First time smoker

[Sharding85]

Apologies if there is a topic similar to this already. I was wondering whether anyone had advice for cooking pulled pork in the Bradley smoker for the first time? I have my pork and the rub already. How long should I be looking to smoke it for? Are there any processes I should follow?
Thanks Steve.

[tskeeter]

Steve, you will get lots of advice, but here are some of the basics of what I do.

Rub the pork shoulder, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 - 24 hours.

Pull pork from fridge and put on counter to take the chill off for an hour or two before smoking.

Fill puck bowl with very hot water.

Preheat smoker to 225F.  I also preheat the puck burner so the first puck burns completely.  I allow an hour for this step.

Add a bit more rub before putting pork in smoker.

Smoke the pork shoulder for four hours.

Use hickory for the smoke.  Other flavors will work, too.

When smoking is complete, empty puck bowl and refill with as close to boiling water as I can get.  You may substitute something like a 9 X 13 cake pan for the puck bowl if you don't want to be checking the water every few hours.

Cook to a finished internal temperature (IT) of about 195F.  This will take about 1.5 - 2 hours per pound of the largest shoulder.  If you have several shoulders in the smoker at once, your time may run longer than 2 hours per pound.  Plan on something in the range of 16 - 24 hours for a couple of 7 - 8 pound shoulders.

Then FTC for two to four hours, to allow the IT to even out and the meat fibers to relax a bit.  (FTC = foil, towel, cooler.  Seal cooked pork shoulder in foil, wrap in a towel, and put in a cooler to keep the meat warm.  The meat will remain too hot to handle with your bare hands for 4 - 6 hours.)  You can FTC longer, if the pork is done well before dinner time.

Pull pork and serve.

Vacuum seal and freeze leftovers.

[smokerator]

Here's a link to my post for my first bradley smoked butt.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=33568.0

[ragweed]

Welcome to the forum from Nebraska. One more tip: keep your top vent open!  And be patient.  The temp will drop dramatically when you add the butts.  It will come back, but slowly.

[Saber 4]

Welcome from Texas, everyone has pointed you in the right direction for your first butt, the only thing I can think of to add is to read up on the stall which will occur somewhere around an IT of 140-150 and can last up to around 170 so be patient when it happens and resist the temptation to turn up the heat or open the door to much, the only thing I usually do around the stall is to make sure I have plenty of boiling water in a 9x13 cake pan instead of the standard water bowl which I swap out after the smoke time is complete.

[Bdogggut34]

From my experience, I also was given the advice to take the IT to 195-205. However, I hit a stall at 180 for about 1.5 hours so the best thing to do is do the "fork test" (take and fork insert and twist to determine tenderness).  This happened after 13 hrs, i then wrapped in foil, wrapped in a towel then let it sit for a few hours.....best thing I've ever eaten :-)

You may not even run into this and easily get to 195...but just a heads up.

[Habanero Smoker]

You may want to preheat 30 - 50 degrees higher than you plan to be smoking at. A lot of heat will escape during loading, and preheating higher then you plan to cook at, helps with the heat recovery. Pork butts don't need much tending to, so only check on them when it is time to change the water, or check the drip tray to make sure the drain hole is not plugged. Frequent opening of the door will add a lot of additional cook time.

As mentioned, you will get a variety of answers on how to prepare, and smoke/cook your butts. Below is a link to how I smoke/cook mine.
Pulled Pork w/Vaunted Vinegar Sauce

[beefmann]

welcome aboard, also keep your top vent wide open

[Sharding85]

Hi,

Thank you all for your help. I plan on doing this tomorrow so will let you all know and see how i get on  :)