Second outing


 
D

Dave R

TVWBB Fan
I just got an 18.5" WSM for my b-day at the beginning of the month. Went through a trial run with just charcoal...couple days later went through a run with some bacon I picked up at the store. First actual run was with a Pork Boston Butt (7 lbs) that I picked up at the local grocery store (Kroger). After 9.5 hours of smoking, it turned into a pan of very good tasting pulled pork. Flavor profile had sweet on the front end and mild heat on the back end.

I am getting ready for my second try this Wednesday...seems like a snow storm is coming on Tuesday to drop about an inch or two of snow. The meat of choice is again, Pork Boston Butt (7.2 lbs) but I also picked up a small picnic ham (2.75 lbs) from Walmart that I was going to smoke as well. Given it will be about 10 lbs of meat that I will be using, since they are two different sizes, should I put the smaller one on about 3 - hours after the larger one is going? Or should I put them both on at the same time? Also, given they are different sizes, I am thinking the smaller one would cook faster so starting it later should be the way to go.

The other question, I am estimating about 9-10 hours cook time for the large one...would me putting the smaller one on later extend the estimated cooking time of the larger one? I know that time doesn't matter since meat is done when it is done but just trying to figure out an estimated time.

Dave
 
I would guess the butt at around 10-11 hours if you're cooking at 225. You can speed that up a little by foiling when it reaches ~160 internal and/or by cranking the WSM heat up some (250?, 260?). I would definately give the butt a head start. That ham is probably already fully cooked so all you're actually doing is just heating it up and getting some smoke on it. It certainly won't affect the butt cook time.

You could give the butt a big head start and then when it's done, wrap it up and put it in a hot box (cooler). It will hold for quite a long time and will actually benefit (moisture wise) from a rest.
 
Russ Sylvester said:
I would guess the butt at around 10-11 hours if you're cooking at 225. You can speed that up a little by foiling when it reaches ~160 internal and/or by cranking the WSM heat up some (250?, 260?). I would definately give the butt a head start. That ham is probably already fully cooked so all you're actually doing is just heating it up and getting some smoke on it. It certainly won't affect the butt cook time.

You could give the butt a big head start and then when it's done, wrap it up and put it in a hot box (cooler). It will hold for quite a long time and will actually benefit (moisture wise) from a rest.
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Yep, pretty much what they said.

The ham doesn't need to be cooked, just heated up. I'd only put it in for an hour or two so you don't overcook it. I'd do the butt by itself, then hold it in a cooler while I did the ham.

I go with Harry Soo temps--250 for brisket and butts, 275 for ribs. You get a fantastic product without as much wait that way. For a butt, I'll cook it overnight, going in the smoke around 10pm. That usually has it done first thing in the morning, then I'll hold it in a cooler until lunch time. If I were you, I'd cook the butt overnight and hold it, then put the ham in a couple hours before lunch. If it only takes an hour to heat up, it can be foiled and held in the cooler as well.
 
Just wanted to provide a follow up. Using some thermos I got from my neighbor, Maverick ET-73 and another one, I forgot the name, it helped me with the smoking. I put both meats on at the same time. The Maverick came in handy keeping the pit around 250 degrees. The picnic ham, which was actually raw versus pre-cooked from the manufacturer, finished about 3 hours before the butt. I removed it, pulled it then made some lunch with it...Once the butt was done, took it off of the smoker and let it rest before pulling. Both the picnic ham and butt turned out great. Later that night, while cleaning things up, I realized that I had about a chimney full of unused/partially used briquettes for next time.
Given the temp was around 25 degrees outside, I used some Reflectix to make a 'cylinder' around the WSM to keep the heat in, this may be why I was able to get 9.5 hours of smoking out if it with having a chimney of coals left.

Dave
 
The Reflectix certainly didn't hurt anything but unless it was windy out, it's not the reason you have charcoal left over. With a full ring, no water in the pan and little to no wind, I can get about 16 hours out of my 18" WSM - so about a chimney after 9.5 hours seems about right. I'd save the trouble of using the Reflectix for when it's windy out. 25 degrees is not that cold for the WSM and even at very cold temps you won't notice much difference in coking time or charcoal use. However, throw some wind in the mix and it's a whole different story.

Anyway, good to see you're enjoying your WSM and on your way to producing some really good eatin'!
 
Yes, it was windy out during this smoking session. For my first outing, I used a full ring of charcoal, lasted 9.5 hours and didn't have any charcoal left over. Temp was mid 30's that day with no wind. This time it was mid 20's and windy so I used the Reflectix. I kept a good smoking log so I will see how things work on the next couple smokes and compare what I've been doing. Both times I did use water in the pan but for this time, the WSM temps seemed to stay stable a lot more than the first time. I did clean the whole smoker after the first smoking since I didn't know when I would use it again because of it being winter and the next charcoal sale is around Memorial day.
 
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