2 Amateur Questions


 
T

Tim Spicer

New member
I've been reading these boards for a while and have gotten a lot of great info from you guys. I've got two quick questions:

1. I'm doing a bigger smoke for a family reunion that will require 2, 10lbs shoulders. I have the 18.5" WSM but it isn't with me at the moment. Will my smoker be big enough to hold/cook 2, 10 pounders? What is the approximate cooking capacity of the 18.5"?

2. I've been working on making my Q as moist as possible and heard from a few friends that they pull/chop then pour anything from apple juice, vinegar, drippings from the shoulder over the meat and let it sit in the oven at a low temp for a bit. I know a bunch of people mop but does anyone else do this?

Thanks so much for your help. This rookie really appreciates it.

Tim
 
Put one shoulder on each rack, two 10 lbs will fit.

When done cooking, make a big batch of No. 5 sauce and pour it on after you pull it.
 
You have plenty of room in your smoker for those two butts. Put one on each rack if you want, or both will fit fine on the top shelf too.

As for moistness, I've never poured anything in with my pork. Pull of off the smoker when it's done, and you won't need anything else. I always do sauce on the side.
 
I've done 2 8-pounders side by side on the top shelf with no problems on my 18.5. Worst case scenario, you could put one on top and one on bottom grate.

I follow the Renowned Mr. Brown recipe that's posted here in the "Cooking Topics" section. I baste at the 1/2 way point, then 1/2 time remaining point, etc. as described. Came out great every time.
 
Thanks for the info, guys. Very helpful.

JimS- Quick question about the Mr. Brown recipe. It calls to "turn" the pork. Does this mean rotating or actually flipping the shoulder?

Thanks.
 
Tim -

Welcome to this website - you've got too good a name not to be here!

I'm know you can fit both on top, but if you want a roomier fit, you've got 2 grates to work with. The attached photo shows 3 8-pounders on my 18.5 WSM - tight but it works.

Picture002.jpg
 
Originally posted by Tim Spicer:
JimS- Quick question about the Mr. Brown recipe. It calls to "turn" the pork. Does this mean rotating or actually flipping the shoulder
Click to expand...
I think if you read it carefully, it suggests flipping it upside down (so top is bottom and bottom is top) and also rotating so that the end of the butt that was on your left is now on your right.

Jim
 
I used to flip and now I don't and I really don't notice any difference.

If I have time, I do like to baste with apple juice. I think that keeps the bark a little more plyable (is that a word?
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).

If it's done correctly "moist" should not be a problem. Some people like their PP sauced, some don't. I like to serve it without sauce and serve several types of sauce on the side. I also like the #5 sauce (I usually start with the straight recipe and tweak it to my liking). I also like the Mr. Brown recipe; however, it's fairly spicy and I would keep that in mind.
 
I'd cook one to a rack fat down for the entire cook, and skip the mopping or spritzing unless you just want to. They'll cook more evenly since they're centered over the pan, and heck, I often cook with THREE grates, like this afternoon. I'm doing a rib cook with three slabs of St. Louis ribs on each of the top grates with the tips on the bottom.

As to adding anything to the meat at the end of the cook, it's up to you, and you can easily put that decision off. If you decide to add flavor or it looks kind of dry after pulling, just thin SOME of your regular old bbq sauce some with some vinegar/water. And yes, you can do this with No. 5 sauce if you want to.
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Is there a difference between cooking on the top rack vs. cooking on the bottom? I would think that if using a full water bowl, the temperature on the bottom rack would be lower vs. cooking on the top? I have yet to attempt this myself.
 
Again- great info. Thanks everyone.

To selfishly keep my education going, Mr. Brown's recipe has rub, refrigerate about 12 hours, then re-rub right before going on the smoker.

I've read before that you don't want to rub until just a few moments before you put on the smoker.

Where do you guys fall in this debate?
 
Tim,

Welcome aboard.

First let me say I have not cooked following the Mr Brown recipe.

I do not usually rub in advance. My normal process is to rub right before putting it on the smoker. Sometimes I rub in advance if I am going to be short on time when I need to start cooking.
 
Hi Tim,

For what it's worth, I've always rubbed and then put it in the fridge to rest overnight before smoking. I'll also coat the shoulders completely with yellow mustard before applying the rub. I've been told this helps to create a really nice bark.

I've never done it any other way, but I've always had excellent results using this method.

Judging from what others have said so far, though, I may be inclined to start experimenting with some different methods.

In any case, just thought I would throw in my two cents!
 
I rub butts with yellow mustard and then apply rub. Seems to help the rub stick. Then rub generously and let sit while charcoal is lighting up. put on grill and shake on some rub to get a nice coat after handling.


The most important thing is to keep the temp in range and when it is 190 start probing for done which could be anywhere between 195 and 205. Any sauce and rub are good when the pork is not over cooked. If the pork is slightly underdone for pulling and folks are standing around just chop it and it will taste great.

I like to serve sammies with a "sauce bar" if it is festive: vinegar sauce, carolina red sauce, mustard sauce, "bbq" sauce. Folks can season as they like.
 
Pete, Great looking meat. Two questions, did you use water in the pan? and did you mob during the cook?. I'm new here and still waiting for my WSM to be delivered this week. I did a pork shoulder last week in my "old Char Broil" smoker and had to foil wrap after 8 hours because of un-even temperature control and finish on my charcoal grill to get the temp to 190-200. That night I ordered my WSM.
 
Dave; Did you add a third rack by one of the methods on this site? Thanks, I have learned a lot from your posts as well as others.
 
Originally posted by Greg Weiss:
Is there a difference between cooking on the top rack vs. cooking on the bottom? I would think that if using a full water bowl, the temperature on the bottom rack would be lower vs. cooking on the top? I have yet to attempt this myself.
Click to expand...

I've found that if I use water in the pan, my top rack butt seems to be done sooner than the bottom. So I usually swap them halfway through.

I also spritz with apple juice a bit, because it seems to help form the bark the way I like it.
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