Hey everyone! New guy here, I'm from northern West Virginia, just semi-recently got into smoking.
My wife and FIL got me a Chargriller Duo for my birthday about a year and a half ago and I've been loving it. Have mostly done ribs on it so far and everyone has loved them. I work with a guy that does a lot of smoking and have read some books, and that has at least gotten me started.
I have been using Kroger brand hardwood lump, with some additional hickory chunks purchased at the store. The Kroger hardwood lump seems to have a lot of hickory in it anyway as when you open the bag it has a very strong hickory smell.
Now, this coming weekend I'm going to a get-together with some friends and I really wanted to make some pulled pork.
I tried to make a shoulder last year, smoked it for 5-6 hours and did the rest wrapped in foil (close to 10 hours total), I can't remember what I got the internal temperature up to (I think about 170 or so?), and while it tasted great it was not tender.
Does it need more time or do I need more heat? Is it a good idea to wrap it in foil? I generally have good luck keeping the temperature in my duo at around 220-230 degrees, but it seems to be very difficult to get it to go higher and stay there.
Another question I have- my brother gave me a small pile of cherry that I would like to use for the shoulder. It's all good very dry wood from a 4-5" diameter tree. I'm ruling out using the Kroger hardwood lump with it because the hickory in it will overpower the cherry. So, am I best off to use regular briquets to get it started and then put on the cherry? Should I just cook with the cherry from the get-go? Not sure what the best route is. I have a chimney starter that I usually use to start the lump charcoal on the gas side burner on the grill, could probably use it to start the wood too.
Also, how big of a deal is it if the wood still has bark on it? This stuff pretty much all has bark because it's from such a small tree, seems like it'd be difficult to remove it all.
Thanks, and it looks like this place will be very helpful!
My wife and FIL got me a Chargriller Duo for my birthday about a year and a half ago and I've been loving it. Have mostly done ribs on it so far and everyone has loved them. I work with a guy that does a lot of smoking and have read some books, and that has at least gotten me started.
I have been using Kroger brand hardwood lump, with some additional hickory chunks purchased at the store. The Kroger hardwood lump seems to have a lot of hickory in it anyway as when you open the bag it has a very strong hickory smell.
Now, this coming weekend I'm going to a get-together with some friends and I really wanted to make some pulled pork.
I tried to make a shoulder last year, smoked it for 5-6 hours and did the rest wrapped in foil (close to 10 hours total), I can't remember what I got the internal temperature up to (I think about 170 or so?), and while it tasted great it was not tender.
Does it need more time or do I need more heat? Is it a good idea to wrap it in foil? I generally have good luck keeping the temperature in my duo at around 220-230 degrees, but it seems to be very difficult to get it to go higher and stay there.
Another question I have- my brother gave me a small pile of cherry that I would like to use for the shoulder. It's all good very dry wood from a 4-5" diameter tree. I'm ruling out using the Kroger hardwood lump with it because the hickory in it will overpower the cherry. So, am I best off to use regular briquets to get it started and then put on the cherry? Should I just cook with the cherry from the get-go? Not sure what the best route is. I have a chimney starter that I usually use to start the lump charcoal on the gas side burner on the grill, could probably use it to start the wood too.
Also, how big of a deal is it if the wood still has bark on it? This stuff pretty much all has bark because it's from such a small tree, seems like it'd be difficult to remove it all.
Thanks, and it looks like this place will be very helpful!
