I just smoked my first pork butt on a Weber 26". I cooked "medium and medium" - 275 degrees for about 7.5 hours. Used 4 apple and 1 hickory. Didn't wrap. Pulled at 200. Bark was amazing and the meat tender even though I used three 4 pound shoulders instead of one big butt.
Any feedback from the images? FWIW they did pass the taste test. I kinda feel bad for my wife because both the kids loved the meat and she struggles to find things that they like that aren't Italian dishes and tacos.
I have a few questions:
Any feedback from the images? FWIW they did pass the taste test. I kinda feel bad for my wife because both the kids loved the meat and she struggles to find things that they like that aren't Italian dishes and tacos.
I have a few questions:
- Managing the coals in a pile was tough. I had to "rebunch" them and then rebalance the temp. So I definitely want a charcoal basket of some type. Should I spring for a Slow n Sear? Or just get some fire bricks and have the coals resting against the porcelain?
- It also seems that a charcoal basket would burn hotter and get me more of that thin blue smoke. I didn't pay much attention to the smoke color, but I believe I got white smoke at first and then the chunks smouldered and the smoke was hard to see. My wife really liked it and she did not like my buddy's UDS pulled pork which had a smokier taste (and the fat dripping on the coals).
- Most people seem to leave the top vent wide open and control temps with the bottom vent. But that seems like it would starve the coals and/or force the top vent to do double duty and let air in and out? I was wondering if closing the top halfway would be better.
- A related concept - it seems like opening the top vent more would allow the smoke to escape faster. Are there any tradeoffs involved in that?
- For my next butt also strongly considering finishing in the over. Smoke for four hours, just past the stall. At that point I'd run out of coals. so I'd just put it into the oven at 275 to finish. (And yes, put on my dress, I know ...)
- Should I use a water pan at 275? I just had an empty foil tray underneath the pork.
- Finally, I didn't really catch many juices in the foil tray, mostly rendered fat and bits of pork. Is that bad? I used an organic locally raised pork so that may make a difference? My mom does French cooking and she would skim the fat and deglaze the pan with wine to make a sauce. Would that make sense for a finishing sauce?
