Be sure to season it first like it says in the manual (3 hours at max, and then wood chips for the last 45 minutes, then cool it off) or it won't matter what you put in there; it'll taste like
.
A butt is very forgiving. Start looking for your favorite rub that you can make up all sorts of stories about, and then when you get there rub it down while you're seasoning the MES. Make some of SoFla's finishing sauce, and also find out what sort of sauce they like and make up a batch similar to it (vinegar based, mustard based, sweet, etc). Make up some Dutch's beans ahead of time and bring that too; put in the smoker the last 2-3 or so. Got a favorite slaw? Don't forget pickles and onion slices either for those that like them, and these can also be done ahead of time.
You can also make some ABTs (again, ahead of time and then chilled) to put on there the last couple of hours, or as an appetizer.
So now you can show up with all sorts of good stuff already ready and that makes sure that they can't see what all is in there and object to it (they are INLAWS after all
). You start tossing in great raw things and great smoked things start coming out.
If you've never done a butt before, you can even practice in your oven
but only ONCE so you don't pick up that nasty habit! Cook it slow with your newly favorite famous rub, and then you can go through all the steps ahead of time on foiling it (or not) and then pulling it without the whole world watching you the first time. Of course, if you use this technique, you can STILL say "ahh shucks...thanks!...this is the very first time I've even smoked a shoulder". Sounds better than "butt" unless they know the difference
.
Good luck and make sure to just have fun with it! It's hard to mess up too much with your MES, so anything you try will probably be pretty good. Time might be an issue too that you'll have to consider, so if that's the case, a fatty, beans and ABTs are all good choices, and can be made up ahead of time.
