First Smoke - Updated with pictures

[cor88b]

First smoke went pretty well.  Started with just Jan's Dry rub over night.  I didnt apply mustard before (should I?) then put the butt in around 1030am at around 225.  Smoked for 4 hours with Apple then sprayed with apple juice every hour after until about the last 2 hours because i wanted it to get a little crisp.  I decided to go ahead and let it cook in the smoker since the temps were very steady around 225.  I pulled it by recommendation of other people at 200 degrees and i think I wish i would have pulled it ealier, it was moist but not as moist as i thought it could have been.  It seemed like alot of the crust on the bottom was really thick and pretty hard, is there a way of avoiding that or is that pretty much the norm? 

[piratey]

looks pretty good, how did it taste?

[cor88b]

looks pretty good, how did it taste?

The taste was great.  I've eaten pulled pork sandwiches for 3 meals in a row now.

[Mr Walleye]

Looks pretty darn good to me Cor88b.

I can see by your picture you are measuring the cabinet temperature above the meat. You should be measuring the temperature the meat is exposed to by placing the probe below the meat. Judging from the picture I would say your pork butt was exposed to higher temperatures then you thought it was and that caused the thick bark on the bottom.

As the heat passes by the meat, the meat gives off moisture and cools the air. If you adjust your temperatures based on this it will definitely be higher below the meat.

Just the same, it looks great for your first go round.  ;)

Mike

[Wildcat]

Concur with Mr. Walleye.  I like to take the bark off before pulling, chop it up into small pieces, and mix in the meat after it is pulled. That is where most of the favor is. This would probably soften up the bark as well. You could even spray a little apple juice on the chopped bark while you are pulling the meat.

[cor88b]

Looks pretty darn good to me Cor88b.

I can see by your picture you are measuring the cabinet temperature above the meat. You should be measuring the temperature the meat is exposed to by placing the probe below the meat. Judging from the picture I would say your pork butt was exposed to higher temperatures then you thought it was and that caused the thick bark on the bottom.

As the heat passes by the meat, the meat gives off moisture and cools the air. If you adjust your temperatures based on this it will definitely be higher below the meat.

Just the same, it looks great for your first go round.  ;)

Mike

Thank you for the advice.  I actually sent the two probes back and get a single unit with two.  I will be trying that next time for sure.  I was going somewhat by that reading then confirming it with the temp on the exterior gauge of the smoker but had read that it isnt very accurate.

[Smoker John]

That is making me hungry & I just had breakfast, looks really tasty great first smoke.

[tskeeter]

Cor88b, it seems that most forum members cook their pork shoulder to 195F.  There is one member who cooks his shoulder at 205F, rather than 225F or so.  That member reports that a meat fork inserted in the shoulder and twisted (the fork test) twists easily, indicating the shoulder is cooked, at about 180F to 185F.  His thought is that the slower cooking with a lower temperature keeps the meat in the stall zone (when the callagen in the meat is melting) for a longer period of time, which results in the meat being tender at a lower temperature.  I haven't tried this approach yet because I'm too impatient.  But I thought it sounded interesting. 

[Habanero Smoker]

I cook my butts at 200°F, and start testing when the internal temperature is 172°F. When I had the single element setup, they were always ready at 175°F; with the dual element setup I have to take them through 176°F, to get the texture I want. Because I'm not taking the butts to 195°F or greater, and the cabinet temperature is around 25°F higher then your targeted IT; the cooking time is about the same or at times less, as those who take theirs to a higher temperature. Cooking my butts this way, I trim more fat cap off; leaving about 1/8", and remove as much fat as I can from the deep fat vein. During pulling I may come across some pockets of fats that need to be removed. The end result is I get a nice texture that is not too soft or mushy, and you loose less meat to shrinkage.

[Wildcat]

I cook my butts at 200°F, and start testing when the internal temperature is 172°F. When I had the single element setup, they were always ready at 175°F; with the dual element setup I have to take them through 176°F, to get the texture I want. Because I'm not taking the butts to 195°F or greater, and the cabinet temperature is around 25°F higher then your targeted IT; the cooking time is about the same or at times less, as those who take theirs to a higher temperature. Cooking my butts this way, I trim more fat cap off; leaving about 1/8", and remove as much fat as I can from the deep fat vein. During pulling I may come across some pockets of fats that need to be removed. The end result is I get a nice texture that is not too soft or mushy, and you loose less meat to shrinkage.

There are a few of us that follow Hab's lead. I always set my system at 205  and the cabinet will generally fluctuate between 200 and 210. Same principle either way. Never dry or hard.

[cor88b]

Interesting.  Didnt reallize some pull them as low at 172 with 200F smoker temp.  May have to try that with my next one and see how it goes.  Ordered a new probe today that gives me 2 and one with a grill clip so i can get more accurate readings.

edit:  Now when you do that do you do the FTC method to finish or do you consider it finished at that point and just needs a rest?

[tailfeathers]

I cook butts at 205 until it passes the fork test then ftc


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[cor88b]

I cook butts at 205 until it passes the fork test then ftc


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Any sort of idea of the temperature you usually pull at?

[Gafala]

Looking real good keep up the good work.

[tskeeter]

Wow, more folks are doing the low temp thing than I realized.  Gives me even more incentive to try it.

Thanks for sharing, guys!