New member/New to smoking

[Andrew33]

Hello everyone I am Andrew and I’m from New York. Just purchased a new camp chef woodwind wifi 24 and getting ready for my first cook on it. Pretty new to smoking also I’ve only done ribs a few times on my other smoker. These forums have a great amount of information so thank you! Any tips or pointers for my first cook would be great! Looking to do a pork butt or shoulder. Thanks in advance!

 

[JC in GB]

Welcome from Wisconsin.

Pork shoulder is pretty forgiving and is a good thing to start out on.

I like applying rub overnight to my pork shoulders to get the flavors to penetrate deeper into the meat.

I also like injecting the shoulder with some kind of flavor liquid before I put them on the pit.

Don't apply too much smoke. Over smoked food is nasty.

You can wrap the shoulder in foil or paper to push yourself over the stall. Happens around 165 degrees F. Conversely, you can leave the butt naked for more bark.

For pulled pork, don't pull the shoulder off the pit until the IT reaches at least 200 F. I usually pull mine at 203 F.

Save some juice to mix back in with the pork after you shred it. Makes for tastier and juicer pork.

JC

 

[Andrew33]

Welcome from Wisconsin.

Pork shoulder is pretty forgiving and is a good thing to start out on.

I like applying rub overnight to my pork shoulders to get the flavors to penetrate deeper into the meat.

I also like injecting the shoulder with some kind of flavor liquid before I put them on the pit.

Don't apply too much smoke. Over smoked food is nasty.

You can wrap the shoulder in foil or paper to push yourself over the stall. Happens around 165 degrees F. Conversely, you can leave the butt naked for more bark.

For pulled pork, don't pull the shoulder off the pit until the IT reaches at least 200 F. I usually pull mine at 203 F.

Save some juice to mix back in with the pork after you shred it. Makes for tastier and juicer pork.

JC

Thank you so much!

 

[MJB05615]

Welcome from Ga.
100% agree with JC. The only thing I'd add is you must be patient. Every Shoulder or Butt finishes at different times. There's no set timing. They're done when they're done. Post some pictures when you can.

 

[SmokyMose]

Welcome from Indiana!
JC has you covered. I personally don't inject, though.

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Welcome from Iowa!

Ryan

 

[Hamdrew]

Welcome from Wisconsin.

Pork shoulder is pretty forgiving and is a good thing to start out on.

I like applying rub overnight to my pork shoulders to get the flavors to penetrate deeper into the meat.

I also like injecting the shoulder with some kind of flavor liquid before I put them on the pit.

Don't apply too much smoke. Over smoked food is nasty.

You can wrap the shoulder in foil or paper to push yourself over the stall. Happens around 165 degrees F. Conversely, you can leave the butt naked for more bark.

For pulled pork, don't pull the shoulder off the pit until the IT reaches at least 200 F. I usually pull mine at 203 F.

Save some juice to mix back in with the pork after you shred it. Makes for tastier and juicer pork.

JC

you're injecting, before rubbing the night before, too, right? The salt/natural homeostasis is gonna better help distribute whatever injection throughout

 

[JC in GB]

Thank you so much!

No worries... Those are just some basics. There are as many ways to do BBQ as there are pit masters.

One common thread to good BBQ is proper preparation and doneness. You can have the best rub in the world on poorly prepared ribs and they won't beat the ribs with only salt, pepper, and smoke that are cooked perfectly. A lot of winning competition briskets only use salt and pepper. It is the cook that imparts most of the quality.

Lots of great folks on this forum to help you out. We all have our own ways that we like doing things. You will have to discover what works best for you. As long as you follow safe food handling practices, you will be fine.

JC

 

[JC in GB]

you're injecting, before rubbing the night before, too, right? The salt/natural homeostasis is gonna better help distribute whatever injection throughout

I only inject the meat right before I put it in the pit. Injecting meat can introduce harmful bacteria deep into the muscle mass. I know that the chances of this are small but I would rather stay safe.

I have done overnight injections of meat as you suggested and it does work well.

JC

 

[Hamdrew]

I only inject the meat right before I put it in the pit. Injecting meat can introduce harmful bacteria deep into the muscle mass. I know that the chances of this are small but I would rather stay safe.

I have done overnight injections of meat as you suggested and it does work well.

JC

U r a wise one

As far as I understand it,~10% vodka covers that (and furthers the distribution). that said, i have never gotten sick either, but it is always wiser.

Preferably, use an equivalent amount of pure grain alcohol if you want it neutral. Everclear, or the $10/750ml Gemclear, or Country Club "Vodka" which is literally just watered down Everclear from the same plant. Use rum if you want to make a real deal rum-ham

 

[Humo18]

Andrew, welcome from Missouri! Good advice on previous posts, not much I can add. On the Windwood, my best pork butts I seasoned the night before and then smoked porky at 200F deg for the first two hours to get the most smoke.
After that I go to 225 and wait it out until it's tender by probing. I also let it rest in a cooler for about 60 minutes after it's done. My family is not big on too much smoke flavor so this works out perfect for us. With experience you'll figure out what works best for you.

By the way anyone know what's going with Camp Chef? Seems like they are out of stock of many things, are they going out of business?

 

[MBH]

Hello everyone I am Andrew and I’m from New York. Just purchased a new camp chef woodwind wifi 24 and getting ready for my first cook on it. Pretty new to smoking also I’ve only done ribs a few times on my other smoker. These forums have a great amount of information so thank you! Any tips or pointers for my first cook would be great! Looking to do a pork butt or shoulder. Thanks in advance!View attachment 491080

I just got the same Pellet Grill a couple of weeks ago. So far so good. I am trying to find out when to use direct heat vs indirect heat. On the Camp Chef you pull the knob out for more direct heat but I have only used it with indirect heat (knob in).

 

[Colin1230]

Welcome to the forum Andrew. That's a nice looking machine you have there.

 

[Andrew33]

I just got the same Pellet Grill a couple of weeks ago. So far so good. I am trying to find out when to use direct heat vs indirect heat. On the Camp Chef you pull the knob out for more direct heat but I have only used it with indirect heat (knob in).

I will only use the direct heat when I’m cooking something like a steak or hamburgers...mostly going to use the indirect heat because majority of what I’ll be doing on this grill is smoking.

 

[Humo18]

I just got the same Pellet Grill a couple of weeks ago. So far so good. I am trying to find out when to use direct heat vs indirect heat. On the Camp Chef you pull the knob out for more direct heat but I have only used it with indirect heat (knob in).

Direct heat is when you cook at higher temps (maybe 400 deg) like grilling burgers, chicken thighs, etc. Meats cook faster and get more of a sear on it. For smoking you go indirect with knob in all the way and lower temps like 225 -250.

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to SMF!
Congrats on the new grill!
Let us know how that first run turns out!
Al

 

[Settertude Smokin']

Welcome from Oklahoma, Andrew--fantastic advice from these guys!
I use yellow mustard on my butts and let it set a while before applying the rub and then frog it overnight or at least a couple hours.