Let the Smoking begin!

[jrhawkdad]

I have been lurking around these forums for a couple of weeks while I was researching my first purchase. I went with the MES 30 all black smoker.

I am brand new to the world of smoking so I appreciate the advice I have already seen on this site. I have fooled around using wood chips in my Weber kettle grill with mixed results. I live in Northeast Iowa where the temperature can range from frozen tundra to tropical rain forest.

I was excited to get started so I got my new unit seasoned today. It held a pretty constant temperature around 275 in outside temps that ranged from about 20-30 degrees today.

I have a 5 lb pork shoulder that I am going to start with on Saturday. (of course pork, $0.99/lb here in Iowa).

My initial question would be as follows:

I have looked at numerous sites and a couple of books, but have yet to find the answer to this question. Do you run smoke for the full cooking time, for part of the time, or is it really up to your tastes?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I look forward to progressing in this Smoking Society!

 

[gary s]

[h1]

Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything  ........  [/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]

 

[seenred]

Welcome aboard!  Glad you joined our group.  You'll find these forums are a great place to share ideas on smoking, grilling, etc.  There are lots of friendly folks here who genuinely enjoy helping one another.  Looking forward to your input, and just ask when you need something...someone here will surely have the answer.

The answer to your question is, it really depends on personal taste.  I like a very smoky flavor, so usually I run smoke for the entire cook.  Others will apply smoke for less time based on their own tastes.  Best advice is to experiment and decide what you like.

Red