Pork Again! q-view

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k5yac

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Jan 3, 2008
362
10
Owasso, Oklahoma
Fans of the movie Platoon will recognize the title line... "pork again, I can't eat this $#!t Harold!" What we have here is a far cry from what junior found in his field ration. It is a calm 40 degrees here in NE Oklahoma... overcast, but the sun is supposed to be coming out and warming us to near 60. Ok, enough of that, on with the food.

To start, there were several people that helped me make decisions on which modifications would help my smoker perform better, thanks again.
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Here is what I did:

1. Extended the depth of my fire grate with a piece of 2" flat bar. This raised my grate by an inch or so, giving me much better air flow over the coals, and more room for ashes.
2. Constructed a baffle to divert much of the heat from the fire box towards the center of the pit.
3. Extended my stack down to the grate level with a piece of 3" flex vent. NOT GALVANIZED
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I know that some of this should probably be in a different thread, but I think these items are covered pretty thoroughly in the "Wood Burner" section, and I just want to report that these mods made a HUGE difference. Prior to the stack extention I was seeing a 120* difference between the top of the pit and the rack, now reduced to 20*. What a major improvement, and the baffle seems to divert much of the scorching heat away from the food as well.

Ok, ok... on with the meat. Thursday night I prep'd 2 pork shoulders, my first fatty and also my first batch of ABTs. I laid out 2# of sausage that I bought from my local butcher and stuffed it with fresh diced mushrooms, French's Fried Onions and about 1 cup of shreadded sharp cheddar. I chilled the patty for about 20 minutes in the freezer and found it to be no problem to roll back up. I rubbed on a little pork rub, wrapped it in foil and put it back in the fridge till this morning. As for the ABT's, I prep'd them with a cream cheese/cheddar mixture and wrapped them with thick cut bacon slabs, also purchased from the local butcher. In case any of you locals are wondering who my local butcher is... Walke Brothers out in Claremore. They are great, and they have a nice new and clean facility. Give them a try sometime.

Here is the fatty all rolled up. It doesn't look like much, but it's quite da big turd... weighing in at ~3 lbs.
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The ABTs.
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Now that Saturday is finally here I was able to go out and stoke the coals.
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Here is the "improved" Smoke'n Pit all loaded down. Notice the vent, and maybe you can see the baffle.
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I've got to throw this in. This little shelf I made was covered in another post, but I just want to reiterate how great these temp probes are. They take all the guesswork out of getting things cooked right. Thanks to ya'll for this sugestion too!
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About 1.5 hours is all it took for the ABTs to come off. Man, THESE THINGS ARE GOOD! A few were well done because they were right near the fire, but most were dark smkoed, a little crispy, tender and juicy below the surface. These are waaay better than regular stuffed japs.
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The fatty took about 3 hours to hit 170*, but when it did... WOW. These things are GOO'OOOD TOO!
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I sliced it and threw a slab on a toasted english muffin. Look at that smoke ring. The flavor is unbelievable. Mmmm mmmm.
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Well, that's about all I have for this Saturday. The pork shouders will be on for a few more hours and since I expect much the same result I had last time, I probably won't report on them. I will say that I have a fresh batch of Carolina Red standing by. Should also have penty to bag and freeze several pounds.

To those with this type of smoker, take the advice found here at SMF, make a few mods and you will have much less work to do when it's time to cook. Much more stable and efficient. Don't forget to try a digital temp probe too. To cheap not to, and it might just make you next smoke better.

Time for a rum and coke... signing off here in Owasso. Enjoy your weekend!
 
Yeah, my Dad picked up the Ozark Oak at Jack Wills in Tulsa, but for $1 off per bag I'll be looking at Warehouse Market. Yep, I've been reading your mail. Ha ha!
 
K5YAC
Great report on your mods and the food looks excellent. Congrats on improving your smoker and the products from it !!!
 
Very good lookin smoke. Nothin like seein a smoker like mine with a full load! I hafta agree with ya on the mods, they are fuel, food, and stress savers!

Nice job!

Points!
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