New to smoking.

NewToSmoking · September 08, 2009, 07:34:27 AM

I have just purchased a BPS and I'm new to smoking. I have always wanted to do it and couldn't pass up the price for the BPS. I am going camping this weekend and smoking some pork butt on my BPS for 25 people. I have purchased four 6.5 lbs of pork butt and was wondering how how long to smoke it. I have read some of the other forums and found that most take it out and put it in an oven, I have no access to an oven and need to know about how long I should smoke the pork but. Also, does anybody have any good suggestions on how to prepare the pork butt before smoking on a BPS.

Thank you,

New Smoker.

FLBentRider · September 08, 2009, 07:39:41 AM

W E L C O M E to the Forum NewToSmoking!

I would prepare the butts the same regardless of what smoker.

I brine(optional)

Followed by a rub, rest (24 hours)

4 hours of smoke (usually Hickory, but whatever you want is fine)

Foil wrap(optional) Continue to cook @200-225F until an IT (internal temperature) of 190-200F

FTC for at least 1 hour

Pull and eat!

There are more details in the brine and rub, but those are the basic steps I use.

FTC ? IT ? You can find the answers to this and other questions here - http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=481

Recipe site - click on the ribs at the bottom of this post.

FLBentRider · September 08, 2009, 07:41:24 AM

Here is a link to a thread on my process:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=8942.0

mikecorn.1 · September 08, 2009, 07:47:18 AM

Looks like I was a little late on the response. ;D Same thing, Smoke for 4 hrs, boat with apple juice and take to IT of 190* (what i do). Good luck and post them pics if you got'em

Hopefull Romantic · September 08, 2009, 08:00:30 AM

Hi there NTS and welcome to the forum.

You jsu got jsut about the best adviceyou can get on the subject. Multiplied by three.

HR

OU812 · September 08, 2009, 08:29:15 AM

Welcome to the fun of smoking

I dont have the BPS so i dont no how long a bottle of propane will last but you might want to bring along more than one as (for me) a butt will take almost
1.5 hr per pound to cook

I personally like to smoke with Pecan, 4 hr on a butt

KyNola · September 08, 2009, 08:40:46 AM

Hey HTS, welcome to the forum. My technique is almost the same. 4 hours of smoke at 200-225 and continue cooking until the IT of the meat is 185-200. A couple of things I don't do is I don't brine beforehand nor do I foil wrap after the 4 hours of smoke. The day before I am going to smoke them I paint them with cheap yellow mustard and apply the rub, wrap in plastic wrap and into the frig overnight. Day of smoking, out of the frig at least one hour before going on the smoker, preferably two.

Won't give you a time estimate as I have never used the BPS but I get the idea they are less heat efficient than the traditional Bradleys as there is no real insulation. I just did 20 pounds of butts and they took 18 hours.

KyNola

NewToSmoking · September 08, 2009, 10:07:27 AM

Ky,

What are the ingredients for your rub. That sounds like the way I would want to go. I'm not suppose to have all the salt in my diet.

Is there anybody else that knows about how long it should take to smoke 24 lbs of butt.

Thank you,

NTS

FLBentRider · September 08, 2009, 10:19:46 AM

The time depends more on the connective tissue content of the meat than the weight.

I would plan on 18-22 hours.

Some of the butts may get to your desired IT hours before others. That is why I FTC them when the come out of the smoker.

FTC performs 2 functions:

1 - Let the meat temp "coast" down, helps continue connective tissue breakdown

2 - Allows you flexibility for serving times. I have FTC'd butts up to 8 hours.

The unknown factor here for me is I'm not sure how well the BPS maintains temps. With that kind of load, the OBS can struggle to get the temps up. It's no big deal, since low and slow is the name of the game anyway. If the BPS puts out less BTU's than the OBS, it may take longer than we have discussed here.

KyNola · September 08, 2009, 10:21:12 AM

Every rub I have used in the past has had salt in it but you can always leave it out. The butts I did this past weekend I used Bad Byron's Butt Rub and it is great. There is a good one for butts listed on the website. It is called "The Renowned Mister Brown". I have used it many times and like it very well. I will post a link to the website and a specific link to the "Mister Brown" recipe.

The recipe website: http://www.susanminor.org/

Mister Brown link: http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=86 Good news, not a ton of salt.

KyNola

KyNola · September 08, 2009, 10:25:43 AM

I'm with FLBR when it comes to time. Too many variables to predict. 24 pounds of meat is a lot of cold mass in a small environment. The wind can be a direct factor. Shelter your BPS from the wind as best you can. Also, the outside air temp can also adversely effect the time required. We're not trying to scare you here but it will not surprise me at all for the entire time to be as much as 24 hours. Hopefully you'll come in less than that but don't be surprised.

KyNola

NewToSmoking · September 08, 2009, 10:41:51 AM

Ky,

Thanks a lot for the information. As for the smoking still only 4 hours of smoke and the rest without smoke or should I add an hour of more smoke for the amount of meat I have.

Would you suggest to cook the butt in the oven before I go and if so about how long? I will do the rub probably on Wed night and then I can put it in the oven on Friday for a bit before I get to the campsite. I'm in the midwest so the temp isn't that bad and gets down to about 60 during the night.

Once again thanks for all the help, I want this to turn out so I don't disappoint the people I'm doing this for.

NTS

KyNola · September 08, 2009, 12:47:41 PM

NTS,
I will yield to my more experienced friends but I can't say I would recommend putting the butts in an oven prior to smoking and then taking them to the campsite and trying to smoke and finish there.

You'll be fine, just have fun.

KyNola

JGW · September 08, 2009, 09:52:10 PM

I wouldn't pre cook them prior to smoking - you want the smoke to penetrate the meat a bit. I would think pre cooking them may result in a bitter smoke flavor on the outside of the meat...akin to over smoking meat.

My advice - Put the dry rub on, smoke for a few hours (four, perhaps more) if you want a more smokey flavor. (Keep in mind, there is only so much smoke that meat will absorb - anything more will result less than perfect results). At that point, you can throw it in the oven until it's done. FTC it for a few hours and it should be perfect.

If you time it right, you may be able to FTC it just before leaving for camping. This should give a number of hours of keeping it warm. If you have a cooler that can be heated, you may be able to keep it warm for a very long time. Just make sure you have some juice or beer on it when you foil it.

Pork butt is not my speciality, so I would defer to those that have perfected the art, but pre cooking in the oven doesn't seem a good way to go.

classicrockgriller · September 08, 2009, 10:31:39 PM

Hiya New and welcome. Just something that might help you. Cabelas sells a propane smoker also and they have an insulated wrap for theirs. You might look at it and see what you can come up with to help in retaining the heat. I want one (BPS) and have thought that you might can cut the top out of a new tent and slide two tents on at same time to insulate. Also there is a section for propane owner on forum. Check the post (only 51) and you might find something to help you out. Good luck and like Mike says....show pictures.