If you only have Hickory

[Jeff Wildrick]

If you only have hickory, how many fist-sized chunks would you use for 4 pork butts, overnight cook?

That's what I've got, and that's what I'm smokin tonight!

Jeff

 

[Bill Hays]

Fist size? 3-6. Personally, I'd go with 4 or 5.

Bill

 

[Frank Sacco]

I second Bill when it comes to the count. Personally I would use 4 hickory and 2 oak.

 

[Bryan S]

Fist sized, Depends whose fist? My fist is bigger than a softball so I'd say 4-5. Now if you got a pair of girly hands then 6-8.

When I do butts, I load up on the wood. I always try to over smoke them but never have yet. Bark to meat ratio is way off so no worries once it's all mixed up, on the over smoked thing. JMO

 

[Jerry N.]

Well it really depends on how much smoke you like. If you've cooked before and you have a sense of how much wood/smoke you like, then I would say stick with that amount. The fact that you're doing 4 butts doesn't increase the amount of wood needed.

If, as you indicate, you only have hickory, then it depends on what you're use to mixing it with. If you typically mix a hickory with a light wood like apple, then I would substitute hickory to apple by using a little less hickory than apple. If you typically mix hickory with a stronger wood like oak, then I would substitute hickory to oak by using a little more hickory than oak.

Personally a couple fist size chunks is good for me, but I'm a light weight. Remember - going light on smoke might cause a little disappointment in the finished product, but going too heavy can down right ruin a piece of meat (or four pieces in your case).

 

[Bill Hays]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry N.:
Well it really depends on how much smoke you like. If you've cooked before and you have a sense of how much wood/smoke you like, then I would say stick with that amount. The fact that you're doing 4 butts doesn't increase the amount of wood needed.

If, as you indicate, you only have hickory, then it depends on what you're use to mixing it with. If you typically mix a hickory with a light wood like apple, then I would substitute hickory to apple by using a little less hickory than apple. If you typically mix hickory with a stronger wood like oak, then I would substitute hickory to oak by using a little more hickory than oak.

Personally a couple fist size chunks is good for me, but I'm a light weight. Remember - going light on smoke might cause a little disappointment in the finished product, but going too heavy can down right ruin a piece of meat (or four pieces in your case). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Very well put!!

Bill

Oh, and Jerry, you're now an "All Star" !! Congrats on 1500 posts.

 

[Paul H]

Jeff, 4-6 should be good especially for Pork Butts. Since you are probably going to pull the pork and mix it all together it's very forgiving. Now, Ribs or poultry on the other hand you have to be careful. Smoke can overwhelm these real easily. I'm doing ribs right now. Using Apple and Cherry.

 

[Jeff Wildrick]

Last night about 9:00 I put in four, baseball-sized chunks of hickory, plus a golf-ball sized sliver to get things going.

As of now (11:50) my internal meet temperature is 160. When I woke up this morning the WSM temp at the lid was 198. It took a couple of hours and some more coals to get back up into the 210 - 225 range. The meat looks great. I hope it will be done by 2:00 or so, and I've opened the vents a bit to get the temp closer to 250.

Thanks for the help! I'll try to upload a pic when I'm done.

Jeff

 

[Jeff Wildrick]

Wow,
I guess you really mean it when you say, "It's done when it's done." 3:30 p.m. (16 hours) and the internal meat temp is 180. But I know it will be worth the wait!

 

[Paul H]

Jeff, just be patient. I sometimes hit a plateau around the 180 mark but after it passes that the temps should increase faster. The results are worth the wait

I assume you are going to wrap in foil and towel when they are ready and put in someplace to rest for awhile??

 

[Jerry N.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff Wildrick:
Wow,
I guess you really mean it when you say, "It's done when it's done." 3:30 p.m. (16 hours) and the internal meat temp is 180. But I know it will be worth the wait! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's worth the wait. Make sure you check the temp in a couple places.

 

[Jeff Wildrick]

Wow. Now I know what it feels like to be a hero.

I was able to pull one butt off just in time for the start of the fundraiser. The second two came off about 40 minutes later. The last another half-hour after that.

The first three all got 30 minute rests before pulling. The last rested for a full hour, and it was, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.

But I have to say - I've never tasted anything so good! Yes, it was worth the wait. Everyone was coming over and asking me how I did it, where did I learn to smoke like this.

Thank you, everyone here, for helping make this first big smoke a success.

My first overnight smoke - 4 butts

Jeff

 

[Paul H]

Jeff, congrats on the successful cook. When you do your next one allow a little more time for resting. I always rest a minimum of two hours wrapped and in a cooler. Kevin K says you can do the resting in a microwave oven. Just don't put it on

. Hey, nice pics by the way