Hi all from London, England

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mymatedavep

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 19, 2017
6
11
Hi everyone. I am just starting my second summer season of using a smoker. Its an ECB (I discovered that nickname this morning when reading one of your threads!). I live in London and I am hosting a bbq on 1st July and cooking a pork butt and ribs. Last year I did a brisket and the results were mixed - I didn't have temperature gauge which made things tricky! This year I have bought a digital thermometer for both the meat and the smoker temperature. I just read a thread on getting the temperature up and maintaining it so I will be drilling some holes in my charcoal pan this evening! Any tips on how to cook multiple things at once would be great as I am doing ribs and a pork butt. I assume that the more meat that I put in the smoker the more charcoal I will need to keep the temp at 225? 
 
Welcome to SMF!

Obviously the butt will take a lot longer than the ribs.

Figure about 2 hours per pound at 225 for the butt, & about 5-6 hours for the ribs.

So your gonna want to put the butt in a long time before you put the ribs in.

Al
 
Hi Dave, Welcome to our "Family" and "Addiction"

Plenty of good folk on here, ask any questions you can think of, and you will get your answers.

Please take time to look at the UK Smokers Group,

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/3161/uk-smokers

And introduce your self on the UK Roll Call
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/229926/roll-call

The UK Smokers Group Is where UK members can ask and share information that is unique to smoking and curing in the UK and does not obviously fit into any of the main forum categories.

We are getting close to our annual UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend. The dates are 21st - 23rd July 2017. Please use the link below to view the website.

http://www.uk-smf.co.uk
Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]
 
Hi Dave - Welcome to the forum and if you can please introduce yourself in the UK group too that would be great. I am from Kent so probably not far from you.

The fine temperature control on the ECB is not that great but the meats you have chosen (Pork shoulder and ribs) are quite forgiving and will be fine. I would offer the following advice. 

Cook the pork shoulder the day before and chill overnight.Smoke for about 3-4 hours uncovered and then foil for the remainder of the time. Retain any juices that collect in the foil to add back after it has been pulled. You need to give the shoulder a total of 8-10 hours and then wrap in several layers of foil and place in an insulated "cool" box covered in towels to rest for another couple of hours before pulling. If you are having trouble with the temperature control in the ECB over that long period of time then it will cook just as well in the kitchen oven once it has been foiled. Most of the smoke flavour in the meat is gained from the first 3 hours of smoking. The following day, warm up in tightly covered in foil in a moderate oven until it has reached 74C. The flavour actually enhances when it has been chilled and reheated.

This only gives you the ribs to worry about on the day itself. If you are using meaty ribs then allow 6 hours, however with the ECB you will probably be cooking at temperatures higher than 110C so they will probably be ready sooner. Ribs are quite forgiving and so if the temperature varies a little then that is not a problem. At 110C then use the 3:2:1 method however if you are running at ~150C then use 2:2:1. If you want to cook multiple racks of ribs at the same time then simply cook them coiled vertically on their edges held in shape with some skewers. If you are cooking baby back ribs then just use the 2:2:1. The final full hour is not always required and if they are ready sooner then simply wrap in foil and place in the "cool" box to rest until required.

Dont forget to take pictures... We like photos here 
icon14.gif
 
Thanks for all the advice wade. Very much appreciated. I've just ordered a 5kg pork butt from my butcher. I read online that you need to cook a pork butt for at least 1 hour per pound. 5kg is about 11lbs so am I really looking at an 11/12 hour cook at 225 F?
 
Yes you are. It is not just the temperature that it cooks to but also the length of time it is there - as it takes time for the fat to render and the connective tissues to break down.As I mentioned above, you can smoke/cook it for 8-10 hours but then it continues to "cook" while it is resting in the cool box. 12 hours in total is a good time.

You mention pork butt - are you referring to the shoulder or the leg? I only ask because there is sometimes confusion. The best cut to smoke for pulling is the shoulder (yes this is called the pork butt) but the leg is sometimes call a pork butt too.

For ribs the 3:2:1 method consists of the following steps
  • 3 hours in the smoker uncovered
  • 2 hours in the smoker covered in foil - sometimes with a brush coating of BBQ sauce
  • 1 hour back in the smoker uncovered to dry the surface
This is a rule of thumb though and the ribs often do not need all of the last hour. They are done when they have about 1/4" - 1/2" of pullback on the bone and they pass either the toothpick or bend test.

The toothpick test is when you can push a toothpick through the meat and there is little resistance

The bend test is when you gently bend the rack and you see the meat starting to crack at the bend
 
Last edited:
Yes I am referring to the shoulder. I watched lots of youtube videos and with the advice above I now feel like I'm ready to give it a go! I can't actually cook the pork the day before because I am working, so I think it will be an early rise- even earlier than the kids for once!

Wade you've been so helpful - I will definitely post some pictures.

David
 
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