My first butt

[JCQuick]

I'm a newb so be easy on me :boxing:
Well my plan is to get up early and throw a 7.5 lb boston butt on my smoker that my wife got me for christmas. Its a smoke hollow propane smoker and I'm aware that its not the greatest but its a start :thumb:
I did a cuck roast last sunday and it came out pretty good :redface: but I have offset smoke cooked those on my grill before so i had something to compare to..

heres some of my questions
The roast I cooked right on the racks but I see a lot of pictures on here in aluminum pans. Am I doing it wrong

Also whats with putting the meat in the cooler. I understand its going to still cook from its IT but i see some that seem to throw it back in

I'm going to use a rub with mustard to hold it on and plan to cook it about 7-8 hours and I think since the wife wants pulled pork I have to cook it at a higher temp.

Ok let the bashing begin:boxing:

[Bigrolltide1877]

The roast I cooked right on the racks but I see a lot of pictures on here in aluminum pans. Am I doing it wrong
(No you are not doing anything wrong here its just a personal preferences. And it also helps keep the meat moist.)

Also whats with putting the meat in the cooler. I understand its going to still cook from its IT but i see some that seem to throw it back in
(Its to help keep the meat nice and harm when you decide to serve the meat.)

I'm going to use a rub with mustard to hold it on and plan to cook it about 7-8 hours and I think since the wife wants pulled pork I have to cook it at a higher temp.
(You dont need to cook it at a higher temp cook it at 225-250 and until it probes tender IT 200)

[DerbyCityQ]

I'm a newb so be easy on me :boxing:
Well my plan is to get up early and throw a 7.5 lb boston butt on my smoker that my wife got me for christmas. Its a smoke hollow propane smoker and I'm aware that its not the greatest but its a start :thumb:
I did a cuck roast last sunday and it came out pretty good :redface: but I have offset smoke cooked those on my grill before so i had something to compare to..

heres some of my questions
The roast I cooked right on the racks but I see a lot of pictures on here in aluminum pans. Am I doing it wrong

Also whats with putting the meat in the cooler. I understand its going to still cook from its IT but i see some that seem to throw it back in

I'm going to use a rub with mustard to hold it on and plan to cook it about 7-8 hours and I think since the wife wants pulled pork I have to cook it at a higher temp.

Ok let the bashing begin:boxing:

No bashing. We all have the same passion for great BBQ. Different roads but same end location.
- No you are not doing it wrong. Aluminum pans can be used through the entire cook but it will effect the amount of bark. Some pan or wrap with foil to speed through the stall (around 160 internal) some don't. Not a deal breaker but it will speed up the cook if time is a concern. I personally don't but I have a UDS which is entirely different from your smoker.

- Resting your meat in a cooler is very important! Always let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Most rest for an hour or so. It helps the juices redistribute.

- You will have pulled pork by cooking to a internal temp of 190-210. How fast you achieve this is up to you. Some cook at 225 for 12 hours, some at 300 for 8 hours. Plan on 1.5 hours per pound and an hour to rest. Plan for an 11 hour cook. Better early than late.

Guys will be along soon to add anything I missed. I've done about 16 of these, trust me, you can't screw it up. Have fun and enjoy your cook.

[Diesel Dave]

I'm a newb so be easy on me :boxing:

Ok but just this once :laugh:

heres some of my questions
The roast I cooked right on the racks but I see a lot of pictures on here in aluminum pans. Am I doing it wrong

No you're not. the pans are an option to use. You can cook right on the rack all the way through. Some, like me, wrap when we get the color we like. The aluminum pan and foil will help speed up the cook as it steams the meat and in turn it cooks faster.
The way you choose to do it is right for you

Also whats with putting the meat in the cooler. I understand its going to still cook from its IT but i see some that seem to throw it back in

Putting it in foil then a towel and into the cooler is for the rest. You need to let meat rest for an hour or two to let the juices equalize in the meat.
this gives you a more juicy meat.
Now after taking off the cooker you let it "steam out" for 15 minutes or so so it stops cooking before it goes in the wrap and cooler

I'm going to use a rub with mustard to hold it on and plan to cook it about 7-8 hours and I think since the wife wants pulled pork I have to cook it at a higher temp.

What temp do you plan on cooking at?
Does it have a bone in it?

Ok let the bashing begin:boxing:

Nah non of that here

[JCQuick]

Thanks big rolltide just making sure i gots my stuff together.

All I have for a meat temp thermomter is and old school made for ovens i see i lot of people saying probes . Is this like those fork things or is there something better

[Ron_L]

The only thing that I would add is that I like my butts to rest in the cooler for at least two hours. It gives the juices and flavor a chance to recirculate into the meat. If the meat is in foil or in a covered pan open the foil or pan to let it dump some heat before putting it in the cooler to stop the carry-over cooking.

[JCQuick]

its boneless and this smoker seems to be hable to maintain about 200 or above

[Diesel Dave]

Like said, 225-250 will get you done in about an 1 1/2 hr/lb.
Give yourself extra time like 3 hours.
Also you can hold the meat wrapped in a pre-warmed cooler for hours and not compromise the meats flavor or texture

Then you need to understand probe tender.
It's like sticking a toothpick into a stick of room temp butter.
That's when your pork will be done and ready to come off the smoker.

[JCQuick]

thanks diesel good tip on the probe .
I'm hoping to be ok with my temperature gauge for this cook

[Diesel Dave]

Then I'd go on the higher side of your temp. The 200-210 range for it to pull good.

If you have anything like a skewer or the thermometer probe use that to see how tender it is.

[JCQuick]

Most helpfull guys I will post pics of how this comes out

[IlliniQ]

JCQuick - I don't really have anything to add, but I also got a smoker from my wife for Christmas and will be doing a butt this weekend - good luck to ya, hope we both end up with some tasty pulled pork!

Also, folks on here left me a lot of helpful hints on a similar thread I posted earlier today if you want to check it out. (It's called "little help for a new guy" or something like that...)

[TuscaloosaQ]

Brother the only silly questions are the ones we don't ask...... You are being steered in the right direction!!!!! Nothing to add..... You are gonna do just fine

[JCQuick]

Ok Here it is, the wife handled the mustard I think she goes a bit heavy. anyway I putting it in the fridge till about 5am then I'm getting up and putting it on, then back to bed for a bit :icon_blush:

[Diesel Dave]

You'll be fine, the mustard melts away in the cook and you won't even know it was there.

I'll be here if ya need any help

[okiej]

^^^^^yep. I have tried the mustard thing and was amazed I couldn't even taste it. And I love mustard

[JCQuick]

well I got it on at 4am went to bed woke up at 9am smoker temp was down around 190* I have it turned up to 250* now so we will see

[Diesel Dave]

You'll be fine, just might take a bit longer to cook.

[bbqwilly]

Nice looking butt. Hows it coming.

[J-Rod]

Nothing to add other than to reiterate what Dave said about letting the meat "steam off" before totally wrapping and putting in the cooler. Very important to do this. If you don't the meat can literally keep cooking in the cooler for another half hour or more. And probe probe probe it for tenderness!

[1911Ron]

I have found no two butts cook the same, i don't check internal temp i go by probe tenderness and then rest as others have said. Good luck!

[JCQuick]

next time I check it I will have to take a picture but so far it looks like its comming along just fine

[JCQuick]

update I think I'm looking ok, Time to put the beans in. My DIL is comming over and is a vegetarian so the top beans are for her.

So how am I looking :becky:

[bbqwilly]

Looks real good from here

[okiej]

Looking fine from here! I'm getting hungry now

[JCQuick]

thanks guys I hope it taste as good as it looks

[JCQuick]

getting close to taste time pulled the butt wraped in foil into a cooler. my temp said it was at 165-170 probe test with a skewer was very easy. its been on for 12 hours.
I'm letting the beans cook somemore while the butt is in the cooler

[JCQuick]

well here it is :icon_blush: its not perfect but everyone ate and went back for more. Hopefully I can only improve from here

[farmerman]

Looks good to me! I have yet to do one so no experience to add but i can say it looks damn tasty! Did you notice the mustard?

[bigjake690]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!

[JCQuick]

thanks everyone if i had to rate my self on a 1-10 basis I would say I got a 3.5-4 somehow i think I have too much smoke taste. If there is such a thing :noidea: or maybe its just me. It smelled great even my veggy DIL commented on how good it smelled :becky:

[farmerman]

Hey we are always our worst critics!

Sounds like you might be able to make a carnivorous convert!!:-D

[Bigrolltide1877]

Looks good to me. :thumb:

[grillinguy247]

Don't be discouraged it will only get better as you get more experience. Usually if you think it's too much smoke then it probably is IMHO. You can cut down on smoke flavor if you wrap earlier into the cook (this is up to you). Trial and error is part of the fun. Keep cooking

[Diesel Dave]

Looks like you did a fine job there.

And as said above, it's up to you when to say there's enough smoke.
I find I go more by color and the bark. But I've done enough to know what I think is good and wrap then.

You'll get it, it just takes time and a bunch of cooks. Also watch the smoke, if it's thin blue smoke all the time there usually isn't too much of an over smokey taste in my experience.

Smoke on!!!!