Brand New - Smokin' this Saturday

[Todd McQueen]

Been lurking around and trying to learn to lingo. Thanks for all the info!

Firing up the smoker (told it was a reverse draft - picture in cattle call) for an event at the church this Saturday and was wondering what I should buy at the meat market and throw on there. Thinking something fairly forgiving for a newbie lol.

Feeding 30-40 people at 4:00pm. If all else 'fails', smoker has a propane frier on the trailer too, so I will be doing hamburgers and hotdogs on there.

Thanks,

Todd

[pjtexas1]

Chicken is kind of easy and butts are very forgiving. You are one brave newbie:grin: Get after it and post some pics. Give yourself some extra time just in case.

[THoey1963]

That's a pretty nice looking stick burner. Through test cooks, how consistent does it run?

I would go with bone in pork butts for pulled pork. Cooking around 275*, I cook 8 to 9 pound butts in about 9 hours. I put them in an aluminum pan when they got the color I like and cover it with foil. Remove them when the bone wiggles and you can almost pull it out of the butt. Let them rest about an hour and pull. Mix in some of the juices from the pans after pulled. The meat will absorb it right up. Serve them on rolls with slaw and some BBQ sauce on the side for those that want it.

For an estimated 50 person event, I did 4 butts, a little over 35 pounds, and I ended up with one butt left over. I would say two to three butts should do it, I'd do three to be safe, four if you want leftovers or there is a chance of more people showing up.

With your 4 pm serving time, I would suggest having them on the pit before 6 am to give yourself plenty of time.

[stephan]

Thats a nice smoker you have there.

[SmittyJonz]

Pork Shoulder - Butt or Picnic- is easiest and most forgiving but take 10-12 hrs and 1/2-1 hr rest.

[ButtBurner]

looks great

just make sure its not puffin that white smoke I see in those pics when you are cooking!!

[smoke ninja]

Pork butts (shoulder) are pretty forgiving and feed alot if people for the $

[dwfisk]

Todd, welcome to the forum, NEIGHBOR! I have a farm up in Fairfield (about 15 miles north of Ocala) if you need some help getting started just let me know. My vote for 30-40 is pork butt or 1/2 chickens, just depends on how much cook time you have.

[Todd McQueen]

Thanks all! Try and can find some pork butts / shoulders tomorrow ! Dave - where do you get your wood & meat? Just moved to Ocala July 4th. I'll take all the help I can get!!

I did learn my lesson cooking with bad quality wood - i.e. white smoke when that picture was taken. Read here and went on a search for hickory.

Had a few "test" cooks - chicken, pork chops (cooked too long but everyone devoured them and a couple of guys said, "this is like awesome bacon")

THoey: Last time I got the fire rolling, got it up to temperature for about 30 - 40 minutes, let the coals get good and hot with little smoke I then added hickory - I played around and got it running consistently. I started a stopwatch at each adjustment and she held 225 for over 35 minutes without a touch. Is that good? Really surprised at how little the adjustments were that made the temperature gauge change.

Thanks everyone!

Todd

[dwfisk]

For meat locally, Sams Club on SR200 just west of I-75 or (my preference) there is a lttle custom cut meat market (I think it is called Discount Meats) on the SE corner of US 40 east and 27th (diagonally across the intersection from the Sunoco gas station with the race cars on the roof).

For wood, I use Southern Fuel Wood up in Newberry, but if you need a dozen or so splits for Saturday, I'd be happy to borrow you some hickory or pecan. I'll post a link on edit.

Edit: http://southernfuelwood.com/

[El Ropo]

With a cooker like the one you have, it's all about fire management. If you can't get it to burn clean, you will not have good results. I have never ran a stick burner, let alone a nice reverse flow unit like the one you have, so I can't give proper advice.

I know most people will start a fire with either lump charcoal or kindling until they have a nice solid bed of coals, then they start feeding the beast one or two pre-heated splits when needed. Lots of stick burning folks also stress the importance of a small hot fire as opposed to a large smouldering fire. I'm sure someone will come along here with some more specific tips for you.

And remember, just because you have a smoker, and you are smoking meat, it doesn't mean you need to see smoke billowing out of the exhaust. Invisible to thin blue smoke will get you the best results.

If you do choose to go with poultry products for your first big cook, be aware that birds will turn out much better if they are bbq'd at a higher temp, like 325-350, as opposed to cooking at 225-250. On that note, anything you can cook low and slow, can also be cooked hot and fast. Do not get sucked into the whole 225 is the magic number thinking.

Good luck!

[THoey1963]

THoey: Last time I got the fire rolling, got it up to temperature for about 30 - 40 minutes, let the coals get good and hot with little smoke I then added hickory - I played around and got it running consistently. I started a stopwatch at each adjustment and she held 225 for over 35 minutes without a touch. Is that good? Really surprised at how little the adjustments were that made the temperature gauge change.

Todd

Todd, those times sound about right from what I have read here. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), so I use charcoal and wood chunks, not sticks. From what I have seen, stick burners here use small, hot fires. Get the fire going and around your target temp (+/- 25*), when it drops to around -25* of your target, add another small split. Temp will jump to around +25* of your target and then start to settle. Process seems to take about 35 - 45 mins between adding a split.

Don't fight to get a certain temperature. This is BBQ, not Rocket Surgery. When I first got into making Q, I fought like crazy to get my gasser (:twitch:) to exactly 225*. I learned here that it is best to settle where your pit likes to run then to try to choke it to make a certain temp. My WSM likes to hover around 275*. Some days a little hotter, some days a little cooler. If yours settles at 260* or 295*, that'll do for Q.

Agree with the others. TBS or Thin Blue Smoke. That billowy white stuff tastes awful. When you add a split, you might see a little as the new split catches fire, but it should go away soon. To help this, try to put a split or two by the firebox to heat up before they need to go into the firebox.

As for adjustments if needed, remember this is not like an oven. Any adjustment will take about 15 minutes to take effect. Don't keep playing with the vents. Oh, and keep the doors closed. If you are looking, you aren't cooking.

Since this will be your first run on something like butts, give yourself an extra hour or two. Better to be done early than for everyone to be waiting for a slow cook. If the meat gets done early, pull it off the smoker, vent it for 15 mins to let the steam and some heat out, wrap it back in foil, wrap a big towel around them, and put them in an empty cooler. They'll stay too hot to handle with bare hands for several hours.

Oh, and

[Todd McQueen]

For meat locally, Sams Club on SR200 just west of I-75 or (my preference) there is a lttle custom cut meat market (I think it is called Discount Meats) on the SE corner of US 40 east and 27th (diagonally across the intersection from the Sunoco gas station with the race cars on the roof).

For wood, I use Southern Fuel Wood up in Newberry, but if you need a dozen or so splits for Saturday, I'd be happy to borrow you some hickory or pecan. I'll post a link on edit.

Edit: http://southernfuelwood.com/

Dave: Found Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, & Oak for $10 a bundle at Walt's Tree service 2.5 miles south of Hawthorne. I believe the oak is a bit cheaper at $7. If you want, I can get you a contact number.

My wife and I went to Sams Club last night and picked up the pork shoulder. Thanks for the reference!

Now to prep this pork!

[RolandJT]

For a first large cook i would recommend butts. I love mixing butts and picnic myself, but the butts are the most forgiving (maybe it's because they have to deal with the pscych issues of being called butts even though they are top shoulder roasts :wink:)

[Todd McQueen]

Rollin! Thanks all!

Fired her up at 5:00am. Shoulders on at 5:30!

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n189/Einzig47/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1444_zps82879425.jpg (http://s112.photobucket.com/user/Einzig47/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1444_zps82879425.jpg.html)

[dwfisk]

Dave: Found Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, & Oak for $10 a bundle at Walt's Tree service 2.5 miles south of Hawthorne. I believe the oak is a bit cheaper at $7. If you want, I can get you a contact number.

My wife and I went to Sams Club last night and picked up the pork shoulder. Thanks for the reference!

Now to prep this pork!

Good find, I use Southern 'cause I buy it a pallet at a time. Best of luck on your cook, looks like a good start.

[IamMadMan]

Looks like you are well underway with the cook.

Just wondering if you allowed ample time for a rest when you calculated your cooking times.

I put 4 butts in last night at 9:00 pm, by the look they will be done about 11:00 am and then a four hour rest in an insulated cambro to be served at 3:00 pm

[pjtexas1]

Just wondering if you allowed ample time for a rest when you calculated your cooking times.

I had the same thought. What temp range you cooking at?