Smoker Success!

I have a Komodo which os charcoal fired (with wood chunks). The pig cooker is a hybrid. I start a charcoal and wood chunk fire in it and let it run for 6 hours or so and then switch it over to propane. The propane takes less fiddling and I can go to bed (I have a remote thermometer with an alarm to wake me up if the temperature starts to fall).
 
Matthew said:
I would like a Treager. I see a lot of them at contests, too. Some buddies got one and brought it once or twice to a contest but stopped bringing it. They said, "It doesn't travel well." The legs just aren't strong enough to take a lot of rough handling.
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We have the Tailgater model, the legs fold up for transport. Although it is the smaller of the Traeger series.
 
Mistake Not... said:
I keep hearing that.... that the wrapping is just to get you through the Plateau, and that it's not required for moist meats.

I've yet to smoke a butt I'm happy with. I have a weber smoky mountain and I've tried both with and without water in the pan. I have a thermocouple on both the grill surface (with a standoff) and in the meat. I keep the temps 225-250.

it comes out dry. And my ribs are... ok... but dry.

I appear to be doing everything I should be, and I get bad results. Help?
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Trust me with this (or humor me) - it's not overcooked, it's undercooked. I used to use a thermometer in the meat but no longer need to. If you do, you'll see a plateau between 185-195 for a loooong time. Once you pass that plateau, you're done.

Do this: smoke the butt for 1.5 to 2 hrs per pound at 250 (275 works too). Wrap in foil and put it in a cooler for 4 hours. Don't pull until ready to eat. Once pulled, put it in Tupperware or ziploc to keep the moisture from flashing off.

You've been to the Virtual Weber Bullet site?
 
You need to get your thermometer recalibrated. The plateau occurs around 160-170 degrees and has squat to do with "doneness." I''m pulling mine off as soon as the temperature hits 190 in the center.
 
185-190 is the magic number in butts for me. It will stay hot, and continue to cook for a long time if you quickly wrap in a towel or put into a cooler. I generally pull the bone out before I let it rest for at least an hour. For contests or other events where timing is pretty tight, it does work well to let it rest for a while and then put into a cooler so it can hold its temp until you are ready for it.

I think pork butts are pretty hard to screw up. If you can't pull the bone out easily, it's undercooked and needs to be put back on to finish. Once it's done, let it rest and then pull it. If it's too dry for your taste (and it sometimes can be just because of the particular piece of meat), stir in some of the leftover juices.

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Somewhere above somebody mentioned an oven. I'll do that if it starts raining too hard. Conventional wisdom is that after about 4 hrs, the meat will stop taking any more flavor from the smoke. At that point you might as well stop adding wood chips or chunks, and you can then move the meat inside to the oven to finish. And if you do wrap anything in foil before 4 hrs, there's no more smoke getting to the meat anyway.
 
There's nothing magic about the oven. You're still at the "smoking" temperatures. After you give the thing many hours of smoke, it's not really going to take any more. This is why you can foil things and still get a smoke ring and smoke taste.

If your smoker has decent temperature control (and sufficient fuel), you don't need the oven, but I concede there are times it may be convenient.
 
I second (or third) the oven comments. Plus it makes the house smell good for guests.

My temps are redundant x3
 
flyingron said:
If your smoker has decent temperature control (and sufficient fuel), you don't need the oven, but I concede there are times it may be convenient.
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When it starts raining, I can watch the smoker thermometer drop. When we use the big smoker, it can handle most rain, but in a full downpour nothing can keep up. We'll put a pop-up tent over it for extra shade, but also to keep the rain off. When we do contests, someone will always ask, "What happens when it rains?" And the answer is always, "We get wet."

When I use my Weber smoker in the back yard, once it starts raining steadily it's time warm up the oven.

I think there was only one time I used the oven instead of finishing in the smoker. I can't remember the details, but there must have been something going on and I wanted to shut down the smoker and stay inside.
 
Matthew said:
Somewhere above somebody mentioned an oven. I'll do that if it starts raining too hard. Conventional wisdom is that after about 4 hrs, the meat will stop taking any more flavor from the smoke. At that point you might as well stop adding wood chips or chunks, and you can then move the meat inside to the oven to finish. And if you do wrap anything in foil before 4 hrs, there's no more smoke getting to the meat anyway.
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I heard long ago from one of the BBQ gurus that you get your best smoke (and bark) during the first 2 hours. That's why after a couple hours I always wrap the meat with foil and then finish off in the oven @ 200° for whatever time is needed for that particular cut. After a couple hours in the oven, I turn it off and then let the meat cool for another couple hours. I'm too lazy to babysit a smoker and use thermometers. With the oven method I know my temps will always be right on the money. Plus the meat always comes out tender and juicy. Been doing it this way for many years and have had ZERO complaints. ;)
 
azblackbird said:
I heard long ago from one of the BBQ gurus that you get your best smoke (and bark) during the first 2 hours. That's why after a couple hours I always wrap the meat with foil and then finish off in the oven @ 200° for whatever time is needed for that particular cut. After a couple hours in the oven, I turn it off and then let the meat cool for another couple hours. I'm too lazy to babysit a smoker and use thermometers. With the oven method I know my temps will always be right on the money. Plus the meat always comes out tender and juicy. Been doing it this way for many years and have had ZERO complaints. ;)
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Hey, don't mess with success!

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But wrapping foil and putting it all in the oven means you won't get this glorious sight:

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Matthew said:
Hey, don't mess with success!
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Yep... I've got the method pretty much down pat for whatever type of meat I'm smoking. I learned another method years ago for starting the charcoal and then letting it burn down (and through) to the wood chips and then to the chunks. My method nowadays is pretty much "set it and forget it". No thermometers, no more babysitting by having to add charcoal or wood chunks/chips. I just let the smoker do it's own thing for a couple hours and then to the oven the meat goes.

Matthew said:
But wrapping foil and putting it all in the oven means you won't get this glorious sight:
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Can't argue with that! That's definitely a beautiful sight. Damn... now I'm going to have to go and lay out some ribs. ;)

Just an FYI... I don't know if you have a Winco where you live, but they have several bins of bulk rubs of various concoctions. I used to buy my own spices and make my own rubs, but then I stumbled across the Winco rubs and I can't even begin to compete with their prices. I like to experiment. I'll take a little of this rub, mix it with this rub, and add a little bit of another rub to come up with the perfect combination. I've got a 5 gallon bucket of rub that I mixed up that think is about as good as a guy can get. It works great for all meats.
 
azblackbird said:
Just an FYI... I don't know if you have a Winco where you live, but they have several bins of bulk rubs of various concoctions. I used to buy my own spices and make my own rubs, but then I stumbled across the Winco rubs and I can't even begin to compete with their prices. I like to experiment. I'll take a little of this rub, mix it with this rub, and add a little bit of another rub to come up with the perfect combination. I've got a 5 gallon bucket of rub that I mixed up that think is about as good as a guy can get. It works great for all meats.
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I used different rubs for pork (ribs, butts, loins, tenderloins), beef (brisket, tenderloin), and chicken.

Nope, no Winco here. But we do have the KC BBQ Store - I drive past it twice a day. Yay, me! They have a wall full of rubs to choose from, and many will have one that's already opened so you can sample it.

https://www.thekansascitybbqstore.com/collections/rubs-seasonings-glazes-brines
 
Matthew said:
I used different rubs for pork (ribs, butts, loins, tenderloins), beef (brisket, tenderloin), and chicken.

Nope, no Winco here. But we do have the KC BBQ Store - I drive past it twice a day. Yay, me! They have a wall full of rubs to choose from, and many will have one that's already opened so you can sample it.

https://www.thekansascitybbqstore.com/collections/rubs-seasonings-glazes-brines
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I've ordered from them before. Good selection, but a little on the high side. I also used to order (still do for some hard to find stuff) from these guys. I also like to make and smoke my own sausage. I order a lot from these guys for those ingredients.
 
I prepare my own rubs and most of the sauces (though I get my western NC "dip" from Lexington Style Trimmings who do a better job that I have been able to). Any how, here's one of the piggies about ready to eat:

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flyingron said:
I prepare my own rubs and most of the sauces (though I get my western NC "dip" from Lexington Style Trimmings who do a better job that I have been able to). Any how, here's one of the piggies about ready to eat:
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Alright! Enough teasing already. (insert drool emoji)

I'll tell you who has awesome BBQ sauce... Famous Dave's

I don't even bother making my own anymore. His wide variety of sauces pretty much covers the gamut of whatever I'd make. I've got 6 different sauces of his that I keep stocked and will usually mix a few of them together to come up with my own concoctions.
 
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