Can I leave my BS un attended?

[Superman in Training]

I have read that some people start smoking their meat before they go to bed at night and wake up when it is done.

Could I start smoking my pork shoulder tomorrow and say go run to the store and grab some things and get a hair cut and be back in about 1 hr? Or should I be around while my meat is smoking?  I am making pulled pork and so it will take about 4 hrs...

Thanks in advance for the help

[psdubl07]

While you certainly can do this, (I have many times), I would suggest you get a few smoke sessions under your belt first.  Sometimes there are temperature fluctuations, such as the pit temp when the smoke actually stops, mine consistently loses 15-20 degrees then.
If the smoke portion is done, the water is changed, and you're not running it above 250, it's probably OK, just my opnion you may want to be there during the first few smokes.

[Oldman]

I have no problem leaving the unit for 2-3 hours at a time. Just make sure you have the temp stable before you take off.

EDIT Hey SuperDude there is a thread about you here: <b>Superman In Training The Super Smoker</b>

Olds

[tsquared]

The only thing I would add to the previous advice is just a general safety precaution. I do leave my smoker overnight (getting up once to change the water bowl) as well as leaving it going during the day BUT my smoker is located on a brick patio where it can do no harm to my house or property should a fire start within the unit.
T2

[psdubl07]

What tsquared said is the reason I mentioned if it was under 250.  I guess even at that temp anything's possible, but generally if I leave, my wife or one of my friends is there to keep an eye on things.
[B)]

[Phone Guy]

I wouldn't wory about a fire (Just make sure the insurance is up to date). I would follow the advice of getting a steady temp for a couple hours before you sack out. If the sun is already down you shouldn't have much fluctuation in the temp.

[Superman in Training]

Thanks for all your help guys!! I really appreciate it and I have reall enjoyd this forum. To reward everyone for there help I have posted my world famous Chipotle Dip.
http://bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1971


On a side not I have 10 yrs + in the produce business.. if anyone ever has any questions about produce I would be glad to help [:D]