Got an ideas? I'm new at this....

[tmkshew]

Hey everyone, I'm very green when it comes to grilling but I've stepped it up a couple notches since I started about 4 years ago.
I'm going to be 23 soon and for my birthday, my girlfriend got me my first smoker.

It's a Weber 18.5" Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker.

Anyone have any good pork shoulder recipes I could try out?
Any other suggestions/tips would be awesome, and very appreciated.

[G$]

I suggest you keep that girlfriend.

(More useful replies along shortly I am sure....)

[Bob S]

The definitive resource for the WSM is the Virtual Weber Bullet website at http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/. It has all the info you need to get started quickly and easily, including recipes and operating instructions. A lot of us got started there and I still refer to the site for info.

[Skidder]

You got yourself some reading to do there son! To make it simple find a dry rub recipe, rub it down and throw it on the smoker till it hits an internal temp of mid 190's. Pull and add your favorite sauce. All this after you season (spray with Pam and heat cooker for a while) your new smoker. Remember this if anything the most important part of bbq is temperature control. You have to know the temp of your cooker and the temp of your product to be cooked at all times. You do this with good accurate thermometers.

[JONESY]

Welcome, nice cooker. For your first cook until you learn temp and smoke control, I would start with a shorter cooking item. For my first cook I did country style ribs, which are actually cut from the pork but and can be found at any grocery store.

Start with a simple rub
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar (sugar in the raw)
3 Tbsp Coarse Salt
1 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Cheyenne Pepper
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
½ Tsp Onion Powder
½ Tsp Cumin

Smoke at 250-275 for 4-5 hours, then glaze for last 30 minutes.
-Glaze
Honey
Whiskey
Sriracha Garlic Chili Sauce
Ketchup

[Ron_L]

One of the nice things about pork butt is that you really don't need a recipe You can inject with juice, broth, etc. if you want to and give it a heavy coat of a dry rub and cook until your thermometer probe goes in like into warm butter.

But... There are a couple of proven recipes that you can use as a starter.

The Chris Lilly pork shoulder recipe is in the second post in this thread...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...illy+injection

Also, the Virtual Weber Bullet site has their Reknown Mr. Bron recipe which is also ver good.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork2.html

No matter what you do, pork butt is a good choice for a first cook. It is relatively inexpensive and is very forgiving. If you temps get out of control for a little while don't panic. The pork won't care. Just adjust your vents to get things back where you want them.

[tmkshew]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I've decided to go with Chris Lilly's recipe with a 4-6 lbs pork butt. I know it's not that right size, but it's the only size cut I can get from my local farm.
The only thing that would change should be cooking time right?

I know I have a long way to go, but it looks like I'm in the right place to learn how.

I'm gonna apply the rubs and injections tonight, and throw it on tomorrow morning for the playoff games.

Who do you guys got?

[tmkshew]

Thanks for the dry-rub suggestion. I own another tradition Weber already, and I've smoked pork spare ribs before in there.
I know there'll be a lot better results from using a real smoker, but the ribs turned out pretty good.

I'm ready for bigger and better things!
I'm definitely going to try that recipe at another time though thanks again!


tmkshew@gmail.com

[Ron_L]

Yeah, cook time should be the key variable. You may not be able to get all of the injection in, but put in as much as you can.

Give yourself plenty of time. General rule of thumb for butts is 90 minutes per poind at 225 - 240 pit temp (measured at the grate). Sometimes smaller cuts take longer per pound. It's better to have it done early rather than late. If it is done early you can always wrap it in a couple of layers of heavy duty foil or put it in a foil pan covered in foil and then stash it in a dry, pre-heated cooler with towels or clean newspaper for insulation. It will stay hot for several hours.

Don't forget to take pictures! Notes would also help so you can adjust things for the next cook if you need to.

[Vince B]

Originally Posted by Bob S

The definitive resource for the WSM is the Virtual Weber Bullet website at http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/. It has all the info you need to get started quickly and easily, including recipes and operating instructions. A lot of us got started there and I still refer to the site for info.

+1 on this info. That site is where I found the brethren at. I find that the TVWBB is a great place to start and learn your cooker. I agree with Ron that butts are one of the easiest things to do and very forgiving.

Couple things to study up on are how to fire your cooker and how to control your temps. Look for the minion methods over there. I use a small coffee can on my over night smokes. Here is a picture of mine in action.

Basically I place the can in the center of my charcoal basket and then fill the outer part with unlit charcoal. Then I fire up about 1/2-3/4 of a Weber chimney starter to load lit coals into the can. Make sure to have something to remove the hot can like a long pair of pliers or a very good set of tongs. I also wear welding gloves to be safe. These also help if you have to do a hot squat! If you do not have a chimney starter I strongly suggest getting one and please do not use liter fluid or match lite CC.

Once you get that mastered it is really one of the easiest smokers to work with. One thing I would suggest is getting the widest roll of aluminum foil and foil your water pan. This makes for easy clean up. I do not use water in the water pan instead I use a clay saucer base that I bought at home depot.


I believe this helps with controlling the heat and also eliminates having to fill the water pan on long cooks. I normally do my buts overnight and after a couple hours with the cooker going, I just go to sleep and forget about it for 4-6 hours. This WSM is a great little rig and I find it to be very easy to operate.

As Ron said you can inject your butts and rub them down with some dry rub. I personally always do a couple butts when I fire up the smoker for a butt cook. After they have been pulled I will use a seal-o-meal and freeze some for other meals in the future.

Here are a couple I did earlier this year.

You can see the water pan setup in the wsm with the clay saucer covered. Make sure to leave some room for drippings to collect. Also always have a camera on hand because if you do not post pic's your cook never happened! Have fun and enjoy the games tomorrow. Now I have to figure out what to make tomorrow and have a party I need to get to here in a bit! See brethren bashes! Vince

[tmkshew]

Thanks for the ideas Vince B.
I'm using Chris Lilly's dry rub and injection. I will see how it all turns out tomorrow.

I'll get a feel for things tomorrow though, it's sitting there waiting in the fridge til morning.

I decided to trim a lot more of the fat than I originally expected. I feel like the rub would get into the meat a lot easier that way.

This is how they look right now. Wish me luck!

[Meat@Slim's]

Great girlfriend. Perfect cooker. Time to change your Avatar. Follow all this advice. Remember you can compete on a WSM too.

[Rookie'48]

Wow! You've got 2 for-sure keepers right there, good cooker & gooder girlfriend. (Lucky kid mod)

[dwmckay99]

Originally Posted by tmkshew

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I've decided to go with Chris Lilly's recipe with a 4-6 lbs pork butt. I know it's not that right size, but it's the only size cut I can get from my local farm.
The only thing that would change should be cooking time right?

I know I have a long way to go, but it looks like I'm in the right place to learn how.

I'm gonna apply the rubs and injections tonight, and throw it on tomorrow morning for the playoff games.

Who do you guys got?

Saints and Colts. Mark it. We (Saints) bring the trophy home.

Pork butts are forgiving. Just keep the temp around 225, allow yourself plenty of time, and enjoy. The butt will hit a plateau around 160, so be patient. It will be ready for pulling at around 195. After the first few hours, spritz with apple juice every 30-45 minutes.

You could try a simple injection...something basic like apple juice.

[4TheLoveofBrisket]

Originally Posted by G$

I suggest you keep that girlfriend.

(More useful replies along shortly I am sure....)

Yeah, that girl's a keeper.

I'm one of the younger ones around here too, I think, just 29. Been que'n since I was 16 or 17, can't remember exactly when I started. Always good to see some other young blood around here (no offense to the older brethren of course). Good luck on your cook tomorrow bro! Be sure to post some pics (PRON) and let us know how it turned out. And if you need help tomorrow, you know where to come!