new found fact of life in Utah

[markeli]

It seems that every time I have a long smoke to do ( sixteen butts eight at a time back to back) the wind and rain show up about the time I get the smoker fired up. I think this is a new found fact of life in Utah.


Mark

 

[Dutch]

Hey Mark-There is this fellow on the TV that tries to predict the weather- Maybe you ought to call him up and let him know when you're firing up your smoker then that way he will know when it's going to rain!! :mrgreen:

So other that the weather, how is that smoke going?

 

[markeli]

I am just putting the first eight butts in the pre-heated cooler and getting ready to put the other eight in the smoker. the first batch stalled at 148* for three hours and then again at 170* for four hours thought that was kind of strange.


Mark

 

[Dutch]

That is interesting-I wonder if the change in the weather may have had something to do with the double stall? It would be interesting too to see if anyone else has ever encountered this. You might want to share this over on the Pork Forum and see what kind of response you get.

 

[markeli]

Well I just got the last eight in the smoker, lets see if these do it to.

Mark

 

[Dutch]

Smoke on, Brother!!

 

[markeli]

I just pulled the first batch and oh wow!!!!! they are awesome all I had to do is shake the bones and they were pulled and they flavor and texture is super. I hope the second batch comes out as good.


Mark

 

[brianj517]

Aaahh!...Nothing satisfies quite so much as pullin' yer own pork... :P
Feast on, brother!

Cheers,
Brian

 

[markeli]

Just think in about 16 to 18 hours I get to pull eight more butts.

 

[joed617]

I been pulling so much pork now I have to wear glasses.

Pull it if you got it,
Joe

 

[markeli]

Just finished pulling the last batch of butts and have them chillin. My fridge is full of pulled pork had to move everything out to the trailer to make room for the pork. That is a whole lot a pork ( sixteen butts average weight is about 9 lbs)


Mark

 

[Dutch]

Mark, did you experience the temperature double stall with this second batch like you did with the first?

 

[markeli]

yes I did not as bad as the first batch though stalled at 141 for 2.5 hrs then 159 for 3 hrs then the meat temps went nuts they were all even until the second stall then they varied by as much as 18* until the end of the cook and with in one hour they all evened back out. This was a real strange smoke this time.

 

[Dutch]

I know what it was!!! It was the weather!! :P

I smoked up some jerky last night-what normally takes 4 hours took closer to 6 hours. Course the wind blowing steady didn't help.

 

[markeli]

have you ever noticed the flame change on your propane burner as the weather changes, I had to keep adjusting the control to maintain the same heat.

Mark

 

[sogerd]

Mark,

I used to live in Utah. Regular rain when you are smoking? I seem to remember far more of a drought condition in Utah than regular rains!
Maybe you ought to smoke meats more often?
You could gain a whole following - if you take your smoker to several of the farms that need rain. ;)

Now - why are you smoking so many butts? If you aren't going to eat them all at once - or feed your neighborhood, how are you going to store your meat? (Or, does smoking and pulling it, also preserve it?) I'm totally new to meat smoking - but lived in Utah for the majority of my life.

Dawn in AR

 

[Dutch]

Dawn, Mark was in charge (thanks to his wife) of smoking them butt's for a Family Reunion that was held in Idaho over Father's Day weekend.

I live in Utah too, and it seems that we have had more rain the past two summers than I can remember except mayby the rains of the mid '80's. (Remember the State Street river?)

 

[sogerd]

Dutch & Mark,

My hubby and I have been worried that we brought the droughts from UT and ID to AR!

2 of our 'big kid's' (ages 21 & 23) still live in Idaho - where we had previously been stationed.

And yes, I certainly do remember the State Street River! (1983!) I was pregnant with my daughter, and the ex-husband and I went to take a look at it while we were in Salt Lake visiting some of his family.

My cousin, who lives in the Provo area, had been here in AR for a while, and she developed ear problems here - apparently from the high humidity. She hasn't had any problems with her ears since returning to Utah - except for these past two years, now that UT is getting some rain.

Still - a long way to go before the drought conditions are corrected, I believe.

Dawn

 

[brianj517]

Side note to Dawn...

I spent some time at good old Mountain Home AFB myself. I was assigned to the 356th AGS from 1987-1990. When were you guys there?

Cheers,
Brian

 

[sogerd]

Hi Brian,
Hubby was at 'MoHo'(Mountain Home AFB) from Dec 1997 - Oct 2004. He was with the 366th Maintenance Squadron. From Oct 2003 - 6 Jan 2005, he was a Kunsan, AB in South Korea. (8th Squadron). He does structural maintenance on the planes and jets. (Sheet metal spe******t.)

We got married in June 1998 - and I came from UT up to ID in March of 1998, so I was in Mtn Home, ID (living on base) from 1998 - 2005.

So, it depends - we were there for either 6 years (hubby) or 7 years (me & several of the kids and my Mom.).

Dawn