My first ever attempt at true smoking...2 Pork Butts!

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returnofsid

Fire Starter
Original poster
Dec 8, 2014
44
17
Spokane, WA
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I've smoked meats before, but on a propane BBQ, using indirect heat and a pan of wood chips.  I finally own a real smoker and am putting it to use!  I picked up a Char Griller offset firebox smoker on Craigslist yesterday, for $70.00.  Eventually, the side firebox will be utilized to build my fridge smoker.



Early this morning, I started a briquette fire in the smoker, got it hot and cleaned it up some.  This afternoon, I'm going to re-season it.

I just got home from Costco with 2X8 lb. pork butts, which I just finished lovingly rubbing first with yellow mustard and then a dry rub!

I used some ideas from here, with a little of my own tweaking, and created the rub;

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sea salt
4 Tbsp coarse black pepper
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp Chili powder
3 Tbsp dry mustard
¼ cup McCormick’s Pulled Pork BBQ Seasoning

Now they’re sitting in a hotel pan, covered in pastic wrap.  Tomorrow morning, I’ll bring them inside to warm up a bit (they’re currently outside, where it’s about 36 degrees and cooling down.)  As they’re warming up, I’ll start the smoker with hickory briquettes and apple wood chunks.  Once it reaches about 230, I’ll put the butts on.

Once the butts are in the smoker, I’ll start making my mop.  I plan to use a mop found on this forum of 3-2-1 Apple Juice-Apple Cider Vinegar-Spiced Rum.

Am I forgetting anything?  Am I completely screwing anything up!?

Wish me luck!



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Those butts look good!  I have no experience with mopping butts.  I put em on the smoker with the Maverick 733 probe in the center of the butt.  I've wrapped at an IT of 190 and continued cooking until 205.  Last time I didn't wrap, just smoked at 250 for 17 hrs, it weighed 10 lbs.  I don't know much about offsets, but opening it up to mop may cause you to lose some heat.

Mike
 
After seasoning the smoker, I still had plenty of hot charcoal, so I peppered up some venison backstrap, tossed some apple wood chunks on the coals and the backstrap in to smoke.  It's currently smoking at about 200 degrees.  I'm mopping it quickly with apple juice, to keep it from drying out.  I'll smoke it for about 2 hours total and then finish them off in the offset firebox quick.  I have no idea if 2 hours of smoke will do anything at all, nor if I'll end up with completely dried out backstrap.  Hope I didn't just waste good venison...lol
 
I know the feeling!  Whenever I have hot coals left, I HAVE to find something else to cook!  I did some green onion sausage on the smoker once the ribs were off yesterday.  Funny, I worry about wasting good charcoal, not the meat I put in.  Happy smoking!

Mike
 
Nice looking Butts, be waiting

Gary
 
Best venison I've ever tasted! It was still a little moist, though not enough, but the flavor was absolutely amazing and even slightly dried out, it just melted in our mouths!
 
That venison sounds great and I hope you take photos of the finished butts.
Gota luv them offset smokers.
Maybe look for another side box for that fridge project?
 
I brought the butts inside at 5:30 AM to warm up a bit.  Fired up the smoker and waiting for it to come up to temperature. I've placed a hotel pan, with about an inch of an apple juice/pineapple juice mix, under the smoking surface. This will catch the drippings as the butts smoke. I've mixed up my Mop, 3-2-1, Apple Juice-Apple Cider Vinegar-Spiced Rum. I do have a quick question...

In the side firebox, there's the "cooking grates" and then the charcoal goes underneath.  Should I put the apple chunks directly on the charcoal or up on the cooking grates, or a combination of both?  I ask because, last night, when smoking up the venison, if I placed the chunks directly on the charcoal the chunks seemed to burn up really quickly.  I guess I'll need to keep a close eye on it and adjust on the fly, for the first few hours, until I get the hang of it.
 
Instead of actually "mopping," I'm spraying the mop on, with a spray bottle, at least to begin with.  I don't want the mop to wash or wipe off the rub.  Once it begins to build some bark I may actually use the mop.  I just sprayed the first mopping, inserted an internal thermometer, and took a picture!  The smoker seems to be holding pretty steady at about 225 degrees.

 
Photo update...9 hours of smoke so far.  I've had a couple stalls, when I failed to check on it soon enough...Internal Temp of the one on the right is 135, the one on the left is 125.  I'll probably swap their position the next time I mop.

 
Nice looking Butts   Great Color

Gary
 
Not to rain on your parade but usally you want to get the meat over 140* F in the first four hours. The bacteria grows really fast between 40 and 140. Do you have any other thermometers to try in the meat are yours calibrated?
 
Like b-one said needs to be over 140   double check your temp gauges,  9 hours at 225 you should be in the 180's anyway ???

Gary
 
I actually thought about that just a few minutes ago. Now I'm headed home to double check! I do have several food thermometers that are able to be calibrated. I need to double check!
 
Not to rain on your parade but usally you want to get the meat over 140* F in the first four hours. The bacteria grows really fast between 40 and 140. Do you have any other thermometers to try in the meat are yours calibrated?
 
Like b-one said needs to be over 140   double check your temp gauges,  9 hours at 225 you should be in the 180's anyway ???

Gary
Thank you both!  I was away, at my daughter's dance school, when I read your posts.  Working in the food industry, as a gourmet chef for several years, you'd think I'd know better than to trust a new thermometer, especially one that has no way of calibrating it!!  Even before reading your posts, I was scratching my head...something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it!  So, I raced home and grabbed 2 of my food probes that CAN be calibrated.  I ice water calibrated AND boiling water calibrated both.  They're accurate.  That other thermometer is going back to the store tomorrow morning!
 
  #34        

 03-03-2015, 09:41 PM

returnofsid 

Fire Starter

 

Join Date: Feb 2015

Posts: 18

Rep Power: 1

205 degrees! Finishing sauce is made. Now I'll let it rest for about an hour and start pulling! Will it be ok to just put it in a few gallon Ziploc bags for tonight and refrigerate? Tomorrow, I'll portion, vacuum seal and freeze the majority of it. I'd just rather not do all that tonight. I'm tuckered!
 
Finished product, ready to be pulled.  The drippings are currently outside in the cold.  I'll let the fat rise and harden, then separate it. in Some of the drippings, along with the finishing sauce, will be added back to it, as it's shredded.  I think I'm going to save the remaining drippings and freeze it.  I might even save the fat, freezing it too.

Thank you all for all of your help!

 
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