Wasn’t sure where to post this so I put it in this forum...apologies if it should go somewhere else.
We had family over for Christmas Eve and were going to need a fair amount of food. I smoked an 11 lb. pork butt and turkey my son got as his Christmas bonus. Early Saturday morning I started up my 14 inch WSM and put the pork on with some apple and hickory.
This was not my favorite smoke ever as it was raining all day with wind and I was struggling to keep the temperature up. At 1am Sunday, the pork hit 195, but as I was taking it off, the smoker flared up...a first for me. My guess is some of the drippings ignited and I closed everything up for a few minutes to kill the flame and drop the temperature considerably. The pork made it through fine, the bone wriggled right it out and it pulled fantastic.
After letting the smoker cool a little without totally shutting her down and cleaning out the foil out of my water bowl, I warmed it back up adding some hickory to eliminate any of the burnt foil odor. By 2am it was time for the turkey.
I added a new piece of hickory and barely fit the turkey on the top rack and we were off again. I have never done a full turkey, only breasts and legs before. The rain had tapered off by now and we were humming right along. By 10am, I was taking the turkey off at 165 in the thigh and breast.
We had the turkey cut up along with the pulled pork for sandwiches and both were a hit. Sorry not more pics, but things were hectic with the holiday. I’ve read that once you have a smoked turkey, you’ll never want any other kind, and I have to agree. It was the perfect blend of smoked flavor and juiciness. Thanks for looking.
Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!
We had family over for Christmas Eve and were going to need a fair amount of food. I smoked an 11 lb. pork butt and turkey my son got as his Christmas bonus. Early Saturday morning I started up my 14 inch WSM and put the pork on with some apple and hickory.
This was not my favorite smoke ever as it was raining all day with wind and I was struggling to keep the temperature up. At 1am Sunday, the pork hit 195, but as I was taking it off, the smoker flared up...a first for me. My guess is some of the drippings ignited and I closed everything up for a few minutes to kill the flame and drop the temperature considerably. The pork made it through fine, the bone wriggled right it out and it pulled fantastic.
After letting the smoker cool a little without totally shutting her down and cleaning out the foil out of my water bowl, I warmed it back up adding some hickory to eliminate any of the burnt foil odor. By 2am it was time for the turkey.
I added a new piece of hickory and barely fit the turkey on the top rack and we were off again. I have never done a full turkey, only breasts and legs before. The rain had tapered off by now and we were humming right along. By 10am, I was taking the turkey off at 165 in the thigh and breast.
We had the turkey cut up along with the pulled pork for sandwiches and both were a hit. Sorry not more pics, but things were hectic with the holiday. I’ve read that once you have a smoked turkey, you’ll never want any other kind, and I have to agree. It was the perfect blend of smoked flavor and juiciness. Thanks for looking.
Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!
