It’s been awhile since I have used my cooker and work has consumed my life but this weekend it’s coming out of the garage. I am craving some good smoked eats and want to try my hand at a boston butt or a shoulder. I am looking for advice for a first-timer. I’ve played with rubs and sauces enough to know what’s going to work but I have a few questions for the community which hopefully help me along my way.
My cooker is a MES30 and I am going to be using a AMNTS (for the first time) this weekend to delivery my smoke. I purchased the twelve inch and according to the box it’ll burn for about four hours, hope it holds true there...
Here is what I do know so far about smokin’ a butt (or at least what I have read).
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Plan on 8-15 hours depending on the size
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Smoking @ 225-240º
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]Prepare yourself for a stall (that can last several hours)
[if !supportLists]4. [endif]Lots of beer (or in my case a good burbon) plus patience
[if !supportLists]5. [endif]Avoid wrapping the meat during my stall
[if !supportLists]6. [endif]Good eats await
What I’d like to know from you folks is just a couple things… Would 4 hours of actual smoke (from the AMNTS 12-inch) be plenty? Or would you refill your tube twice for ~8 hours (assuming it takes me greater than 8 hours to my pull stage) of smoking? I know there is different debate on this subject and id like to here from you on what/why about it… Some of you have said “as long as you have a TBS coming from your chimney, you can smoke as long as you want without getting a bitter/nasty taste.” Whereas others are saying “meat stops taking in smoke after X hour in your cooker.”. I am sure there is a good thread about that subject somewhere, just haven’t found it yet.
The last thing I wondered about was introducing humidity in the cabinet. I read a thread recently were it’s not really needed to keep water/juice in your water pan while you’re smoking (unless you’re doing sausage to keep the casings moist). According to the instructions for the AMNTS you shouldn’t have humidty in your cabinet or it’ll cause the AMNTS to extinguish. Any thoughts on this?
As always, thanks for the advice! I look forward to updating this thread with either disaster photos or a job well done set of photos upon completion of my smoke.
My cooker is a MES30 and I am going to be using a AMNTS (for the first time) this weekend to delivery my smoke. I purchased the twelve inch and according to the box it’ll burn for about four hours, hope it holds true there...
Here is what I do know so far about smokin’ a butt (or at least what I have read).
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Plan on 8-15 hours depending on the size
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Smoking @ 225-240º
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]Prepare yourself for a stall (that can last several hours)
[if !supportLists]4. [endif]Lots of beer (or in my case a good burbon) plus patience
[if !supportLists]5. [endif]Avoid wrapping the meat during my stall
[if !supportLists]6. [endif]Good eats await
What I’d like to know from you folks is just a couple things… Would 4 hours of actual smoke (from the AMNTS 12-inch) be plenty? Or would you refill your tube twice for ~8 hours (assuming it takes me greater than 8 hours to my pull stage) of smoking? I know there is different debate on this subject and id like to here from you on what/why about it… Some of you have said “as long as you have a TBS coming from your chimney, you can smoke as long as you want without getting a bitter/nasty taste.” Whereas others are saying “meat stops taking in smoke after X hour in your cooker.”. I am sure there is a good thread about that subject somewhere, just haven’t found it yet.
The last thing I wondered about was introducing humidity in the cabinet. I read a thread recently were it’s not really needed to keep water/juice in your water pan while you’re smoking (unless you’re doing sausage to keep the casings moist). According to the instructions for the AMNTS you shouldn’t have humidty in your cabinet or it’ll cause the AMNTS to extinguish. Any thoughts on this?
As always, thanks for the advice! I look forward to updating this thread with either disaster photos or a job well done set of photos upon completion of my smoke.