Total Smoker Novice - What do I need & where should I start?

[Saber 4]

Pulled pork is the usual suggestion for a first smoke but whatever you have and want to try is good, just do some research here and follow the method with flavors you like and you should do great.

[rveal23]

Remember if you have any questions about your first cook, ask away and as saber says look through the forum.. check this link out as well for more info.


Our Time Tested and Proven Recipes

[HRC99]

Remember if you have any questions about your first cook, ask away and as saber says look through the forum.. check this link out as well for more info.


Our Time Tested and Proven Recipes

Thanks, everyone. A fantastic welcome.

Pulled Pork, it is! ;D

I think I've pretty much read every recipe on Susan Minor - incidentally. Why Susan Minor?

Being in the UK, a Boston Butt isn't something you see. I know its from the shoulder but any guidance as to where and how it should be prepared when talking to a UK butcher?

[devo]

Maybe this will help

http://porcine.unl.edu/porcine2005/pages/index.jsp?what=porcineVideoList


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[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks, everyone. A fantastic welcome.

Pulled Pork, it is! ;D

I think I've pretty much read every recipe on Susan Minor - incidentally. Why Susan Minor?

Being in the UK, a Boston Butt isn't something you see. I know its from the shoulder but any guidance as to where and how it should be prepared when talking to a UK butcher?

The butt comes from the arm of the pig (front leg). Butchers in the UK don't cut the shoulder the same as we do on this side of the pond, but look for blade pork roast. According to the WiseGEEK site, it will be a triangular cut of meat that starts just above the shoulder joint and extends diagonally backward to the base of the shoulder blade.

The URL for the recipe site is named after Raye Minor's wife. Raye maintains that site, fully at his own expense.

[HRC99]

Thanks Habanero

Off to my butchers early tomorrow morning to see what he can do.

[HRC99]

First ever rub made.




3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Paprika
1/4 cup Sea salt
1/4 cup Garlic Granules
2 tablespoons Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Ground Ginger
2 tablespoons Onion .powder
1 tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
1 tablespoon Celery Salt

Basically what I had to hand in my store cupboard.  How does that sound and look? Am I missing anything?

[Habanero Smoker]

It does look like a lot of sugar. Some mustard powder is always good :).

[HRC99]

Mustard powder added to the shopping list!

What sort of ratio sugar:salt would you suggest?

[Habanero Smoker]

For sugar, it depends what I am making the rub for. In this case, if it is for a butt, I generally add twice as much sugar as I have salt. This develops a nice bark. I moving away from brown sugar and using tubinado sugar, or demerara sugar more often. Must easier to work with.

[HRC99]

For sugar, it depends what I am making the rub for. In this case, if it is for a butt, I generally add twice as much sugar as I have salt. This develops a nice bark. I moving away from brown sugar and using tubinado sugar, or demerara sugar more often. Must easier to work with.

So I could do with adding another 7 tbsp of salt to even things up a bit?

[Habanero Smoker]

That would work, but I would also increase the ingredients of the other spices to maintain about the same ratio you originally had with the salt.

[HRC99]

Blimey, I'll need a spreadsheet to work this out!

Anything else worth adding while I'm finishing this off.

[HRC99]

More help needed.

Getting a bracket made to mount it to the wall but that's going to take a few days and I don't want to wait!  So I'm looking at putting the OBS onto a table until the bracket arrives but wondered how hot the base gets?

[Habanero Smoker]

The Bradley is pretty well insulated all the way around, especially the bottom. You can place it on almost any surface, many have placed them on plastic top tables. One thing to consider is weight, I've seem a few pictures with the Bradley on plastic top tables that have "bowed" down do to the weight once food is place in it.

On the outside, the back, especially at the height the element is located gets the hottest, so you want to keep that at least 6-inches from anything that can be damage by heat; such as vinyl siding.