Morning, total rookie here in the smoking world.

[barhorst2]

Picked up a Masterbuilt 30" digital smoker and will be attempting my first Boston Butt this Sunday.  Picked up a 10.3 lb. monster from the butcher...only one they had left.  I've been doing a little reading over in the pork forum and going thru various posts with pictures thru the process has been great.  Really looking forward to it!

If we want that for supper I'm planning on being up bright and early especially with that weight.

Oh...and I'm from the thriving metropolis of Minster, OH.  

AB

 

[schlotz]

AB! Lots of ways to ensure it will be ready for supper.  Regardless of which method used, the best advice once done is to have it rest for 2 hours in a cooler with towels (to maintain the heat) before diving into it. 

Matt

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Keep it simple for your first go. Pulled pick in my opinion is better after it sits for a day. So if you have the time cook the butt a day or two in adavance. Then there's no pressure on getting it done for dinner.

Plan on the butt taking 2 hours per pound, yeah that's right 20 hours. Then if it's done early you're good to go. A higher temp smoke, 285-325 pit temps could get you down to 1 1/2 per pound.

You will need a good way to measure the internal temp of the butt. A good instant read therm like the Lavatool Jabelin can be purchased online for around $25. Ultimately you will want to get a good multiprobe therm so you can monitor pit temps and meat temps. I use the iGrill2. Stock therms on smokers are often not accurate.

 

[barhorst2]

Thanks Matt!  I had read a lot of posts about wrapping it and putting it in a cooler...will definitely do that.  The first thing I read weeks ago said to set my temp to 225 but with that size and slight time constraints I'm going to set my temp to at least 250 and see how it goes.  Can't decide between Mesquite or Cherry wood though.  Any input?

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to SMF!

Glad to have you with us!

I would go with cherry wood.

The mesquite is too strong for that long of a smoke.

Good luck & keep us posted!

Al

 

[sigmo]

Welcome!

The very first smoke I did with my MB electric was a big Boston butt, too. It did take a long time to get cooked, but the result was worth the wait.

I was just glad that there was no pre-arranged deadline for having it finished because it did take longer than I had anticipated.

It came out great, and then I was hooked on the smoker and this site.

If you haven't done it already, run the smoker up to its highest temperature with the vents open for a few hours to burn off any finishing/protective oils or other manufacturing residues. Then season it with some wood for a few more hours to get a good coating of smoke residue all over everything inside.

Its best to do that before you actually cook any food in it. And it gives you a chance to play with it all, test run it, and get a feel for how it all works.



Tabbed in.

 

[barhorst2]

Thanks all.  Yes, I've ran it already and seasoned it but may run it again tonight for a few hours again.  After the few replies I've gotten here and talking to a guy I work with I believe I'm going to start smoking this bad boy Saturday night.  I'll get everything prepped tonight or tomorrow morning and then after a wedding tomorrow evening I'll have a few cocktails and maybe get it started around 11 PM or so.

I'll try to take some pictures and will post over in the Pork forum.

AB

 

[mike5051]

Welcome to the forum!  I'll be looking for that butt in the pork section!

Mike

 

[sauceboss]

I've never used mesquite but cherry would be good. I usually use oak but sometimes mix different wood depending on what I'm smoking. Pecan is very good for pork and if you can't get your hands on that, just save the pecan hulls whenever you shuck pecans over the holidays. I tried some with maple and oak, with oak as my main. Just remember to check multiple spots on the butt. I had smoked a butt a couple of days ago and thought it was ready to take off but decided to probe few more spots and found two at least 10 degrees lower. Enjoy your new smoker.

 

[schlotz]

Are you using a AMNPS in your MES? Force feeding that beast all night with wood chips can be a real PITA, i.e. every hour or so... Just in case you are not using a pellet-tray for smoke you can still accomplish the task, even if you start at 6am.  Agree with the 250°, keep the chips flowing and hopefully by the 6th or 7th hour the IT will be somewhere north of 150°.  At that point the meat has most likely absorbed all the smoke it's going to so I would go to the crutch method.  Pull the butt, double wrap in Alum foil and place in a 300° oven inside a disposable alum pan.  Remember to have a therm placed in its center but not near the bone so you can keep an eye on its progress. I'll guess in about 3-4 hours it will be around 200-205° but, every piece of meat is different so that time can vary a lot!  Pull and rest in a cooler for 2 hours. BTW: if it gets done earl, no problem.  The cooler storage & towels will help it hold its temp for a number of hours.  You just want to make sure it stays above 150° for safety.

Good Luck and let us know how it went!

Matt