I just got the new original Bradley smoker form Cabelas and im wanting to do a pulled pork as my first smoke. I just was wondering, is there any difference in doing the 4 hours of smoke recommended then cooking it the rest of the way in a preheated oven set to the same temp? Is there any difference to doing this?
I do it all the time. Some people like to wrap in foil or put it in a foil pan and cover it with foil. I just put mine on a rack in a pan and cook. I cook at 225*F to an IT OF 200*. I like a nice crispy bark.
First, welcome aboard :) As far as your question, a smoker without smoke is nothing else than an a big oven. So, no no difference. Go ahead and enjoy!!
Thank you guys for the quick answers! Very interesting, kind of like the idea of just having to worry about my oven instead of the smoker. I will have to try it out. Thank you!
Sorry to throw another question on top. Am I right in reading that usually 4 hours of smoke is the maximum that will add flavor?
The reason is that meat does not absorb smoke more than at an internal temperature of 140F. More than this, it does not get inside the meat.
Hi cor88b;
Welcome to the forum.
I feel there is a difference in the taste of the final product; but either way you get some great pork. I like to leave mine in the Bradley for the duration of the cook; unwrapped. Even though you are not applying smoke, the drippings from the pork vaporize and provide additional flavor. Similar to when you are grilling and the dripping from the meat hit the coals or flavor bars.
Welcome to this forum and the wonderful world of smoke.
I agree with Habanero and leave it in the smoker...tasty bark!
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on June 26, 2015, 01:43:28 AM
Hi cor88b;
Welcome to the forum.
I feel there is a difference in the taste of the final product; but either way you get some great pork. I like to leave mine in the Bradley for the duration of the cook; unwrapped. Even though you are not applying smoke, the drippings from the pork vaporize and provide additional flavor. Similar to when you are grilling and the dripping from the meat hit the coals or flavor bars.
That makes sense. I may just have to try a few out and see how big of a difference it is.
Thanks guys
I'm also in the "leave it in the smoker" camp. When I do pulled pork (and brisket) I cook at a lower temp than most. I cook at 205F with smoke for the first four hours or so. I usually leave it in overnight and that way I sleep through the stall. I use a maverick thermometer to monitor cabinet and meat temps and set the alarms so if the cabinet exceeds 235F or the meat exceeds 195F I get awakened. I find that cooking at this lower temp the butt will usually pass a fork test by about 180-185 instead of the more normal 195. I think this has to do with the longer length of time the meat is in the temperture zone where the collagen dissolves and the magic happens. I would recommend that you always use the fork test to determine whether a butt (or brisket for that matter) is ready. Inset a two tined meat fork and twist. If you get much resistance, keep cooking. If it twists easily you are good to go.
Good advice. I guess the desire to cook in the oven for me is that i dont have a PID like some so i dont know yet how good I will be at keeping temp.
Cor88b, pork shoulder is very tolerant of temperature swings, as are most other foods. Many Bradley owners never invest in a PID.
The Bradley is subject to temperature swings as much as +/- 20F from your set point, but that's no problem for pork shoulder. These swings are largest when meat first goes into the smoker and get smaller as the meat cooks.
The foods that benefit from the tight temperature control available with PID are fish, sausage, and, maybe, cheese. (Since you're not cooking cheese, you can keep the temp below the melting point of the cheese by using a lower set point, or by using a cold smoke attachment of some kind.)
Quote from: tskeeter on June 26, 2015, 02:17:26 PM
Cor88b, pork shoulder is very tolerant of temperature swings, as are most other foods. Many Bradley owners never invest in a PID.
The Bradley is subject to temperature swings as much as +/- 20F from your set point, but that's no problem for pork shoulder. These swings are largest when meat first goes into the smoker and get smaller as the meat cooks.
The foods that benefit from the tight temperature control available with PID are fish, sausage, and, maybe, cheese. (Since you're not cooking cheese, you can keep the temp below the melting point of the cheese by using a lower set point, or by using a cold smoke attachment of some kind.) x2. butt is very forgiving on temp swings and you certainly don't need the tight temp control that a pid provides. you will probably finding yourself wanting one if you venture into fish, sausage, etc but for general smoking you will do just fine without one.
Thanks for the information. I dont see myself every smoking fish, not a huge fan so hopefully I will be fine with what i have. Thank you!
Quote from: tailfeathers on June 26, 2015, 11:56:20 AM
I'm also in the "leave it in the smoker" camp. When I do pulled pork (and brisket) I cook at a lower temp than most. I cook at 205F with smoke for the first four hours or so. I usually leave it in overnight and that way I sleep through the stall. I use a maverick thermometer to monitor cabinet and meat temps and set the alarms so if the cabinet exceeds 235F or the meat exceeds 195F I get awakened. I find that cooking at this lower temp the butt will usually pass a fork test by about 180-185 instead of the more normal 195. I think this has to do with the longer length of time the meat is in the temperture zone where the collagen dissolves and the magic happens. I would recommend that you always use the fork test to determine whether a butt (or brisket for that matter) is ready. Inset a two tined meat fork and twist. If you get much resistance, keep cooking. If it twists easily you are good to go.
Exactly. This is how I do it.
Not only are butts tolerent of temp swings, I think they actually prefer it.
First smoke went pretty well. Started with just Jan's Dry rub over night. I didnt apply mustard before (should I?) then put the butt in around 1030am at around 225. Smoked for 4 hours with Apple then sprayed with apple juice every hour after until about the last 2 hours because i wanted it to get a little crisp. I decided to go ahead and let it cook in the smoker since the temps were very steady around 225. I pulled it by recommendation of other people at 200 degrees and i think I wish i would have pulled it ealier, it was moist but not as moist as i thought it could have been. It seemed like alot of the crust on the bottom was really thick and pretty hard, is there a way of avoiding that or is that pretty much the norm?
(http://i.imgur.com/QnhIiu4.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/6uaD9dB.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/arRMztM.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/LeGFah4.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/dTtEIyC.jpg)
looks pretty good, how did it taste?
Quote from: piratey on June 29, 2015, 04:19:12 PM
looks pretty good, how did it taste?
The taste was great. I've eaten pulled pork sandwiches for 3 meals in a row now.
Looks pretty darn good to me Cor88b.
I can see by your picture you are measuring the cabinet temperature above the meat. You should be measuring the temperature the meat is exposed to by placing the probe below the meat. Judging from the picture I would say your pork butt was exposed to higher temperatures then you thought it was and that caused the thick bark on the bottom.
As the heat passes by the meat, the meat gives off moisture and cools the air. If you adjust your temperatures based on this it will definitely be higher below the meat.
Just the same, it looks great for your first go round. ;)
Mike
Concur with Mr. Walleye. I like to take the bark off before pulling, chop it up into small pieces, and mix in the meat after it is pulled. That is where most of the favor is. This would probably soften up the bark as well. You could even spray a little apple juice on the chopped bark while you are pulling the meat.
Quote from: Mr Walleye on June 29, 2015, 06:03:21 PM
Looks pretty darn good to me Cor88b.
I can see by your picture you are measuring the cabinet temperature above the meat. You should be measuring the temperature the meat is exposed to by placing the probe below the meat. Judging from the picture I would say your pork butt was exposed to higher temperatures then you thought it was and that caused the thick bark on the bottom.
As the heat passes by the meat, the meat gives off moisture and cools the air. If you adjust your temperatures based on this it will definitely be higher below the meat.
Just the same, it looks great for your first go round. ;)
Mike
Thank you for the advice. I actually sent the two probes back and get a single unit with two. I will be trying that next time for sure. I was going somewhat by that reading then confirming it with the temp on the exterior gauge of the smoker but had read that it isnt very accurate.
That is making me hungry & I just had breakfast, looks really tasty great first smoke.
Cor88b, it seems that most forum members cook their pork shoulder to 195F. There is one member who cooks his shoulder at 205F, rather than 225F or so. That member reports that a meat fork inserted in the shoulder and twisted (the fork test) twists easily, indicating the shoulder is cooked, at about 180F to 185F. His thought is that the slower cooking with a lower temperature keeps the meat in the stall zone (when the callagen in the meat is melting) for a longer period of time, which results in the meat being tender at a lower temperature. I haven't tried this approach yet because I'm too impatient. But I thought it sounded interesting.
I cook my butts at 200°F, and start testing when the internal temperature is 172°F. When I had the single element setup, they were always ready at 175°F; with the dual element setup I have to take them through 176°F, to get the texture I want. Because I'm not taking the butts to 195°F or greater, and the cabinet temperature is around 25°F higher then your targeted IT; the cooking time is about the same or at times less, as those who take theirs to a higher temperature. Cooking my butts this way, I trim more fat cap off; leaving about 1/8", and remove as much fat as I can from the deep fat vein. During pulling I may come across some pockets of fats that need to be removed. The end result is I get a nice texture that is not too soft or mushy, and you loose less meat to shrinkage.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on July 01, 2015, 02:15:00 AM
I cook my butts at 200°F, and start testing when the internal temperature is 172°F. When I had the single element setup, they were always ready at 175°F; with the dual element setup I have to take them through 176°F, to get the texture I want. Because I'm not taking the butts to 195°F or greater, and the cabinet temperature is around 25°F higher then your targeted IT; the cooking time is about the same or at times less, as those who take theirs to a higher temperature. Cooking my butts this way, I trim more fat cap off; leaving about 1/8", and remove as much fat as I can from the deep fat vein. During pulling I may come across some pockets of fats that need to be removed. The end result is I get a nice texture that is not too soft or mushy, and you loose less meat to shrinkage.
There are a few of us that follow Hab's lead. I always set my system at 205 and the cabinet will generally fluctuate between 200 and 210. Same principle either way. Never dry or hard.
Interesting. Didnt reallize some pull them as low at 172 with 200F smoker temp. May have to try that with my next one and see how it goes. Ordered a new probe today that gives me 2 and one with a grill clip so i can get more accurate readings.
edit: Now when you do that do you do the FTC method to finish or do you consider it finished at that point and just needs a rest?
I cook butts at 205 until it passes the fork test then ftc
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Quote from: tailfeathers on July 01, 2015, 12:04:20 PM
I cook butts at 205 until it passes the fork test then ftc
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Any sort of idea of the temperature you usually pull at?
Looking real good keep up the good work.
Wow, more folks are doing the low temp thing than I realized. Gives me even more incentive to try it.
Thanks for sharing, guys!
getting 2- 9 pounders ready to put in the smoker tomorrow morning. I do mine at 205 also and fork test so far so good its works for me.
IMHO ftc not needed for low and slow butt but you can to keep it hot untill dinner time. I do, however, recommend letting it rest loosely covered with foil to allow the juices to redistribute until cool enough to pull without blistering your fingers.
Quote from: cor88b on July 01, 2015, 02:58:36 PM
Quote from: tailfeathers on July 01, 2015, 12:04:20 PM
I cook butts at 205 until it passes the fork test then ftc
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Any sort of idea of the temperature you usually pull at?
somewhere between high 170s and mid 180s usually but I rely on the fork test to determine when it is ready, not IT.
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Would you guys brush mustard on the shoulder before covering it in the jans or do you think it was fine? Whats the benefit?
mustard does not add any flavor its used to help the rub stick
I use EVOO most of the time. Sometimes mustard. There is a slight taste difference but not a lot. I finally got around to using Jan's rub. Great rub but for my taste better on birds. I prefer to use Iceman's Oinker rub on butts and Oinker rub with a little less spice heat for ribs.
Quote from: cor88b on July 02, 2015, 02:42:22 PM
Would you guys brush mustard on the shoulder before covering it in the jans or do you think it was fine? Whats the benefit?
You could try molasses for a more pronounced bark. Peel the bark off after it has finished cooking and then chop it up and add back to the pulled pork. I use a Roman Pork Puller. It takes maybe 30 seconds to shred a butt.
(http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt246/slick_steve/CIMG1705.jpg)
Quote from: TedEbear on July 03, 2015, 07:04:26 PM
Quote from: cor88b on July 02, 2015, 02:42:22 PM
Would you guys brush mustard on the shoulder before covering it in the jans or do you think it was fine? Whats the benefit?
You could try molasses for a more pronounced bark. Peel the bark off after it has finished cooking and then chop it up and add back to the pulled pork. I use a Roman Pork Puller. It takes maybe 30 seconds to shred a butt.
(http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt246/slick_steve/CIMG1705.jpg)
I never thought about peeling the bark off first. I will try that next time.
Ditto or Tritto or Quatro to the leave it in the Bradley camp. Finsih it like a pro.
The Bradley is a close cousin to the big iron vertical smokers many Texas Barbeque joints use but in a small footprint. It replicates many of the features an old friend of mine once used in his regionally famous joint. Once I had that epiphany, everything else fell into place for this little miracle of a smoker.
Leave it in the Bradley and enjoy the outcome.
Good luck and slow smoking,
Pachanga