OK_ 1st Butt & 'Dera ready to start ... Now What ??

Early morning, ready to load 'Dera and start the Butt.

1) Do Fatty and Butt go in early or not until temp reaches 220-240*F ?

2) To make sure I get crusty outside, do I use liquid in bowl from start or
no bowl, or sand OR ....? Remember, I live in high desert ... will reach 90*F today, humidity only 18-20%. If yes, how about apple juice ?

3) I was going to rub with mustard and add seasonings. I know this works for ribs, but not sure about Butt. Any thoughts?

4) When internal temp reaches 165*F (or my target) and I go for the foil wrap, do I wrap loosely to allow smoke in, or seal edges well to hold in moisture? I'm not sure at all about this step.

5) When internal temp hits 190*F, and I put Butt in cooler, I leave foil on and add towels to fill space? Moist towels? Leave foil as when pulled from smoker?

Sorry for the long list. It's only now that I realize how much I am still in the dark. I'm shooting for finish about 5:00 p.m. today, then into refrigerator for chopping into sandwiches tomorrow ... OR ??

Help!
T_B

Oh man, you're on your way!!! Wishing I was you seeing as how I'm sitting at work on my computer.... Make sure you post the porn so we can live vicariously through you!

1. Wait until the temp comes up to your target level. If you put the meat in too early, the thermal load will be too great to get the 'dera up to temp and you run the risk of overloading the fuel and then spiking the temp once you get 'er going. If you use liquid in the water pan, might try boiling it before pouring it in, that helps get things going a bit faster.

2. You should be fine with liquid in the bowl. Or sand works just fine as well. I would think with the low humidity in your neck of the woods, some liquid would be advisable. But the shoulder and fatty have a high level of internal fat, so drying out shouldn't be too much of a concern one way or the other. Go with the liquid. And yes, apple juice is great to use.

3. Pandora's box with this one!!! Personally, I like using mustard every now and then. Mustard on a butt is great.

4. Wrap the foil tightly. The butt won't take in more smoke after 165 anyway. Wrap 'er up and keep all the juicy goodness in tact.

5. Yep. Leave it wrapped and toss it in the cooler. Some guys put boiling water in the cooler and/or put their towels in the dryer to get it hot internally before putting the meat in. But with your temps out there, it's probably not an issue! Only thing on this one.... I usually bring butts up to around 195 or 200 before coolering.

Smoke on brother!!! Good luck!!!!!

Many, many thanks for quick and thorough Reply!! I have one moe quicky ....
I've done the 101 Grate Mod .... do I load it 'to the hilt' with a layer of briquets, then lots of lump, maybe some hickory chunks OR get a 'medium' load going and then add more? I guess I just monitor the door temp and add whenever it starts dropping to about 220*F? I guess I will start to get a feel for the thermal inertia swings and know when to add and how much.
Thanks
T_B

tommy_bandera said:

Many, many thanks for quick and thorough Reply!! I have one moe quicky ....
I've done the 101 Grate Mod .... do I load it 'to the hilt' with a layer of briquets, then lots of lump, maybe some hickory chunks OR get a 'medium' load going and then add more? I guess I just monitor the door temp and add whenever it starts dropping to about 220*F? I guess I will start to get a feel for the thermal inertia swings and know when to add and how much.
Thanks
T_B

Click to expand...

I just get a full chimney of charcoal going (either lump or briq). Once it's red hot, I dump it out and start with the wood. Typically, one good sized stick will keep my 'dera going for about 45-60 minutes or so. So, I guess I'm saying I start out with a medium load for sake of easier starting. You can always add a bit more fuel to get temps up, but it's a bugger to take burning coals out!

Don't get frustrated with the temp control on this smoke. That's probably the one thing that took me the longest to master (so many variables involved - wind, rain, sun, snow, clouds, amount of meat in the chamber, etc). Just enjoy yourself and know that you are building the foundation for countless more smoking sessions! Butts and fatties are extremely user friendly and will turn out great!

I would use apple juice (I use it on everything:-D ). I would also start out with a medium fire, just one chimney full and slowly add lump or wood as needed to keep the temps up.

FWIW, I have never had to foil a butt, but as others have mentioned, it may speed up the process.

Have fun and let us know how it comes out!!

Fire's started ... going for 220*F, boiling water in ...

...Butt's seasoned and ready to go. Now, we'll see how much charcoal, then wood, it takes to get rolling.

Thanks to all for these three threads to jump start me and get the Butt barking.

T_B

Do you top off the liquid throughout the cook, OR ...

..... just fill it once and let it evaporate down? The 'Dera is only up to 160*F so far .... should have started before sunrise!
T_B

Fill it up once, I have yet to have the pan boil out even after 12 hours, but keep an eye on it anyway!!

The 'Dera is only up to 160*F so far ....

Click to expand...

According to?? Make sure the therm you're going by is accurate!! The factory therms are notoriously inaccurate. Just making sure you're really where you think you are.

I usually start with a chimney measure of charcoal in the firebox (unlit) and dump another full or near full load on top (lit) to get it all going(I use briq, if you're using lump, it'll take somewhat less). If you start with hot water in the pan, it should get up to cooking speed in no more than 30 mins.

Got to 220*F 20 minutes ago ..... Butt and Fatty are in

....... how am I going to hide the mustard stain all over the gray Corian countertop from my wife? I scrubbed and scrubbed, but the yellow didn't went!

Temp dropped to 210*F after the meat load. Doesn't seem to want to go back up even thought the fire is pretty hot. I'll wait a bit more and then add some lump or what little wood I have (some small, local Pecan prunings, bagged hickory chunks).

Fatty is up near the top and Butt near the middle ... right now frippings from the Fatty will come down on the Butt. Is that a no-no??

All things considered, I think it's off to a good start!

T_B

tommy_bandera said:

Temp dropped to 210*F after the meat load. Doesn't seem to want to go back up even thought the fire is pretty hot. I'll wait a bit more and then add some lump or what little wood I have (some small, local Pecan prunings, bagged hickory chunks).

Fatty is up near the top and Butt near the middle ... right now frippings from the Fatty will come down on the Butt. Is that a no-no??

All things considered, I think it's off to a good start!

T_B

Click to expand...

You're off to a great start. Throw in some of the hickory chunks. That'll help bring the pit back up to temp. Hickory burns pretty hot, so it's a good fuel. Temp will drop a bit due to the door being opened and the 10 lbs of meat you just stuck in there. Not to worry, it'll come up. Just shoot to keep it between 225 and 250 as best you can.

NO! Fatty drippings rule! You'll see most people try to position fatties and butts above other meats (brisket, ribs, etc) while they're smoking. The pork drippings are fantastic!!! Oh, along that note, if you do foil the butt, save the drippings in the foil to mix up with some sauce. It's a very intense flavor that really kicks up a sammich (much more better than slaw!).

Got some pics of the progress???

Using Cuisinart 'instant read' thermometer, .....

in center of champagne cork, whittled down to fit in door hole. Spicewine thermometer is somewhere on its way here via FedEx. I have a remote internal temp unit but was going to wait until about 2 hours in before using it.
Another of my bad ideas? Since I have only one remote, I was going to use it to check the Fatty and when it is ready move the probe over to the Butt.

T_B

Now we're rolling!! Big lump piece and hickory chunks

around it .... now at 240*F. I'll watch and close thing down if it tries to go higher.
T_B

Be careful with the closing things down... That chokes the fire which creates white smoke. White smoke = bad. Blue smoke = good. Best to control the temps through amount of fuel. Like I said earlier, it just takes time and practice to get to know your pit and how much/when to add. But the good thing about that is you just have to keep firing up the 'dera for some Q!!!

You can let off some heat by opening the pit door. That'll bring the temp down some without choking your fire.

Sounds like you're doing great!