My first go with new smoker

[johnken]

Yesterday was mostly a learning experience although it included some pretty decent ribs. My 9# pork shoulder *finally* turned out pretty good, too.

I smoked both with a mix of 2 parts apple and 1 part mesquite. That turned out to be a good ratio with the mellower apple reining in the sharp flavor of the mesquite just enough for a nice balance. I used the wood chips for about 4 hours on the shoulder and for 2 on the ribs.

My biggest hurdle was temperature, though. Being the first time I've used the MasterBuilt Pro smoker combined with a few newbie errors, things really didn't get stabilized for a while. No matter how carefully adjusted the flame, I was suddenly at either 325° or 150°. I finally hit the 230° mark about 3 hours in. [emoji]128563[/emoji]

The first rack of ribs were tender but could have stayed on a couple hours longer. The second rack, which did get an extra 3 hours, were perfectly done and tasted phenomenal. Literally melt in your mouth. I paid the highest price for my goofs for the shoulder, which took 18 hours.

 

[negolien]

Grats on the 1st q on the rig.

 

[Electric88]

Sounds like a great first smoke! And thankfully pork butts can be forgiving when it comes to getting to the desired temperature, even if it takes awhile

 

[mike243]

It takes a while to figure out every type of smoker but my gas smoker was the worst, no way to keep 250 or less during the summer and wind/sun really affected it. made some great BBQ but constant tending. Went electric and has been great but 3-4 hours adding wood was tedious also, went pellets and a lot less work, also less smoke flavor, every thing is a trade off imo. good luck and stick with it its a fun hobby

 

[Steve H]

Congrats on your first Q!

 

[HalfSmoked]

Nice first cook. A butt can take as long as 18 hrs.

Warren

 

[jcam222]

Sounds like you are figuring it out. New cookers take some time to learn. I’ve never used a gas one so can’t offer any advice other than patience :)