrow on it kind of like this appear on the bottom left corner of the display about eight hours into smoking. Any idea what this thing is and what it means? I can't find a mention of it anywhere in the instruction manuals or online.
3) Does anyone salt their meat after shredding it? I found it needed a little salt in the flavor department, and I'm not sure if that's something I can accomplish with the rub, or if it's acceptable to salt after it's off the smoker and has been pulled.
WRAP UP
That's it! I know this was long winded--and I feel bad for my girlfriend who has had to listen to too many explanations of "what I learned on SMF today"--but thank you for reading and I'm eager for round two.
