- Apr 1, 2011
- 5
- 10
Hi Everyone - first time poster, and newbie smoker!
I am a long time griller and decided to get into Smoking - this is the best forum out there, IMO!
I smoked my first pork shoulder last weekend... 6.5 lbs, coated with Rub, 11 hours of smoking to reach internal temp 160F with Smoker temps on average 225-240, Hickory and Apple chunks, apple juice/Capn Morgan's spray once per hour... Wrapped it in foil and moved it to the oven on 250F for another 3 hours to reach internal temp of 200F then wrapped in towels and threw in a cooler for 2 hours. About 16 hours total. I tried a finishing sauce, but wasn't a big fan (think I'll keep it au natural next time) - all in all though, the result was fantastic! (pics below)
After learning much from my first attempt with this smoker by doing Ribs the week before (and getting info from this forum), I had swapped out the factory wood chip pan for a cast iron skillet as the chips/chunks kept flaring up even when covered with foil, so problem solved there... I had also bought the Maverick thermometer so I could determine the internal temp and get a more accurate gauge on the cabinet temp rather than solely relying on the factory door thermometer; awesome purchase, problem solved there...
The issue however, was regulating the temperature on my Masterbuilt Propane Smoker... It seemed like I had to adjust the temp knob on the Smoker constantly as I would have temperature swings of sometimes 50 degrees - I could literally watch the temp go from 225 to 205 to 250+. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to avoid this and keep a more steady and even temperature? The remote thermometer is great, but I'd rather not have to adjust the temp knob every 5 minutes in order to keep it between 225-240. I kept water in the water pan... I did notice that the temperature stayed a little more regular once I kept a new wood chunk in the pan for a longer time rather than replacing it with new chunks if I didn't see much smoke. This also created a really thin smoke you can hardly tell was there - but the general consensus is that is the type of smoke you want... (yes?)
If anyone can give me advice on regulating the temperature of this Smoker I would be very grateful. Any other general smoking advice is also much appreciated!
Thanks!
I am a long time griller and decided to get into Smoking - this is the best forum out there, IMO!
I smoked my first pork shoulder last weekend... 6.5 lbs, coated with Rub, 11 hours of smoking to reach internal temp 160F with Smoker temps on average 225-240, Hickory and Apple chunks, apple juice/Capn Morgan's spray once per hour... Wrapped it in foil and moved it to the oven on 250F for another 3 hours to reach internal temp of 200F then wrapped in towels and threw in a cooler for 2 hours. About 16 hours total. I tried a finishing sauce, but wasn't a big fan (think I'll keep it au natural next time) - all in all though, the result was fantastic! (pics below)
After learning much from my first attempt with this smoker by doing Ribs the week before (and getting info from this forum), I had swapped out the factory wood chip pan for a cast iron skillet as the chips/chunks kept flaring up even when covered with foil, so problem solved there... I had also bought the Maverick thermometer so I could determine the internal temp and get a more accurate gauge on the cabinet temp rather than solely relying on the factory door thermometer; awesome purchase, problem solved there...
The issue however, was regulating the temperature on my Masterbuilt Propane Smoker... It seemed like I had to adjust the temp knob on the Smoker constantly as I would have temperature swings of sometimes 50 degrees - I could literally watch the temp go from 225 to 205 to 250+. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to avoid this and keep a more steady and even temperature? The remote thermometer is great, but I'd rather not have to adjust the temp knob every 5 minutes in order to keep it between 225-240. I kept water in the water pan... I did notice that the temperature stayed a little more regular once I kept a new wood chunk in the pan for a longer time rather than replacing it with new chunks if I didn't see much smoke. This also created a really thin smoke you can hardly tell was there - but the general consensus is that is the type of smoke you want... (yes?)
If anyone can give me advice on regulating the temperature of this Smoker I would be very grateful. Any other general smoking advice is also much appreciated!
Thanks!