Hello from Jersey!

[jlevin75]

My wife bought me the 6 rack DBS for our anniversary and I can't wait to use it!  Having never smoked anything before some tips and trick would be greatly appreciated.  We're have a BBQ for Memorial Day and I'm hoping to make some pulled pork and make some turkey or chicken.  Anyone have some easy tried and true recipes for a newbie?  8)

[Salmonsmoker]

Welcome to the forum jlevin, check out the "hot smoke and BBQ section" and the "meat" section in the forum. There should be plenty advice on times, temps. and rubs etc.

[beefmann]

welcome aboard from southern california

[waycoolcat]

Welcome from PA. After you look through some recipes I might suggest actually making the pulled pork on Sunday before Memorial Day. You can shred it and add a little apple juice or broth for moisture and reheat it in a crock pot on the holiday, then sauce it. I made a pork butt a couple weekends ago and it took 20 hours in the cooker to get it to an internal temperature (IT) of 185 F. It was a cool night and the wind chills the cabinet. You only need three hours of the time to be actually smoking, the rest is just cooking. Most people leave the puck burner on anyway to add more heat. Another trick is to clean and wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place it on the tray beside the water bowl to help get up to temp. quicker when you open the door. Good luck and Happy Memorial Day!

[ragweed]

Welcome from Nebraska.  You might also check out susanminor.org.  Great recipes by forum members.

[jlevin75]

Welcome from PA. After you look through some recipes I might suggest actually making the pulled pork on Sunday before Memorial Day. You can shred it and add a little apple juice or broth for moisture and reheat it in a crock pot on the holiday, then sauce it. I made a pork butt a couple weekends ago and it took 20 hours in the cooker to get it to an internal temperature (IT) of 185 F. It was a cool night and the wind chills the cabinet. You only need three hours of the time to be actually smoking, the rest is just cooking. Most people leave the puck burner on anyway to add more heat. Another trick is to clean and wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place it on the tray beside the water bowl to help get up to temp. quicker when you open the door. Good luck and Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks for the tips waycoolcat!  We're having the party Saturday so I plan on doing the shoulder Friday and then putting it in a crockpot Saturday. 

[pondee]

Welcome Jersey from Northern NJ.  Plan on cooking for more time than you may think necessary.  pulled pork will keep a long time ([Foil, Cooler & Towel) and will reheat very well using many methods.  I have found that with pulled pork it is better to be done early than to be late and try to rush the finish.  Rushing hardly ever works well.

[jlevin75]

Welcome from Nebraska.  You might also check out susanminor.org.  Great recipes by forum members.

Thanks Ragweed, I just registered there and downloaded the recipe list, wow there are a lot of recipes to try!

[tailfeathers]

Welcome from South Dakota! Just did two 8.8# butts over the weekend, I'm copying a post I did yesterday describing the process:
WLS-pulled pork is really about the most foolproof thing you can do in a smoker in my opinion. Rub it with your favorite rub, wrap it and in the fridge. Sometime the next day set it out for an hour or two to warm up a bit, preheat the smoker and SG, I preheat to 230F. Put the butt in the smoker and set your heat down to 205, smoke for the first 4 hours. Last thing before bed change the water (I use an old 9x13 cake pan for big smokes like this) and make sure your drip tray isn't plugged. The next day FTC the butt for an hour or two as soon as it passes the fork test, then pull it. You can apply a little more smoke the second day if you like, or go more than four hours the first day. I just prefer not to have the SG working while I'm asleep. These two butts actually passed the fork test at between 175 and 180, as a rule the lower temp you use to cook the the lower the IT will be when they are done. It's a time consuming cook but pretty easy and foolproof. The best part is if you time it right you get to sleep through the stall, that always drives me nuts! I use (and recommend) a Maverick remote thermometer beside the bed so I can check the cabinet temp and IT once or twice during the night, and I set the alarms to wake me up if the temps vary above or below the setpoints.

[jlevin75]

Welcome Jersey from Northern NJ.  Plan on cooking for more time than you may think necessary.  pulled pork will keep a long time ([Foil, Cooler & Towel) and will reheat very well using many methods.  I have found that with pulled pork it is better to be done early than to be late and try to rush the finish.  Rushing hardly ever works well.

Thanks Pondee, I've seen anything from 8-20 hours on the time it takes to do a butt so I'll be starting it hopefully around 5 Friday morning.  BTW, once upon a time I lived in Prospect Park!

[jlevin75]

Welcome from South Dakota! Just did two 8.8# butts over the weekend, I'm copying a post I did yesterday describing the process:
WLS-pulled pork is really about the most foolproof thing you can do in a smoker in my opinion. Rub it with your favorite rub, wrap it and in the fridge. Sometime the next day set it out for an hour or two to warm up a bit, preheat the smoker and SG, I preheat to 230F. Put the butt in the smoker and set your heat down to 205, smoke for the first 4 hours. Last thing before bed change the water (I use an old 9x13 cake pan for big smokes like this) and make sure your drip tray isn't plugged. The next day FTC the butt for an hour or two as soon as it passes the fork test, then pull it. You can apply a little more smoke the second day if you like, or go more than four hours the first day. I just prefer not to have the SG working while I'm asleep. These two butts actually passed the fork test at between 175 and 180, as a rule the lower temp you use to cook the the lower the IT will be when they are done. It's a time consuming cook but pretty easy and foolproof. The best part is if you time it right you get to sleep through the stall, that always drives me nuts! I use (and recommend) a Maverick remote thermometer beside the bed so I can check the cabinet temp and IT once or twice during the night, and I set the alarms to wake me up if the temps vary above or below the setpoints.

Thanks tailfeathers, I'm doing ~8lb one too.  Any idea what your total cook time was?

[pondee]

Welcome Jersey from Northern NJ.  Plan on cooking for more time than you may think necessary.  pulled pork will keep a long time ([Foil, Cooler & Towel) and will reheat very well using many methods.  I have found that with pulled pork it is better to be done early than to be late and try to rush the finish.  Rushing hardly ever works well.

Thanks Pondee, I've seen anything from 8-20 hours on the time it takes to do a butt so I'll be starting it hopefully around 5 Friday morning.  BTW, once upon a time I lived in Prospect Park!

We would be neighbors.  Grew up North haledon and now am in Hawthorne.  You go to manchester?

[tailfeathers]

Real close to 24 hours in the smoker plus another couple in the FTC. It was perfect.


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[jlevin75]

Welcome Jersey from Northern NJ.  Plan on cooking for more time than you may think necessary.  pulled pork will keep a long time ([Foil, Cooler & Towel) and will reheat very well using many methods.  I have found that with pulled pork it is better to be done early than to be late and try to rush the finish.  Rushing hardly ever works well.

Thanks Pondee, I've seen anything from 8-20 hours on the time it takes to do a butt so I'll be starting it hopefully around 5 Friday morning.  BTW, once upon a time I lived in Prospect Park!

We would be neighbors.  Grew up North haledon and now am in Hawthorne.  You go to manchester?

I moved out of PP middle of 8th grade so I missed out on Manchester.

[pondee]

Welcome aboard.  Remember, patience in not only a virtue with the Bradley, it is a necessity. But, to quote Alton, your patience will be rewarded.