After resting, I sliced some pieces off. It amazes me how juicy someting like that can be after all of those hours on the smoker.
Some parts on the bottom edges were hard. Would I be stretching things by calling that bark (or is it more properly labeled jerky?
)
Flavor was delicious. The smoke flavor was subtle. The middle was a little firm but that's a price I pay for not wanting to wait for a late dinner.
My dinner tonight.
Final thoughts? Whew! That's a lot of work. Contrast that with the butts I did on my WSM yesterday. I got it started and didn't need to touch the cooker for 5 1/2 hours. The NBBD seemed like it was a near constant balancing act between a fire that was going out vs. a fire big enough to spike the temperature. The wood I used was pretty dry and that may have contributed to this. Once lit, it would burn fast. I also might have split the wood into too small pieces. I'll keep the splits larger next time. I also found the 'fire control' thread that seemed to suggest that chunks might work better than long thin pieces and that's something else I'll try. It was a bit of a stumbling first start but I'm looking forward to my next smoke.
