My first smoke ever... Finally.

[butchsc]

As several of you know, I've been trying to figure out what type of smoker to get for some time now. Well, the decision was made to get a Char-griller Smokin Champ,

20170203_223039.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 3, 2017

and now I'm getting ready to do my first ever smoke for a Super Bowl party. (no pressure right).

Anyway, I decided to go with a pulled pork for my inaugural que. I found this beautiful fresh 8 pound bone-in butt at my local butcher/processor...

20170203_203549.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 3, 2017

20170203_203627.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 3, 2017

I put together a rub recipe based on what I have read on this amazing site, and what I had in the spice cabinet. The recipe is:

½ cup Paprika
1/4 cup Salt, fine ground
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup Ground Cumin
2 tablespoons Seasoned Pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1 tbs Cayenne
1/4 cup Onion Powder
(please feel free to critique)

I started by rinsing the butt well and then patted it dry and scored the fat cap. Next, I put a light coating of yellow mustard on the entire thing, followed by a liberal amount of the rub, making sure to get in all of the 'lil nooks and crannies.

20170203_205409.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 3, 2017

Finally, I wrapped the old girl up rather snug in saran wrap

20170203_210117.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 3, 2017

and tucked her into bed in the fridge to be awakened no sooner than 24 hours from now. I plan to put it on the smoker around 2 or 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, allowing at least 12 hours based on the 1.5 hours per pound baseline. I plan to use hickory but might mix in some apple wood as well, I haven't decided for sure yet, and then once the meat gets over 100 degrees, start spraying with apple juice every hour. Not sure if I will foil or not yet, I guess it will depend on the butt.

I am excited and want to start it now, but then it will all be eaten before the big game on Sunday... [emoji]128544[/emoji][emoji]128544[/emoji][emoji]128544[/emoji] Please, if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations, by all means let em fly. I am here to learn and have fun doing it. I will post more pics as the que progresses.

Butch

 

[masondixon]

Did you season the smoker yet? What is your only fuel source wood or will you use charcoal also?

 

[butchsc]

Did you season the smoker yet? What is your only fuel source wood or will you use charcoal also?

Yes I actually seasoned it twice about 3 weeks ago when I first got it. As for fuel, I am using Royal Oak lump as the primary and then Weber wood chunks for smoke.

 

[masondixon]

Sounds like you are ready to go. Good luck I am sure the PP is going to be a hit

 

[SmokinAl]

Sounds like you have a very good plan in place!

Good luck & keep us posted.

Al

 

[bellaru]

Looking good so far.
Good luck

 

[menace2sobriety]

Ok I'll be following this to see how it turns out. I don't have a smoker yet and have been eyeballing different ones for a while now and going back and forth as far as what style of smoker I want. I did try to smoke a brisket last summer on my charcoal grill and even though it turned out pretty good it was a lot of work and took much ,anger than I had planned because maintaining temp on that grill was tough. looking forward to seeing this and your thoughts on that smoker.

 

[slipaway]

You have a great plan going. I would only add at the end of your plan that you are looking for the 195 - 200 degrees IT to know it is done. It will most likely stall around 160. You can decide to wrap or not at that time. Also, you might want to add into your plan some time to wrap it and let it rest for 1 - 2 hours. If it is wrapped and put into a dry cooler it will still be plenty hot (even after 2 hours) when you take it out to pull. It does make a difference.

Good luck - can't wait to see the results...................

 

[butchsc]

Ok everyone the verdict is in... The Que was a hit!!! I ended up with 15 people over and although I wasn't expecting quite that many, a close friend of mine showed up and brought 3 whole chickens to help out. (good thing since I only had an 8 pound butt). I was a little disappointed with the tenderness of the PP, but I was only able to get the IT up to 173 before I had to pull it off. I was really disappointed with that at first, but after reviewing my cook and all the things that happened, I realize why it only got to 173 and next time I know what NOT to do.
We put the whole chickens on the smoker at about 2 p.m., wrapped the butt and moved it to the far left side of the smoker to make room for the chickens. Looking back, I now know that is why it slowed down the IT, so by 5:30, when the chickens were done and we were ready to eat, I started to pull the pork and it was only "pullable" around the outside edges. I had to chop it up for it to be tender enough for sammies.
That said, apparently I was the only one unhappy with the end result, and I guess at the end of the day, that is all that matters... That everyone eating it was extremely happy with it. So all in all I had a great time doing it, got to spend some quality time with my son (he came over and helped me all night) and I learned a lot about my smoker. Here are a few pictures of the end result.

20170205_110915.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 7, 2017

20170205_110930.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 7, 2017

20170205_174835.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 7, 2017

20170205_174827.jpg

• butchsc
• Feb 7, 2017

 

[slipaway]

Great job, even if the pork was not quite done. Now you know.... It is almost always better to finish early and let your meat rest for the extra hour, etc. than to try to time it exactly and get to where you need the meat and it is not done. Keep a log and make your notes.

You have learned a great lesson grasshopper............................

BTW - if everyone only had one of these times we would be a very happy lot.

 

[ab canuck]

Glad you enjoyed it and it turned out. Looks good. Shouldn't be much for left overs.....