I've had my MES 40" for a couple of months now, and had only smoked one thing, a whole chicken, that was good but oversmoked in my opinion. So I took the advise of you 'pros' here and noted my procedure, and learned from my mistakes. I have been taking my time, reading the forums and learning as I go. I decided to smoke my first Butt yesterday. It was just our family of 4, so I went with a 5 pound Butt. I used the Big Bob Gibson method for my first time, as I liked the combination of spices in the rub and the ingredients in the injection. I debated about whether or not to inject, but decided to do it to add some extra flavoring to the end product. Unfortunately, I got a later start than I wanted, so instead of smoking at 225, I upped the temp to 250 to speed up the smoke some. I wanted to use Hickory, but forgot to get some, so I used Applewood instead. I figured the Apple would compliment the pork so was ok with that. I added smoke until I reached an internal temp of 140 and then just heat from there on out. When the internal temp reached 195, I pulled the butt out and brought it inside and let it rest. I them pulled the pork, and it was very tender and easy to pull. My wife sneaked a bite before I did, and she couldn't believe how delicious it was. She said our days of going the the BBQ restaurants are over and she's making me smoke them myself from now on. Between the 4 of us, we pretty much devoured the butt at one sitting!
I'm hooked for sure now after this successful smoke, and I look forward to smoking the next butt at a longer temp and longer time. I want to experiment with rubs, etc, but this one was so good that I think it may very well become my 'go too' technique. Anyway, thanks to everyone here for your posting all your great advise and experiences. I give you all the credit for my success with this one!
I'm hooked for sure now after this successful smoke, and I look forward to smoking the next butt at a longer temp and longer time. I want to experiment with rubs, etc, but this one was so good that I think it may very well become my 'go too' technique. Anyway, thanks to everyone here for your posting all your great advise and experiences. I give you all the credit for my success with this one!
