Cooking time vs Smoking time

[arnaudNL]

Hi There,

Am sorry if this was previously discussed but well it is 2018 and probably people having new point of view on the matter anyway. I will have my 4 rack digital smoker anytime soon. I will start with pork butt obviously, am very worried to waste a brisket, so I will start "easy"

I do see on the recipe book (v5) that generally for cooking brisket/butt people are only smoking 4 hours. Is it a general rule of thumb? So 4 hours smoke and rest of the cooking without smoke, do I get that right?

Any comments are welcome

Best Regards,
Arnaud

[TMB]

There are a lot of folks here amd more quilified to answer.  But 4 hrs of can be enough if the meat is not a large hunk.   If doing a full packer I'd say more smopke would be in order but a flat or point would be about right.

If I remember right once the meat hits 160 it won't except anymore smoke anyway   

[zueth]

I normally do 6 hours of hickory smoke with pork butt, but as TMB says I think most common is 4.


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[Habanero Smoker]

The type of wood you use is also a factor. For the Bradley the mesquite bisquettes are very strong, so 4 hours may be too long. But generally depending on your taste 4 hours is generally what members prefer when smoking butts. I generally use 4 hours of pecan.

[GusRobin]

I use 4 hours of hickory.

[tskeeter]

I also use 4 hours of hickory for a 7 - 9 pork shoulder.

Experiment with different flavors to see what you like.  I use hickory for pork shoulder, Apple for ribs, cheese, and cashews, and alder for salmon.  I found cherry to be a bit sweet for my taste.  Would give oak a try with a big chunk of beef, such as brisket.