New smoker incoming

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resstealth

Smoke Blower
Original poster
May 19, 2014
130
15
Berea, KY
Hey all Dave here, finally talked the wife into letting me get a smoker. Already bought the weber chimney and ordered a maverick et733 last night. Sunday I'm ordering a wsm 18.5 from amazon with the free 1 day shipping. Plan on doing a couple pork butts as soon as I get it, will be sure to post pics. Oh and any tips you guys have for my first smoke would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks everyone. I had originally planned on the Oklahoma joes highland, but after reading about heat and smoke holding problems, settled on the weber. Any tips for my first pork butts? Also any advice on seasoning my weber would be appreciated.
 
Welcome!

I'm new at this too. Learning as I go. Good looking piece of meat in your photo, did you cook that?

I made and smoked some beef jerky and some bratwurst. I have an abundance of mesquite, pecan and orange wood here to use, would like to have access to some apple.

Everything I've attempted so far has turned out great.

Welcome aboard and good luck smoking!
 
Thanks everyone. I had originally planned on the Oklahoma joes highland, but after reading about heat and smoke holding problems, settled on the weber. Any tips for my first pork butts? Also any advice on seasoning my weber would be appreciated.

I smoke butts at 225-245*.... Ya want to do them low and slow ! Butts are full of connective tissue that's tough and not tender... However when smoked low & slow to around 200* IT, the connective tissues will melt down & that leaves some tender & tasty Q ! I usually rub mine down with a light coat of plain ole yellow mustard, EVOO or peanut oil... IMHO, helps create kind of a barrier if ya will, to help retain the moisture inside the meat... Then apply a good coating of rub... Then, off to the smoker.... I let it go for bout 3 or 4 hrs, then I'll put the temp probe in... This will make sure all the contaminants on the surface of the meat will not get pushed in with the probe... After 3-4 hrs the surface will be hot enough the contaminants will be no more ! Your IT will slowly climb, but usually around 160-170* IT (give or take a little IT wise) ya will hit what is called the stall... This is when the temp will hang for a couple hours sometimes with little increase in IT ! This is normal ! Some folks like myself just let it go and others will foil to push thru the stall... Up to you & IMHO, is a personal preference... Ya may have to try both ways to see which ya prefer... Reason I don't foil is I like the bark too much ! I usually start checking around 198* IT for the tenderness, when the bone is nice & loose like ya could just pull er out... She's done ! Pull from smoker, foil, wrap in a couple towels & rest in a cooler for a few hours... I just use my camping cooler... The rest will allow the juices of the meat to redistribute throughout making very tender Q ! After a few hours pull outta cooler pull and enjoy ! Ya can also search up top for a finishing sauce, there's a few out there that are pretty tasty ! Butts take patience & time ! Don't rush it, just enjoy a few cold ones and have fun Q'ing !
 
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Thanks for the tips water! Definitely gonna use your advice on these butts, then I think I'll try my hand at a nice brisket. Walmart has some nice 14 pounders with a very nice coat of fat on one side that I think will turn out nicely. And I definitely won't foil, I'm a big fan of the bark.
 
That is a thing of beauty

Thanks, sometimes at least to me it's nice to have a visual... If ya need anything else just ask & be sure to post some pics of your smoke ! Lookin forward to seeing it ? What wood type ya plan on using ?
 
For the butts probably hickory, for the brisket I'm thinking of using the jack Daniels barrel chunks
 
For the butts probably hickory, for the brisket I'm thinking of using the jack Daniels barrel chunks

Very cool, I usually soak the chips or chunks overnite when I use my WSM ! I know a lot of folks don't soak... Again, just a personal preference thing !
 
Yeah I've been torn on soaking or not soaking, I'll probably try both. Jack Daniels smoked brisket sounds mouth watering though.
 
Yeah I've been torn on soaking or not soaking, I'll probably try both. Jack Daniels smoked brisket sounds mouth watering though.

Yeah, IMO it's a personal preference thing.... Try both and see what ya think... Take some notes that ya can refer back to in the future so ya can nail down what ya like & what ya don't like... And I agree that brisket with JD chunks sounds awesome ! :beercheer:
 
Hello Dave, welcome to the site, Waterhole gave you some great advice (And good looking Pork Waterhole) The only thing I would add is do a test run and season your smoker, maybe do some sausage or chicken just to get the feel and make sure its working right (especially Temp gauge) and let you see how to maintain your heat and smoke.  Good luck keep us posted.

Gary S
 
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