First smoke on my new WSM 18.5... Boston Butt


 
K

Kelly Kraemer

New member
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I have my Boston Butt ready to go on the smoker tomorrow but I have just a couple quick questions;

1. I have pecan and apple chunks... I always used chips in my UDS... I like a smokey flavor so what do people recommend for number of Chunks?
2. Is it ok to combine both apple and pecan or should I stick with just one?
3. Since I want to keep the temp low I am going to foil the bottom of the water pan and then add water.... how often should I check to refill the water?
4. Do I refill with warm water to not crack the porcelain?
5. If I don't post update pics will I be banished from this board?:D just kidding, I will update pics through out the process tomorrow.

any tips or suggestions are welcome and hopefully it all goes well tomorrow
 
Well, I'm a complete noob. But, I see you haven't gotten any "professional" advice, so I'll chime in.

I think 4-6 chunks would do. I combined hickory and apple. I have never used pecan. But, I hope to pick up some fresh pecan tomorrow at my stepson's house. He has a pecan tree. I have not had to add water for a 10-11 hr cook. I'd add warm water if needed so as to avoid cooling off the smoker too much. Please post pics. Good luck and enjoy.
 
1-4-6 fist sized chunks
2-up to you, lots of folks mix
3-fill 'er up and don't worry about it unless your temps start climbing out of control
4-you won't crack the porcelain, but adding cool/cold vs warm/hot will drop the temp more and take longer to come back up
5-banished? no. tarred and feathered? perhaps.

don't put the meat on too soon, let the white clear/thin out and temps stabilized before putting the meat on. if it's holding steady temp, leave it alone. make sure you have something to do while it cooks. that's a big hunk of meat and your cook is going to be several hours(esp going l&s). you're gonna want something to keep you occupied and reduce the amount of peeking you're gonna wanna do.

final tip-relax. it'll cook, just let it do it's thing and don't over-think it.
 
I have 4 butts on my WSM right now, running it with 3 cherry and 2 pecan chunks. I usually use apple and pecan, but am out of apple. I don't use water at all, but have read suggestions to use HOT water when refilling.

Have FUN and don't worry, butts are forgiving! And don't stress when the meat hits a stall, where the internal temp sticks and takes forever to start rising again..happens all the time. :) You're going to have some awesome eats tomorrow!!!!
 
Bill said:
1-4-6 fist sized chunks
2-up to you, lots of folks mix
3-fill 'er up and don't worry about it unless your temps start climbing out of control
4-you won't crack the porcelain, but adding cool/cold vs warm/hot will drop the temp more and take longer to come back up
5-banished? no. tarred and feathered? perhaps.

don't put the meat on too soon, let the white clear/thin out and temps stabilized before putting the meat on. if it's holding steady temp, leave it alone. make sure you have something to do while it cooks. that's a big hunk of meat and your cook is going to be several hours(esp going l&s). you're gonna want something to keep you occupied and reduce the amount of peeking you're gonna wanna do.

final tip-relax. it'll cook, just let it do it's thing and don't over-think it.
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Ditto what Bill said....
I would add have plenty of adult beverages and take pics for us.
 
Sheila Cochran said:
I have 4 butts on my WSM right now, running it with 3 cherry and 2 pecan chunks. I usually use apple and pecan, but am out of apple. I don't use water at all, but have read suggestions to use HOT water when refilling.

Have FUN and don't worry, butts are forgiving! And don't stress when the meat hits a stall, where the internal temp sticks and takes forever to start rising again..happens all the time. :) You're going to have some awesome eats tomorrow!!!!
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Sheila I hope your taking pics to share with us. :wsm:
 
Thanks for the advise everyone. It is a perfect day for a smoke!! I am getting everything set up now and will have a full day of football and family to keep me busy and keep me from peeking in the lid. I will get some more pics here before I close her up for the day.
 
Argh! Tony, no pics.... I was in a big hurry to get them started last night, was late getting out of work (again) and wasn't able to get them on the smoker until 6pm. The food is needed at the church at 10am. 3 hours from now. Its going to be close...the two larger butts are just getting out of the stall - sitting at 160 right now. Those 2 might wind up chopped vs. pulled. Its all good though, I think the local community will enjoy it just the same! I'll try to get a pic or two, but time is not on my side this morning! Oh, the trials of cooking on someone else's timelines....the Q *always* owns the clock. :)

Kelly - how's the temp in Pittsburgh today? It was chilly here last night, around 50 degrees now. I love this kind of weather! Have fun today, enjoy the family, friends, football, and food! dang, thats a lot of "F"s.
 
Sheila Cochran said:
Argh! Tony, no pics.... I was in a big hurry to get them started last night, was late getting out of work (again) and wasn't able to get them on the smoker until 6pm. The food is needed at the church at 10am. 3 hours from now. Its going to be close...the two larger butts are just getting out of the stall - sitting at 160 right now. Those 2 might wind up chopped vs. pulled. Its all good though, I think the local community will enjoy it just the same! I'll try to get a pic or two, but time is not on my side this morning! Oh, the trials of cooking on someone else's timelines....the Q *always* owns the clock. :)

Kelly - how's the temp in Pittsburgh today? It was chilly here last night, around 50 degrees now. I love this kind of weather! Have fun today, enjoy the family, friends, football, and food! dang, thats a lot of "F"s.
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weather is perfect in Pittsburgh today. Currently 55 degrees with a high of 73. I was out sitting on my porch doing my devotions this morning and drinking coffee and was reminded on how much I love this time of year.
 
Looking good there Kelly and welcome to the forum. I would add not to worry about minor temp spikes, especially with a new smoker. I do butts at 275 and as pointed out, they are forgiving. Good luck, but I think you already have it going on

Tony R said:
Ditto what Bill said....
I would add have plenty of adult beverages and take pics for us.
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Tony, you crack me up, you are such a picture wh*re.... not that there's anything wrong with that. I guess this place would be a little less interesting without pics :)
 
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They finished a little over an hour apart, so that was not too bad. They are wrapped and resting. I love my first smoke with the WSM. There are still some things to learn but it is solid.
 
Kelly Kraemer said:
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They finished a little over an hour apart, so that was not too bad. They are wrapped and resting. I love my first smoke with the WSM. There are still some things to learn but it is solid.
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the pork looks great.i bet it's gonna be delish. Glad your first smoke went well.....oh , and I think that onion is done too! :D
 
Good looking smoke! And don't worry about the onion, it will add a bit to the flavour. It shouldn't hurt it at all.
 
Looks like your cook is done now, but I'll tell you what I like to do. I don't use water anymore, but when I did, I would always use hot water from my electric kettle to refill the water pan. It made for a bit of a challenge to refill, but with a watering pot from the garden it was easy to do. This way you spend less BTUs heating the water. I would always foil both sides of the water pan with HD foil...makes for an easier clean up. This is also where my Mav 732 comes in handy. Set an alarm and when temps spike, you need to add more water. Anyhoo, hopes this helps.
 
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Those butts look awesome Kelly!! BTW what smoke wood did you end up using? I love pecan on pork butts and ribs, try it on salmon too its awesome. I'm a water user on long cooks like with pork butt, and I start with boiling hot water that I heat up in my stock pot on the stove. That way I don't use as much energy heating the water in the wsm. Brings me up to temp faster too.
 
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