Early Bird Niner Butt

[sawhorseray]

It's 4:30 here in beautiful Gilbert, AZ and the fire is already started in the SQ36

Last night the 9.6 pork butt was slathered with mustard, coated with Chile's pork rub, wrapped and put in the fridge. Now it's out on the counter acclimating, should have a nice bed of hickory coals ready in about a hour

Gonna be a long day till kickoff, might have to start thinking about breakfast. RAY

 

[negolien]

Sigh if 0nly I wasn't working/sob lol.

 

[sawhorseray]

Got the butt on the grill at 5:35, nice bed of hickory coals, 273º. I'll have to wait till about eight, then wake up the neighbors when I split some more splits. RAY

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Lookin' good Ray!

LIKE!

John

 

[sawhorseray]

Thanks John, getting kind of nippy going in and out this morning, the birds aren't awake yet! RAY

 

[SmokinAl]

Great start!
Al

 

[jcam222]

Looks like a great start to the day!!

 

[chopsaw]

Lookin good Ray .

 

[sawhorseray]

Just over 3&1/2 hours in now, IT 140º, the offset is gobbling hickory splits, great heat control (thank you Aaron Franklin) and time to start spritzing. Things are looking darned fair! RAY

 

[sawhorseray]

8.5 hours in, 183º IT, , game will start in 15 minutes. Had some time so I made some slaw

and a batch of fresh buns, house smells waonderful

About time to pour a drink and watch the game while keep an eye on the TP-20. RAY

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Enjoy the game Ray!

John

 

[Bearcarver]

Oh Boy---Even homemade Fresh Buns!!! That's Awesome!!
Looking Good already!! Like.
Good Luck, Ray

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Just over 3&1/2 hours in now, IT 140º, the offset is gobbling hickory splits, great heat control (thank you Aaron Franklin) and time to start spritzing. Things are looking darned fair! RAY
View attachment 427824

mmmm nice!

What did Aaron Franklin help ya with? Just curious :)

 

[sawhorseray]

Pulled at 198º, butter soft with a toothpick. Seemed to have a second stall at 195º when I began probing at 192º. Patience grasshopper! Now I'm foil wrapped and toweled up in the cooler, saving time on the game so I miss all the commercials. Now there's whisky and the rest of the game to be had, commercial free! I'll report back in the morning with the wrap-up. RAY

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Ray, I always record it so I can skip the damn commercials.

But that looks really nice Ray!

BIG LIKE!

John

 

[Winterrider]

Looks spectacular. Should be a great day.

 

[sawhorseray]

It was a great day! We drank some Bird Dog bourbon whisky that cousin Kurt brought over while we cheered the mighty Niners to victory. When the game ended it was time to pull and eat. I had made a bottle of Chef Jimmy's finishing sauce the day before, it really enhanced the flavor of the pork and is something that will be on tap every time I smoke a butt from here on out.

The buns I made earlier in the day were softer than usual, my best effort ever. I didn't do the dough as long in the Kitchenaid mixer, 7 minutes rather than 10. Pulled pork sannys, homemade slaw, and deviled egg tater salad made for three happy guys.

Gonna be hard to top that for next weeks games. Thanks for looking! RAY

 

[sawhorseray]

mmmm nice! What did Aaron Franklin help ya with? Just curious :)

After reading his book last month I learned a ton about heat controlling a offset smoker. One little sentence, "I always smoke with the door open" changed everything for me. Now I get the vents set after I have a nice bed of coals and don't have to touch them again. Heat control is established by the firebox door and how far it's opened, very seldom closed all the way, no more bad smoke. His book was kind of a manifesto for guys with offsets, somewhere in there I remember reading he had no use for electric or pellet smokers. I'm not using charcoal in my SQ36 now either, straight wood. I learned a lot and it's a great read, but I think it's just for folks with offset smokers. RAY

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good , glad your team one .

 

[Winterrider]

Very nice looking plate.

The buns I made earlier in the day were softer than usual, my best effort ever. I didn't do the dough as long in the Kitchenaid mixer, 7 minutes rather than 10.

Will take that into consideration in next batch, and the additional raise time after forming the buns. Thank you...