We decided to put on some pork butts the other day to cook for a friend. 9 butts (cut in 1/2 to speed cooking) went on my cousin's RFS, with no preparation other than some rub. They were smoked with hickory splits with a 250 degree temp maintained the entire cooking time. The meat was pulled from the cooker at 190 IT some 8-1/2 hours into the cook.
The meat was tender, juicy and very flavorable. Without foiling the meat, it had a medium bark on it. Everyone really enjoyed the meal. Our issue was with the color of bark. It was coal black. Didn't taste bad, but didn't look pretty.
Can anyone steer us in the right direction for better appearance? Should we strive for a lower but longer cook time? Should we change our wood ( we're in NC where hickory is king)? My thought is that if we cook at a lower temp by choking the air inlet, then less smoke will enter the chamber and the color won't be so dark, but I may not be thinking right. We were getting TBS for the majority of the cook, except when we put fresh wood on the fire. That's when we got some white smoke for a short period of time during each add.
Wish we had Q-view to go along, but did not take any pics. Thanks for the help.
Martin
The meat was tender, juicy and very flavorable. Without foiling the meat, it had a medium bark on it. Everyone really enjoyed the meal. Our issue was with the color of bark. It was coal black. Didn't taste bad, but didn't look pretty.
Can anyone steer us in the right direction for better appearance? Should we strive for a lower but longer cook time? Should we change our wood ( we're in NC where hickory is king)? My thought is that if we cook at a lower temp by choking the air inlet, then less smoke will enter the chamber and the color won't be so dark, but I may not be thinking right. We were getting TBS for the majority of the cook, except when we put fresh wood on the fire. That's when we got some white smoke for a short period of time during each add.
Wish we had Q-view to go along, but did not take any pics. Thanks for the help.
Martin