Harley , to help keep the bad taste away , keep your smoke 'Bluish' like this :
small , but you can see .. .
small , but you can see .. .
Hence the reason TBS, thin blue smoke. Hmmm, I wondered, so how do we keep it "bluish" ?
Harley , to help keep the bad taste away , keep your smoke 'Bluish' like this :
small , but you can see .. .
There's a million answers to that, which is what makes it such an art. The biggest thing for me is to add small amounts of wood consistently, not large amounts all at once and don't starve out for air. If you have a too much fuel you'll have to choose between it being too hot or staving it which leads to white smoke. It will take a while to get to know your smoker, but at some point you'll know to add 1 small log every x minutes.Hence the reason TBS, thin blue smoke. Hmmm, I wondered, so how do we keep it "bluish" ?
Ya know what, Bullitz, someone told me yesterday at the market that the MES has temp swings and that his is about 10 degrees off. I have the Taylor temp gauge with probe and gauge that sits outside the MES with an IT alarm for what I set it at. I'll hafta set my MES at a temp and toss in the probe by itself and see the comparison I suppose?If I missed it, my apologies, but am not sure if you said what thermometers you were using.
By using my Maverick, I have learned that my MES(40) has huge mood swings...and thats normal.
I set my MES to 235 degrees to imitate an approximate temp of 225.
The temp swings (on mine)from 204 to about 258 as the heating element goes on and off. The average is close enough to 225 for my liking. :)
After I learned my temp swings, I became far more comfortable using it.
Awesome JJ, thanks man.
Your Bark looks fine to me. It will get a bit darker and thicker as the surface dries but that will get mixed in at the end, softening and adding a TON of flavor. In fact ALL the smoke flavor for the entire batch of meat comes from the mixed in Bark.. Since you are not foiling, add the Foiling Juice/Sweet Finishing Sauce at the end, after you pull the meat. Add it a bit at a time until the meat is moist, shiny and flavorful but not swimming in juice. If there is leftover juice, save it. Leftover meat will absorb the juice and you can add more as you reheat the leftovers. If you are using a drip pan, remove the bulk of the fat from the drippings and add the pan juices too or mix them into a batch of beans, good stuff!...JJ
For JJ or anyone else who knows please....
So if I opt out of the foiling phase @ 165* and just let it cook the whole time to 205*, when do I add the finishing sauce?
For a Sweet Finishing Sauce for Pulled Pork: Make a Double batch, skip the Butter.
Add 1/2 the batch to the Foil Pack or place it in a Pan with your Butt, when the IT hits 165*F.
Cover the pan with foil and continue to heat to 205*F for pulling.
At 205* rest or hold the Butt in a cooler wrapped in towels until ready to serve.
Pull the Pork and place it back in the pan with the pan Juices and any additional reserved Foiling Juice to moisten and Serve...OR... Bag and refrigerate until needed.
When re-heating place the Pulled Pork in a Pan or Crock pot and add reserved Foiling Juice or Apple Cider, as needed to make up the Juice that was absorbed while the pork was refrigerated. Cover and re-heat in a pre-heated 325-350*F oven or on High in the crock pot to 165*F and Serve.
Note: the addition of the reserved Foiling Juice or Apple Cider should make the PP moist but not Swimming.
Yes sir, thanks...I have it foiled and toweled now and resting in the cooler. Gonna pull at 5 and chow. I'll post a couple more pics.Since no one replied, I looked around and found that finishing sauce can be added AFTER its "pulled".
Dunno if I would do that though.
You can also use a finishing sauce during reheating to help from drying.