Roy,
Welcome to the world of the WSM, where the first and only rule to remember is to relax, have some fun, and be sure play with your food.
I’ll take a stab at answering your questions.
First, since buffalo is generally leaner than beef, it would be an excellent choice for jerky. A wet marinade would probably be better but, unless you’re pressed for time, I’d skip marinating them in a Foodsaver bag. I believe the Foodsaver will carry the seasonings into the meat more quickly but a day-long soak in a covered container in the fridge should give the same results without wasting an expensive bag if you’re not in a hurry.
Second, 2 hours/lb is a good rule of thumb for butts. If it gets done in a little less time (and it probably will), wrapping the butt in plastic then foil and storing in a pre-heated cooler will hold the meat at a safe temperature for several hours.
Also, I’d recommend leaving the bone in when you cook it. De-boning the butt is usually more trouble than I’d rather spend on something that’s going to fall out on its own accord anyway. Plus, it brings a lot of flavor to the party and you can use it as a gauge to determine when the butt is done. And, that smoked bone makes a great starter for your next pot of beans.
Ask 100 people about methods for cooking butts and you’ll probably get 500 responses. Lately I’ve been experimenting with resting the butt overnight with a coating of cheap yellow mustard then a double coating of a rub heavy with brown sugar and chili powder. I then give it a fair amount of smoke for the first hour before taking it to about 195 internal without the water pan (this does make temperature control trickier). Talk about bark formation! I leave the water pan empty because the type of bark I’m looking for with this method won’t form in the moister environment a full water pan would create.
I don’t know if you’ve seen this anywhere else, but the internal temperature of the butt will climb steadily to around 160 then stop for an hour or more. Don’t panic when this happens or be tempted to pour on the coals to hurry the process. This is a completely normal occurrence. The collagen within the meat begins to break down at that temperature and releases its moisture through evaporation. If you’re keeping a close eye on your Polder, you may even notice the temperature drop a few degrees. Again, this is normal. Just hold the smoker's temperature steady. Once the evaporation slows, the internal temperature will break through that plateau and once again rise steadily to your desired finished temperature. I believe most people here would agree that’s somewhere in the 190 – 205 range.
As with all things Q-related, there are only a very few wrong ways of putting some great tasting food on your table. All you’re really investing is time and a few dollars worth of ingredients. Experiment with rubs, mops (another topic for debate), sauces, and methods until you find a combination that trips your trigger.
Hope this helps.
Good luck and enjoy your WSM.
Ken
On the Lincoln Highway
