Inaugural smoking on my shiny new 22.5 WSM! Pork butts in real time...help!


 
Try moving the probe to anther area (hopefully with a higher internal temp). You may be too close to a bone and reading higher than expected.
 
Alyssa H said:
Am having trouble logging into photobucket. Working on it. Just finished my first Bloody Mary so maybe that will help.

Ad Greg, what is naughty nurses bbq? Can I join? I'm a real, legit RN. :)
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My wife and I are both nurses, so when we started competing we wanted something that included nursing. The naughty part just kind of had a ring to it. You have to admit, Nice Nurses BBQ just doesn't sound as good. Especially after a bloody mary or 2 :D One of the definitions for naughty is mischevious, and that fits me to a T.
 
8 hour mark. One butt was definitely done. Bone came out clean. Slightly bigger one almost as cooked, but couldn't get bone out easily. Decided to take both off and rest still wrapped in their foil under a towel in the sun. It's hot here today! Foil was leaking so didn't feel like messing up my clean cooler with the greasy mess. Think I may try putting them in a disposable tray covered with foil next time. Hopefully the slower one will get up to where it is supposed to be by the time I'm ready to pull it. I have some taste testers coming over around 6:45, so I have three hours to make some margaritas. :)
 
90 here in San Ramon!

So how do I get the NASTY water out of the pan (after everything has cooled down) without spilling it all over the place?
 
I give the fat a day to solidify and then skim it out of the water into a container. I then poor the water through a strainer with coffee filters in the bottom down the drain. This is the only thing I don't like about the wsm.
 
What Curt said. Which was also the last time I used water in the pan. Balling up a piece of foil is much more my style.
 
Alyssa H said:
90 here in San Ramon!

So how do I get the NASTY water out of the pan (after everything has cooled down) without spilling it all over the place?
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Curious to see if other members here call me an animal for this...

I have a metal trash can that I put my spent coals into when I'm done cooking. I just carefully lift that water pan out from the middle section and dump it into it before I dump the coals/ash in. I'll then leave the trash can in the middle of my driveway overnight, and once I know everything has cooled down, affix a big plastic yard waste trash bag over the top of the can, dump all the contents in, and toss the bag in my 'regular' trash.
 
Chris, how did I miss that article!? Lol! Will read it tonight.

The pork was good. But how bad can pork be, right?!

I should have trusted my instincts instead of my Thermapen and Maverick technology. I didn't think it was tender enough but the thermometers read 190+. I pulled it and kept it wrapped and under a towel in the sun for two more hours. Some of it was perfect when i pulled it but the rest wasn't tender enough. I served the tender parts to my taste testers and the rest is currently roasting in the oven, tightly covered with some juice and seasonings in the pan until it is tender enough for me.

Next time I will leave it in the smoker longer. There were plenty of hot coals left when I took the pork off.

As for the water pan, I foiled it a la Chris Allingham. Learned that from the video. :) what surprises me is that it is still almost full! Yuck! I'm never gonna get that it without spilling!

Thanks to everyone that helped me on my maiden voyage. Next challenge....ribs! Maybe Sunday!
 
Alyssa...

Congratulations on your first step, ie getting the WSM dirty :wsm:

For those using a Thermapen :
One product that should be included with all new smokers... Blue Painters Tape.
Tear off a small piece and stick it over the temperature display.
The probe should be your tenderness testing tool.
Think... Soft Butter. :)
 
Yeah, I have Maverick that I use for general guidelines. It lies--a lot. I'm pretty sure it has to do with not placing it exactly right in the meat. Ignore the exact numbers, just watch for them to not change (the stall) and set an alarm for around 190-195 to start poking. It's done when it's done, not when the probe says one thing or another.

The pit probe, that's a different story. I use that to manage my fire and haven't had problems with it.
 
Second attempt at pork butt commenced at 0645. Want to take it up to Lake Tahoe for the weekend and am determined to get it right this time. I will leave it on until its done, no matter what the Maverick and Thermapen say! I'm just planning to take it off when the bone pulls out clean. Is that a good plan?

What temp does everyone like for the butt? It's not windy so far but I have some plywood ready to put up a wind break if necessary. That wind really messed with my first rib cook last week.
 
I start the "probe-test" at 190 degrees. Sometimes it's done & ready, other times it needs to hit 200. All depends on the piece of meat itself.
Good luck & keep us posted. :)
 
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