First Try

[mvallen]

So I bought an LP Smoker last night, we assembled it and got everything ready to go. We seasoned it earlier tonight but we were so eager to start that we went out an bought an 8lb butt. It's been in since about 7:00 and now its 9:30 temp is about 85 degrees. Things are going well, just trying to get the hang of keeping the temperature steady.

It is a little breezy so that may have something to do with it. But anyways we are going to be staying up late/ taking turns watching the meat until it reaches 200. It smells delicious!

Can't wait to smoke more often!

 

[richoso1]

Nice to read that you're jumping right into the thick of it. Hang in there, it'll be worth the wait. It's all good my friend.

 

[pineywoods]

Congrats on the new smoker did you by chance get a decent thermometer to check what the actual smoker temps are the thermo on the door is most likely not correct. What smoker temp are you running?

 

[alx]

Words of the wisdom.Good Luck on that smoke....

 

[the dude abides]

Yeppers, after the smoker, the most important tool is a quality thermometer. Good luck with your maiden voyage. Are you planning on foiling?

 

[carpetride]

Aint but one way to learn and that it is to jump right in! Sounds like you got a plan for checking the temp.

A butt IMO is one the best pieces to start a smoker with. Lots of fat there to help get a good coating going. What did you season the butt with?


Good luck!

 

[mvallen]

Thanks for all of the great tips!

I did foil it but we jsut used a rub from the store for the sake of time. I am going to run to the store and stock up on a bunch of spices this week so that I can make my own rub from now on.

Also, after this first butt I am searching around for a good thermometer. I definitely found out that the one of the smoker is not accurate at all. The smoker thermometer was showing 220-230 but at around the 9th hour the meat was not moving above 160, so I cranked it up a little more because I figured the meat thermometer was a lot more accurate than the smoker thermometer.

What do you guys reccomend as a smoker thermometer?

Oh by the way the meat turned out great. Next time I am going to allow myself more time for the meat to rest before I start pulling it but i have a bunch of bbq that would have cost a fortune at the store for a fraction of the price. Well sort of, I need to smoke more meat to lower the cost of smoking each time!

 

[seenred]

Your butt getting stuck at 160 is a common occurance, and might not be an indication of inaccurate temps. Most butts hit this "wall", but will eventually start going up again, you just have to patient enough to wait it out.

As far as thermos go, I suggest some kind of digital therms with a probe for the meat. You can buy a pretty good one made by Taylor at most Wal-marts, Bass pro, Home Depot, etc. for about 20-25 dollars. If you don't mind spending a little more, go for a Maverick ET-73 dual probe thermo. These babies have 2 probes, one for the meat and one for the internal smoker temps. I bought one online a couple of months ago for about $40 plus shipping.