First cook

EDDOC said:

Went all in and purchased a Kamado Joe- Big Joe as myAs my first Kamado/smoker/charcoal grill. I’m normally grill on a gas Weber.
It’s coming tomorrow
Got some pork butt, st Louis ribs and sausages.

Any recommendations on a first cook?
Should I play with it first and get the temperatures just right. Let it burn off anything it has from manufacturing? or go on with the cook?
I’m thinking I’ll probably start with the pork butt and see how it goes.

I’m thinking simple with salt/pepper for the rub but I also got some Butt RuB from Costco.

Should I put on the run tonight or just do it tomorrow? I’ve seen both online

Thanks. Sorry for the long and run on post but I’m kinda excited about it

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I really like R Butts R Smokin rub. I am new to smokin meat too. I would say get a temp prob and keep on cooking trying new things to build confidence.

EDDOC said:

Bummer just noticed the pork butt is boneless

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That’s alright just truss it with some butchers twine if it’s particularly mangled otherwise just cook as is.

EDDOC said:

Bummer just noticed the pork butt is boneless

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Got a temp probe? Best way to tell a pork butt is done.. wait til the bone wiggles out with no problem.. Well now I guess you can't do that! 200-203 is the magic internal temp for pork butt IMO..

not sure how good your knife skills are but since the pork butt is boneless, you can find the pocket where the bone was and open it up butterfly style. That way you will get more bark. It will also cut down on cooking time. But yes, you can truss up and smoke like it is a normal pork butt. As blazin said, get a temp probe. Finish temp should somewhere be around 200-205. But favor tenderness over temp. Since there isn't a bone, test for resistance when inserting and removing the probe. Should come out like room temperature butter. One of the great things about pork butt is that they are extremely forgiving. If you undercook, slice instead of pull. If you overcook, it will still be very tasty. Outside of the time it takes to cook, it is the perfect first cook item.

Congrats on the new cooker, be sure to post pics.

I dont have one, but my bro in law that does says as long as youdo your first several cooks at or below 300, you get it seasoned the best. I would say after you get the temperature level, load it up 3/4 full and let it season!

PORK RULES! Fatties, ribs and bacon wrapped chicken <<(see, I am not totally prejudice toward swine)

I say keep it whole. Use a nice, sweet rub on top of mustard for binder and use lots of rub. I do mine at 250* and go to an IT of around 203*. Plan on 12 hours, more or less and be patient. Let the butt rest in foil in a cooler for at least 1 hour. Butts are a good starter, as they are very forgiving. Have fun.

Do a low temp cook to help season it and its good for the gaskets I like doing a fatty nor 2 first
Congrats and Enjoy

Congrats, those are nice cookers!

I would definitely let it run for a while before putting any food on it.

I would bring the temp up slowly. Once a kamado gets to hot it's really hard to bring the temp back down.