New member here

[thomchat]

I appreciate your info. I am a full-time working (got bored with retirement) 77-YO woman who likes to try new things in the cooking world and got a Masterbuilt signature series 40-inch electric smoker. I have been "lurking"on this site for a week, following info to smoke my first Boston butt last weekend. It was wonderful meat but took probably much longer than it should have. I made pulled pork.
I brought meat to room temp, preheated with hickory chips for 3 hours, finally got the 6-1/2 pound pork butt in smoker near 10-am Sunday. It was finally at 195 degrees after 4:am Monday morning! It sure is good though. Now I have brined a chicken and am letting it come to room temp, ready to smoke.

 

[gearjammer]

Hello and welcome to you.

It really doesn't sound that out of line for a butt to take that long.

One thing you might want to do is check to see if your MES is 

at the temp it says it is.

Their temp gauges are often off by quite a bit.

Somebody that knows more about it will probably stop

by here pretty soon though.

Have fun.

             Ed

 

[joe black]

Welcome from SC. It's really good to have you here on this great site. Ask any question that you may have. There are lots of folks on here who are always ready to share their ideas, recipes and ideas.

In addition to checking your therms for accuracy, I like to smoke a little hotter than some of the literature tells you. I like 250-275*. I think it will get the butt done quicker and retain a little more moisture while still rendering out the fat. You may also experience a stall at about 150-160* IT. When this happens, wrap your butt in foil and put in 1/2 cup of apple juice. The foil wrap will help to power it through the stall. The apple juice will help with moisture and flavor. The acidity will help with tenderness. Give it a try.

Good luck and good smokin'. It's nice to have some more "seasoned" folks here. Joe (71).

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to the forum!

How'd that chicken turn out?

Al

 

[thomchat]

The chicken turned out great. Next time I will let it go to 170. Temp 165 I think was a little too soon because the joints were still tight. But the breast meat was done and delicious.

 

[millerbuilds]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your smoker!

Welcome to SMF from North Texas.

Smoke ON!

- Jason

 

[thomchat]

P.s. i made chicken salad with the chicken. I got recipe from: Smokingmeatforums.com from Squirrel in Augusta, GA. "Obsessive crazy woman that smokes everything!" She posted her recipe and I jumped right on it. Our family get-together was very happy with it.

 

[gary s]

  Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a muggy, hot day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary