Pulled Pork Belly and a 6 inch Tel-Tru, among things

I realize I am in the vast minority when it comes to pulled pork. The shoulder/butt is always too dry for my liking. So I turn to my spirit animal... pork belly. The copious amount of fat does wonder to the other white meat.

I also bought a 6” stem Tel-Tru to see if it would provide a more accurate glimpse of my temps. The 2” dials I had was reporting 50-75 degrees lower than grate temp 2 feet into the chamber, which is not surprising.

Today’s feast started yesterday at 4:30 pm. I lit a small chimney full of lump and waited 30 minutes for it to bring the cauldron up to temp. A trimmed 9 pound brisket went on at 5pm and was pulled at 1130 pm, a record for me. Temps shows it was between 225 and 300 so I’m not sure how fast it was cooking.

Pork belly and ribs went in at 1 am and 2 am. I pulled both at 6am. Now have Conecuhs hanging for a bit.

The water usage on this cooker is great. The last two pics shows how much water is in the smoke with all the condensation dripping from the inside of the tent.

WilliamKY said:

That looks delicious. Do you have any issues with the smoke and heat cooking under a canopy tent? I've been planning to get one but didn't know if it would work (not catch fire or melt) over a Weber or UDS. Thanks.

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The only issue I have is getting smoke build up if there’s no breeze. My exhaust is 2 feet from the apex of the tent and has no issues so far. My canopy is vented at the top so it helps tremendously. A UDS or WSM shouldn’t be a problem.

Got it at Northern Tool... 12’x12’ Strongway for $199. Just expect some discoloration from the smoke.

BigThicket said:

So what was your experience with the Tel-Tru? Can you tell if it's giving you a more accurate reading?

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It’s hard to tell from the pics of the dials but the Tel-Tru shows a 50-75 degree difference versus the 2” generic Hyvee thermometer. The Tel-Tru was reading 10 degrees hotter compared to the grate level probe so I know I can trust it. The 6” stem helps to clear the drainage system and the lip of the racks. I’ll be buying another 3 to complete the set for sure :thumb:

Man, what a party. I was told there would be only 12 adults and 5 kids but it turned out to be 30 plus throughout the day. The cousins from Brooklyn had college friends stop by since they were in town. My puny brisket only lasted through lunch and all the meats were gone by 6pm. I napped somewhere between after lunch and post dinner but I was able to slice the brisket for each person during lunch. That was a first.

Only plated shot I was able to get... pulled pork belly and a slice of the flat from my 3 year old’s lunch: