So, I had planned to smoke my first pork butt this past weekend on the new WSM. I ended up having to work late on Friday, so I asked my wife to swing by the store and pick up a butt for me! I explained what she needed to look for, since I didn't remember us ever buying a pork butt before. Anyway... to make a long story short, when I went to retrieve the butt from the fridge, I was surprised to see the size of this thing! And, even more to my surprise, I found that one whole side of this thing still had the skin attached! I read the package and product inside was actually a Pork Shoulder / Picnic / Arm??? LOL I figured what the heck and started cutting off the skin, which was no easy task. I finally got off all of the skin, and then trimmed off as much fat as I could. I prepared the meat by rubbing it down, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed back in the fridge until the next morning.
Bright and early the next day, I started setting up the WSM... loaded up the charcoal and intertwined 4-5 chunks of apple wood here and there. I filled up the water bowl, BUT, I forgot to wrap the bottom side of the bowl with HD tin foil. Dag gone it... I guess I was in a hurry to get everything cranked up. Anyway... I cranked up the chimney with about 25 brickettes. As soon as they were ready, I loaded them on top of the unlit coals and wood. I placed the mid section on top, and loaded the meat onto the top grate. Plugged in the meat temp probe and the grate probe, and fired up the Mav. Set all lower vents to full-open. Waited until the temp reached about 215 or so and closed the vents to about 25% open. Temp got to about 245 and stayed there for a good while. The temp fluctuated from 235 degs. to about 260degs. I was pretty happy with that. As the day went on, I watched the meat temps fluctuate. The temp increased at a steady pace until it hit 174, and it stayed there for quite a while. The meat temps actually dropped 5-10 degrees a few times throughout the cook. At about 12 hours after I first placed the meat on the grate, the meat temp hit 200 degs, and I took it off the smoker and foiled it for about an hour. After that, I went ahead and pulled it using the Bear Claws (which worked great!). There was one huge bone, and one smaller arm bone that basically just pulled right out. The meat was very, very tender! I let the meat cool quite a bit, then covered it and placed it in the fridge. I did take the liberty of enjoying a few bites of the pork with the bark attached! WOW! It was awesome! I plan on enjoying the meat for dinner tonight, and possibly freezing some of it in small packs so I can take them for lunch over the next few weeks.
The WSM performed flawlessly, and I never really had any issues with it running hot. I was well prepared for my first smoke thanks to everyone here on this forum. What a blast that was... and I can't wait to fire it up again next weekend!
I did take some pics, and I'll share those with you guys once I get home from work! I appreciate everyone's help!
Bright and early the next day, I started setting up the WSM... loaded up the charcoal and intertwined 4-5 chunks of apple wood here and there. I filled up the water bowl, BUT, I forgot to wrap the bottom side of the bowl with HD tin foil. Dag gone it... I guess I was in a hurry to get everything cranked up. Anyway... I cranked up the chimney with about 25 brickettes. As soon as they were ready, I loaded them on top of the unlit coals and wood. I placed the mid section on top, and loaded the meat onto the top grate. Plugged in the meat temp probe and the grate probe, and fired up the Mav. Set all lower vents to full-open. Waited until the temp reached about 215 or so and closed the vents to about 25% open. Temp got to about 245 and stayed there for a good while. The temp fluctuated from 235 degs. to about 260degs. I was pretty happy with that. As the day went on, I watched the meat temps fluctuate. The temp increased at a steady pace until it hit 174, and it stayed there for quite a while. The meat temps actually dropped 5-10 degrees a few times throughout the cook. At about 12 hours after I first placed the meat on the grate, the meat temp hit 200 degs, and I took it off the smoker and foiled it for about an hour. After that, I went ahead and pulled it using the Bear Claws (which worked great!). There was one huge bone, and one smaller arm bone that basically just pulled right out. The meat was very, very tender! I let the meat cool quite a bit, then covered it and placed it in the fridge. I did take the liberty of enjoying a few bites of the pork with the bark attached! WOW! It was awesome! I plan on enjoying the meat for dinner tonight, and possibly freezing some of it in small packs so I can take them for lunch over the next few weeks.
The WSM performed flawlessly, and I never really had any issues with it running hot. I was well prepared for my first smoke thanks to everyone here on this forum. What a blast that was... and I can't wait to fire it up again next weekend!
I did take some pics, and I'll share those with you guys once I get home from work! I appreciate everyone's help!
