# My First Attempt!



## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

Hello everyone! 

The kids and wife got together and bought me a Masterbuilt Pro Series Dual Fuel smoker for Father’s Day. They gave it to me yesterday so I could cook with it today, wise of them, lol!

I found this forum while googling for info and man, am I glad I did. Got some great tips from you all to help make my first experience relatively easy so far. 

Did the chunks in the cast iron skillet deal, really liked that suggestion, btw. Added some apple juice and apple cider vinegar to the water bowl (which I filled with the water from the brief soak I gave the chunks). And swiped the wife’s pampered chef meat thermometer to help monitor IT. 

Decided to go with a whole chicken for my first try, seemed the easy and cheapest option should I fail miserably. 

Just put the bird in after rubbing a seasoning mix I cobbled together from a couple of recipes, and my own experiences, on the outside, under the skin, and inside of the bird. 4.5 pounder. Figuring about three hours at 225. But, as shown in one of the pictures, I can monitor both temps through the living room window, so that’s what I’ll be doing on this lovely 90+ no wind full sun day. 

I’ll update after it is done. Planning on putting it on a board and tenting it for about 20-30 minutes after it hits 165 IT and before cutting into it. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated between now and then. 

Posting some pics of the setup. 
	

		
			
		

		
	







Self explanatory 





Chunks (applewood) in cast iron pan on top of supplied pan. 





Also self explanatory 





Needed some shade for me!





Kinda hard to tell in the picture, but I can see both temperature read outs from inside in this configuration. 

Update to follow.


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 19, 2022)

Welcome aboard. Looks like a nice setup. I smolder wood chunks in a skillet over propane burner in my 3x3x7 smokehouse. Works very well. Enjoy


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## culpepersmoke (Jun 19, 2022)

You will learn a lot from this group. Don’t forget to post the final pics.


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## noboundaries (Jun 19, 2022)

Welcome aboard. Nice family. Poultry likes high heat to crisp the skin, otherwise it's rubbery. Low temps to start-high to finish.

Happy Father's Day!


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

Good tip. So what do you suggest? I’ve read finish in the oven, or should I just crank up the smoker to like 400 for the last 15-30 mins? Would rather do it all in the smoker if possible.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jun 19, 2022)

A few things to start with... FIRST...  welcome to your new addiction (Smoking Meat Forums)

 Your gonna find that the thermometer on the door is not accurate... They are all notoriously off... The fix...  get yourself a good remote thermometer with a min. of 2 probes...  If your one that likes everything on their phone they are available in either wifi or bluetooth...  Although I am hearing the blue tooth ones aren't very good as far as reception... 

It's not necessary to soak your wood chunks contrary to what you read ... 
If your looking..  your not cooking...  meaning every time you open the smoker door you loose about 20 minutes worth of cook time .. making the cook that much longer... It takes about that much time for the smoker to recover from the heat lose .. 
Your gonna find the chicken skin to be rubbery and non edible when cooked at 225`... Most people will crank the heat up (300`+) when the chicken gets around 150` IT...  This will crisp the skin up enough to be edible .. 

You have found the best forums on the net for all your smoking needs and I see you have become a premier member already...

Enjoy your future cooks and read... read...  read... any and all info you'll ever need is right here on SMF ..


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## JLeonard (Jun 19, 2022)

Welcome from Mississippi! 

 JckDanls 07
 has got you covered on the startup. look forward to your post and pics.

Jim


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> A few things to start with... FIRST...  welcome to your new addiction (Smoking Meat Forums)
> 
> Your gonna find that the thermometer on the door is not accurate... They are all notoriously off... The fix...  get yourself a good remote thermometer with a min. of 2 probes...  If your one that likes everything on their phone they are available in either wifi or bluetooth...  Although I am hearing the blue tooth ones aren't very good as far as reception...
> 
> ...


So, bird is at 150 IT right now, cranking the heat. I like CRISPY skin so gonna give 400 a shot. 

Oh, I’m cooking and not looking, no worries there. And yeah, my next acquisition is gonna be the dual probe remote thermometer for sure!

I only gave the wood about a 20 minute bath before throwing them into the smoker. I did read a number of folks saying dry wood was better. Will give that a go next time. 

Thanks for the response and advice!!!


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

P.s. I know I said I wasn’t looking, but I HAD TO, lol. Looks GREAT, but yeah, rubbery. 

Hopefully the last bit at high temp will do the trick, crispness-wise. 
	

		
			
		

		
	







And I moved the remaining wood into the center of the pan. Smoke seems to have increased.


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## schlotz (Jun 19, 2022)

Welcome to SMF from Indiana.  Sounds like they have you taken care of. If the skin still does not come out to your liking, use the oven broiler for a few minutes on each side. Happy Father's Day!


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

schlotz said:


> Welcome to SMF from Indiana.  Sounds like they have you taken care of. If the skin still does not come out to your liking, use the oven broiler for a few minutes on each side. Happy Father's Day!


Thanks! 

So the high heat at the end seemed to do the trick, skins was a bit darker and crispy to the touch. 

Have it resting tented in the oven (off, just to keep it out of the A/C). While the corn and sautéed mushrooms are finishing.


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## schlotz (Jun 19, 2022)

Good for You!  Looks wonderful. Enjoy the rest of your day.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jun 19, 2022)

That looks perfect and I can smell it from Fl.  well done sir... 

YOUR HOOKED


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## gmc2003 (Jun 19, 2022)

Looks real good from my screen. Happy fathers day and enjoy that bird. The only thing I would add is that poultry(for me anyway) takes on smoke quickly so be cautious with how much smoke you toss at the chicken.

point for sure
Chris


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 19, 2022)

Nice work. Enjoy.


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## JLeonard (Jun 19, 2022)

Looks good! Pull me a leg off and I'll be a happy fat boy!
Jim


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## JckDanls 07 (Jun 19, 2022)

And the final results are ??


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 19, 2022)

Customary to post a cut shot of the final product, we like pictures.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> And the final results are ??


Success. Ish. The meat was not as tender as I was anticipating. Definitely not falling off of the bone. Very juicy and the flavor came out quite well. The wife said “this would be GREAT in tacos!” She’s not a huge smokey flavor fan and had one of the breasts, which she enjoyed anyway. The skin, while crispy on the outside was quite chewy and neither of us ate it after the first couple of bites. 

I’m thinking my smoker temp gauge was, indeed, quite a bit off. 2 hours and about 15 mins at what it said was about 210-225 to get to 165 IT. I did crank it up once it got to 150 to crisp up the skin, and the rise from 150-165 only took about 10-15 minutes. 

I will get a thermometer for the air in the box before my next go to make sure of the temp. 

So, any suggestions or pointers not already given? Is the meat not falling off the bone a poultry thing? What is the best way to get the skin crispy like when I cook it in the oven (crispy, relatively light/thin mouth feel…)?

I did not brine the bird or anything like that and only wrapped it in Saran Wrap and stuck it in the fridge for about a half hour after seasoning it. As I said, I was happy with the flavor, and while it SMELLED quite smoky, I didn’t find the taste overly so.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 19, 2022)

SmokinEdge said:


> Customary to post a cut shot of the final product, we like pictures.


Sorry, got wrapped up in eating it, lol. 

Here it is, been in the fridge for about 30 mins or so in this picture.


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## noboundaries (Jun 19, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> I’m thinking my smoker temp gauge was, indeed, quite a bit off. 2 hours and about 15 mins at what it said was about 210-225 to get to 165 IT. I did crank it up once it got to 150 to crisp up the skin, and the rise from 150-165 only took about 10-15 minutes.


Your times are not really off given the temps you used. I smoke birds at 325°F+ and they are generally done in about an hour, give or take. 

Poultry doesn't fall off the bone in a smoker like it does when braising in a liquid. Water transfers heat 25x's faster than air. So even though braising is at 212°F, there's a LOT more transfer of heat energy than in your smoker.

Try a higher chamber temp next time. Crispy skin and a time saver. Your bird look GREAT!


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## bauchjw (Jun 19, 2022)

Welcome and happy Father’s Day! Great gift and first cook! Chicken, in my humble opinion (IMHO), is really hard on the MES. Some here have had great success, but I’ve never been able to get it the way I like, Webber kettle is where I put my chicken. Id say a good pork butt should be your second go. MES is awesome for ribs and butts! Lots of other things too, but those are great meats to start!


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 19, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Sorry, got wrapped up in eating it, lol.
> 
> Here it is, been in the fridge for about 30 mins or so in this picture.
> View attachment 635235
> ...


Heck yeah. Looks delicious. Did you enjoy it? Feedback?


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## Sven Svensson (Jun 19, 2022)

Looks great and you look really happy with it. Welcome, from California.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 20, 2022)

Nice Color on that Bird!!!
Like.

Bear


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 20, 2022)

Bearcarver said:


> Nice Color on that Bird!!!
> Like.
> 
> Bear


Thank you sir!

Overall very pleased with my first smoking experience. 

Now on to a pork butt!

Will advise.


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## Hijack73 (Jun 20, 2022)

As 

 bauchjw
 said - run a pork butt through it!   Here I can get a butt on sale for .99 quite often - and never pay more 1.59.  It's nigh impossible to mess up a butt.  Chicken looks good (even if I don't like smoked chicken lol!)


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 20, 2022)

I must say that the bird looked and smelled great but I don’t think I’ll be doing another chicken. Turkey legs perhaps…

Butt is next up!


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 20, 2022)

Brine the chicken first, you will be happy in the smoker. Real game changer.


Mike Kilo said:


> I must say that the bird looked and smelled great but I don’t think I’ll be doing another chicken. Turkey legs perhaps…
> 
> Butt is next up!


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## tallbm (Jun 20, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Success. Ish. The meat was not as tender as I was anticipating. Definitely not falling off of the bone. Very juicy and the flavor came out quite well. The wife said “this would be GREAT in tacos!” She’s not a huge smokey flavor fan and had one of the breasts, which she enjoyed anyway. The skin, while crispy on the outside was quite chewy and neither of us ate it after the first couple of bites.
> 
> I’m thinking my smoker temp gauge was, indeed, quite a bit off. 2 hours and about 15 mins at what it said was about 210-225 to get to 165 IT. I did crank it up once it got to 150 to crisp up the skin, and the rise from 150-165 only took about 10-15 minutes.
> 
> ...


Hi there and welcome!
Great first smoke.

Biggest poultry tips to help you out are:

1. Smoke your poultry at 325F smoker temp to get edible skin.  Poultry skin just doesn't want to be edible unless cooked at a higher heat.  Think of this is a quirk of skin on poultry (chicken or turkey)

2.  If you cover/tent cooked poultry it starts to rehydrate and toughen up the skin some.  Try not to cover or tent it if you can avoid it.  So in your case putting the bird uncovered in a warmed oven would have been a good way to hold it and keep it warm while working on sides and stuff.

3. Brining, curing, marinating, or injecting will help ensure a bird is not dry in the breast and white meat.  Same with just smoking breast meat.  If you decide to brine/cure/marinate let us know and we can discuss the beauty and precision of an "Equilibrium" brine to nail it and never get too salty.


So there are the few little tips for your whole birds and poultry with skin on.

Now you mention doing turkey legs.  If you want state fair/disney land style smoked turkey legs then you will need to use come cure #1 or else it will be like your chicken and less like those hammy mahogany smoked turkey drums.

Let us know when you are doing your pork butt and ask any questions you may have.
Everyone says it is an easy smoke BUT... like all smokes each different one has different quirks and tricks to consider.
You just ran into skin on poultry quirks.  A pork butt will have different quirks not related to the whole bird.
That is part of the understanding of smoking meat.  Each cut is different and has a few quirks to address.  You rarely can treat two different cuts of meat the same with process, seasoning, and trips/tricks.

I hope this info helps :)


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## DRKsmoking (Jun 21, 2022)

Welcome from Nova Scotia

  Your chicken looks great, but like all above have said higher heat for birds. And like 

 tallbm
 said try not to tent up .

I have the same smoker and I smoke/cook quite a few different things in mine . Most things work and I have had a couple fails, not the smokers fault , it was the cook trying out different things.

  You will enjoy the smoker and like said. the temp gauge on the front is always wrong. I have a 4 probe Inkbird and love it. As I can go about my yard choirs while the smoke is rolling. I have mine set up in it's own little building so I can cook/smoke almost anytime of year. A couple of snow storms slowed me down a bit.

This place is full of great folks that will help you if you need it and cheer you on while you enjoy this way of feeding the family.

David


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 25, 2022)

Ok gang, I just wanted to say how grateful I am for everyone’s comments, suggestions, and welcoming thoughts last weekend; y’all are a fantastic group!

I pulled some of the bird over the last week to use in various dishes and it was fantastic! Much better option than just eating the bird as a bird. 

Going to do my second smoke this weekend. An 8lb pork butt. Haven’t done anything to it yet, and hoping to get some recommendations from you experts!
Brine or no?
Favorite rub to use?
Favorite method/technique?
Season and wrap then into the fridge overnight or just rub and go?
225 or 250?
4hrs then wrap, 4 hours then pan and cover?
Spritz during first time period or nah?
Apple cider/juice in water dish?
Apple or mesquite chunks for pork butt (used applewood for the bird and liked that flavor)?

Inquiring minds want to know!

TIA!!


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## noboundaries (Jun 25, 2022)

I'm a minimalist when it comes to smoking. 

Brine or no? Absolutely not. If smoked/cooked long enough to melt the collagen, it will be tender and juicy all on its own.

Favorite rub to use? Pappy's Low Salt, but they are a West Coast company. I use low salt rubs because you get more herbs and spices. You can ways add salt if needed.

Favorite method/technique? Depends on the smoker. I do hot n fast on my Kettle, Low n slow overnight with a hot n fast finish on my WSM.

Season and wrap then into the fridge overnight or just rub and go? Rub and go. 

225 or 250? Any temp you want at or above 225°F. I've done butts as high as 375°F in 6 -8 hours and they tasted as juicy and delicious as 225°F for 20+ hours.Butts don't care.

4hrs then wrap, 4 hours then pan and cover? Nekkid start to finish. Only wrap or pan and cover if you want to save the drippings for soups, gravies, and stews. Leaving the butt nekkid until the IT reaches 180°F will give you a firmer bark.

Spritz during first time period or nah? Don't waste the time, spritz, or heat. 

Apple cider/juice in water dish? Dry smoke.

Apple or mesquite chunks for pork butt (used applewood for the bird and liked that flavor)? Love both. Prefer mesquite.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 25, 2022)

noboundaries said:


> I'm a minimalist when it comes to smoking.
> 
> Brine or no? Absolutely not. If smoked/cooked long enough to melt the collagen, it will be tender and juicy all on its own.
> 
> ...


I do like your minimalist outlook here. I think I will give these tips a try this time. 

Much appreciated and I will report back tomorrow as I get into it.


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## tallbm (Jun 25, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> I do like your minimalist outlook here. I think I will give these tips a try this time.
> 
> Much appreciated and I will report back tomorrow as I get into it.



I believe 

 noboundaries
 and I are in 99.9999% agreement!!!

To reiterate:

Absoltuely do not brine.

Rub/seasoning, I go simple with salt, pepper, onion, garlic and paprika (SPOG+Paprika).  You can go equal parts of all of them.  If u look at pork rubs these seasonings are in the top5-6 listed which means u are paying high dollar for simple seasonings just mixed in a bottle for u :)

No need to season and wrap and put in fridge.  Yep pull out of package and rub while its wet and juicy/bloody and go like NB says.

Method, I go 275F the whole time because a pork butt does not care what temp it is cooked at as long as it is not burning.  IMPORTANT:  if you use a rub/seasoning with sugar the sugar can burn and become bitter with temps over 250F I think (double check the temp to confirm).  As you notice I dont use sugar.
If you want to use sugar u can easily shake it in after you shred along with additional seasoning as needed OR you can apply sugar or a bbq sauce when it hits like 195F Internal Temp (IT).
Personally I find everyone likes it better when they can customize on their plate with sauces, additional seasoning, etc. and it keeps things super simple.  Everyone wins.


4hr/4hr wrap in smoker - I also suggest going naked the whole time.  If you wrap meats too early they simply taste like oven roasts.  Why waste hours and hours of time and effort to make what turns out to be an oven roast.  I never wrap anything below an Internal Temp of 180F even if I have to wrap something (chucks and brisket flat only are the things I am forced to wrap).
One thing I do HIGHLY suggest is to cut a split into your pork butt all the way to the bone.  Going from the meat side until it hits the bone, the whole length of the butt as indicated by this picture:






The bone will keep it from being cut into 2 pieces.
Now spread the meat out some and season well all in there as well.  When you go to smoke it, lay it on the rack spread out.
This will allow you to get max smoke penetration deep into the meat that would normally get none.  It allows for seasoning and bark to get onto more area of the meat where it normally would not get.
This increases flavor 10x over and I found I never have to add any finishing sauce or additional seasoning to my pork butts when I shred them.  This was the one practice that turned my porkbutt from being great to exceptional!!!  Also it results in less work in the end since u dont have to add sauce or seasoning once shredded so it makes life easier for u :)

Spritz or mop??? No way, its a waste of time and heat.  Instead watch TV and relax.

As for liquid in your dish. I would leave that up to you and how your smoker behaves.  My MES needs no additional moisture and holds temps well.  If I ever had a smoker that needed me to have liquid I would go water.  All my other techniques give the most amazing flavor that there is no need to attempt apple cider which i hear doesnt really impart flavor or any that matters.

Wood.  Your preference.  You will be fine with either or a combo of either.  I live in TX so smoking pork, chicken, etc. with Mesquite is not foreign to me/us and makes good food no matter what.   If you are still earning with mesquite I would say go 75% Apple 25% Mesquite so you don't introduce the complexity of properly managing mesquite smoke and having things go sideways :)

It is my firm believe that people turn out good BBQ IN SPITE of all the things they do.  I usually find that the simpler it is the better it becomes because there is less to get in the way.  
*The main thing to remember about a pork butt*, it is only ready when it is tender.
It is tender when you stab all over with something like a kabob skewer and it goes in without any resistance.
I start checking for tenderness on a Pork Butt around a meat's Internal Temp (IT) of 203F.

I hope this info helps :)


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 25, 2022)

tallbm said:


> I believe
> 
> noboundaries
> and I are in 99.9999% agreement!!!
> ...


Tallbm,

I really like the suggestion of slicing down the middle and seasoning in there. I will definitely give that a try. And the tip about the sugar is a good one. I knew that, but was not thinking about it as I was trying to come up with my own rub spice blend. 

What is this _complexity of properly managing mesquite smoke_ of which you speak? I was really planning on going with just the mesquite chunks this time, but now I am uncertain. 

One thing I realize I did not ask about before was: soak the wood chunks or not? And if so, for how long?

Thank you for your advice, much appreciated!!


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## noboundaries (Jun 25, 2022)

Mesquite is a strong tasting wood. It's about all I use, but use half as much as you would another type wood or it can overpower all flavors in a bad way.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 25, 2022)

noboundaries said:


> Mesquite is a strong tasting wood. It's about all I use, but use half as much as you would another type wood or it can overpower all flavors in a bad way.


Ahhhh, ok. That makes sense. I will do a 50/50 mix so I don’t run out of smoke.

Soak or no soak?


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## tallbm (Jun 25, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Tallbm,
> 
> I really like the suggestion of slicing down the middle and seasoning in there. I will definitely give that a try. And the tip about the sugar is a good one. I knew that, but was not thinking about it as I was trying to come up with my own rub spice blend.
> 
> ...




 noboundaries
 has you covered.  I don't believe you want to soak your wood chunks, just bury them and roll with it.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Now spread the meat out some and season well all in there as well. When you go to smoke it, lay it on the rack spread out.


Fat side (and bone) up or down?


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## chopsaw (Jun 26, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Fat side (and bone) up or down?


Now ya did it . 
I'll give the first up .


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

chopsaw said:


> Now ya did it .
> I'll give the first up .




Let me rephrase:
Fat side towards the heat (down in my vertical smoker) or away from it?

And go!


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## chopsaw (Jun 26, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> I don’t think I’ll be doing another chicken. Turkey legs perhaps…


That was your first smoke , and it looked fine . You just have to learn the tweaks . I do a lot of poultry , and you should try another . 
Look for Tony Chachere's injection at the store . Works wonders , and an easy place to start . Then you can move on to making your own brines and injections .


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

Ok, after a bit more research I’ll be doing fat side down (towards the heat source). 

Gonna try 300 for this one. Want to eat it tonight, lol. 

Used roughly 50/50 applewood and mesquite chunks dry in cast iron pan. 

Did use water pan as I was worried about flare ups from dripping fat since I just had cast iron pan over heat directly below the butt. 

Seems to be smoking much more this time than when I did the bird (I did wet down the chunks last time but only for like 20 minutes). 

Here are a couple of pictures and one of the smoke bellowing out (I have the two bottom vents open about 1/5 and the top vent about ¼ open).


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

chopsaw said:


> That was your first smoke , and it looked fine . You just have to learn the tweaks . I do a lot of poultry , and you should try another .
> Look for Tony Chachere's injection at the store . Works wonders , and an easy place to start . Then you can move on to making your own brines and injections .


I do love Chachere’s seasoning, I will definitely hunt down the injection.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

So, the smoke level is now back down to where it was last time. Must have just been the initial heating up of the dry chunks that caused the deluge…

Apologies for the frequent posts, but I am enjoying getting to know my new hobby, lol, and everyone’s comments and advice are just adding to my experience. Thanks again for all the help!

I must go now to shop for my new remote reading, multi-probe thermometer set up!


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## noboundaries (Jun 26, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> I must go now to shop for my new remote reading, multi-probe thermometer set up!


A fun tool, but consider it an advisor, not a professor. Your hands, with a sharp probe, will teach you more about tender meat than a thermometer ever could. Internal meat temp is only a suggestion, not a destination. 

A butt at 203°F may be perfect one time and underdone/overdone the next. Different animals make the difference. Butts, briskets, picnics, chuckles will talk to you when you probe them for tenderness.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

noboundaries said:


> A fun tool, but consider it an advisor, not a professor. Your hands, with a sharp probe, will teach you more about tender meat than a thermometer ever could. Internal meat temp is only a suggestion, not a destination.
> 
> A butt at 203°F may be perfect one time and underdone/overdone the next. Different animals make the difference. Butts, briskets, picnics, chuckles will talk to you when you probe them for tenderness.


Absolutely.

It will be a tool to reassure me that my smoker is still where it should be temp wise and tell me when to start poking.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

Started poking around 196 IT and when it hit 203 it felt right to me, easy, smooth slide in and a little bit of grab pulling it back out. So, I took it out of the smoker and it is now sitting in the oven resting (oven is not turned on). Any suggestions on how long to let it rest before I start pulling it apart?

More to come.


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## schlotz (Jun 26, 2022)

Personally, I wrap right out of the smoker and put in a cooler with towels for a couple of hours. The rest time does yummy things.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

schlotz said:


> Personally, I wrap right out of the smoker and put in a cooler with towels for a couple of hours. The rest time does yummy things.


I have heard others say the same thing. Apparently some have a meat resting cooler used for nothing else. 

I’ll give that a try next time. Very much in the trying different things to figure out which I like best stage right now. 

Better late than never, right?!?


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## JckDanls 07 (Jun 26, 2022)

schlotz said:


> Personally, I wrap right out of the smoker and put in a cooler with towels for a couple of hours. The rest time does yummy things.



X2 ...    your Butt looks scrumptious ( I had to) ... 



Mike Kilo said:


> top vent about ¼ open



Next time run with top vent wide open...  all temp control is done with bottom (intake) vents ... If you have the smoker choked down with the exhaust (top) vent then you are holding back any stale smoke


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> X2 ...    your Butt looks scrumptious ( I had to) ...
> 
> 
> 
> Next time run with top vent wide open...  all temp control is done with bottom (intake) vents ... If you have the smoker choked down with the exhaust (top) vent then you are holding back any stale smoke


Hahahahah! I’ll give you that one. Not that I haven’t  heard that before…

Ok, good tip on the vents. Will definitely give that a go next time!


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## schlotz (Jun 26, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> I have heard others say the same thing. Apparently some have a meat resting cooler used for nothing else.
> 
> I’ll give that a try next time. Very much in the trying different things to figure out which I like best stage right now.
> 
> Better late than never, right?!?


Any large cooler will work. Doesn't have to be a dedicated one. I used a rolling one for years because it was big, just added a few more towels. These days I found this one a while back that works pretty good.


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## GaryHibbert (Jun 26, 2022)

Gotta say your first smoke in your new smoker looks like it turned out great.  Nice job.
Can't say I've ever had fall off the bone chicken.  And as far as crispy skin goes, I don't figure you'd like my advice.  ALL poultry skin at our place goes straight into my old hound Roxy's bowl.  
Gary


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## GaryHibbert (Jun 26, 2022)

Dang it, I'm getting old.  Forgot to welcome you to the Forum.  No question about it--you picked the best one to join.
Gary


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

Final results for today’s project.

8.14lb butt yielded 3lbs 2.5 ozs (plus some “quality control” sampling) of pulled pork.

The vast majority of the meat pretty much fell apart for me in my hands as I was separating the unrendered fat out. There were a few small sections that required a bit of effort to pull, but still looked great when done. And then there were a couple of really small corner/point pieces that were dry and crunchy and I nibbled on them or tossed them.

Smells wonderful (as it did the entire time, lol) and the taste was definitely to my liking. I took Tallbm’s advice on the seasoning and used a mixture of SPOG, one measure of each, and added 1/3 measure each of paprika and cumin (I really like the flavor cumin gives to meat). Mixed the spices, took the butt out of the package and rubbed it down while moist. It sat for maybe 15 minutes while I was getting the smoker all set and ready to go and it went in at 300.

Temps were all over the place, unfortunately, as I am still getting used to regulating temp and smoke with the burner and the vents. And, OF COURSE, the propane tank ran out a couple of hours in! If I had to estimate a temp chart it would look like this:
300 for about 30 mins
350 for about 30 mins
275 for about an hour
325 for about an hour
250 for about 30 mins
200 for about 15 mins (the changing of the tank)
275 for about 20 mins
325 for the rest of the time until the IT hit 203.

Even the wife liked the taste of the meat and she is not a huge smoked/BBQ fan (I love her for other reasons, lol).

Here are some pictures. Not sure I’m ready for fish yet, might try brining/injecting a bird and doing that again…
	

		
			
		

		
	














Oh, also, I did do the slice down the middle, but I didn’t get it exactly in the middle and I think the smaller section got a bit dryer. Also, there was not a lot of a fat cap on this out of the package, probably only about ⅛ to ¼ inch maximum, so I did NOTHING to that. Fat side was down for this run. 

Had to add more wood chunks once and refilled the water dish twice.


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

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## JckDanls 07 (Jun 26, 2022)

I would have suggested the fat cap UP...  this lets the fat render down and soaks into the meat instead of dripping into the pan and losing it ... 



Mike Kilo said:


> might try brining/injecting a bird



Myself I only brine my birds... Overnight is plenty long enough...  Base brine is 1-1-1 ....  1 gallon of water.. 1 cup of kosher salt ...  1 cup of sugar ...


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## Mike Kilo (Jun 26, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> I would have suggested the fat cap UP...  this lets the fat render down and soaks into the meat instead of dripping into the pan and losing it ...
> 
> 
> 
> Myself I only brine my birds... Overnight is plenty long enough...  Base brine is 1-1-1 ....  1 gallon of water.. 1 cup of kosher salt ...  1 cup of sugar ...


I will give that a try with my next bird!


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## tallbm (Jun 27, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Final results for today’s project.
> 
> 8.14lb butt yielded 3lbs 2.5 ozs (plus some “quality control” sampling) of pulled pork.
> 
> ...



Hey that looks fantastic!
I'm glad it was a success and you learned a few things.

As for holding. I pull mine out of the smoker, tightly wrap in 2 layers of foil, and then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels . I set it on the table or counter and 4-5 hours later it is still piping hot so I pull/shred it and it is ready to serve and eat :)

The nice thing about pork butts, pork ribs, and briskets is they don't care what temp you smoke them at as long as you aren't burning them... and you don't have sugar in the rub/seasoning :)

Doing more pork butts and learning how to whip your smoker into shape and get the behavior you want is a great way to practice and it's a cheaper cut of meat.

Once you absolutely nail about 3 pork butts then you can spend some money and try a brisket if that ever interests you.  Until then I would stick with perfecting long-big smokes by doing pork butts.

Keep at it and keep enjoying the good bbq! :D


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## Mike Kilo (Jul 10, 2022)

DRKsmoking said:


> Welcome from Nova Scotia
> 
> Your chicken looks great, but like all above have said higher heat for birds. And like
> 
> ...


I love your smoke hut setup!!

With your recommendation and some further investigation, I picked up an ink bird four probe thermometer and am looking forward to getting to use it!

Thanks!


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## Mike Kilo (Jul 10, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Hi there and welcome!
> Great first smoke.
> 
> Biggest poultry tips to help you out are:
> ...


Trying some chicken thighs and drumsticks today. Made a brine of 12 cups water, ½ cup kosher salt and one cup brown sugar with a couple teaspoons of garlic powder, a sprinkling of thyme and rosemary and a dash of apple cider vinegar. Soaked the meat in it for about 12 hours. The meat is in the fridge on a rack dripping onto a pan right now. Been in there about an hour so far. 

Gonna give it another hour or so and then into the smoker. Based on your previous suggestions, I’ll be setting it to 325. Good internal temp 165 or 185? Given that it is all dark meat I’m thinking the higher temp, but I’m here to learn from others!

I’ve read it’ll be about an hour and a half to two hours at 225, so this should be a pretty quick smoke. 

Gonna do applewood with no water in the drip pan.


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## tallbm (Jul 10, 2022)

Mike Kilo said:


> Trying some chicken thighs and drumsticks today. Made a brine of 12 cups water, ½ cup kosher salt and one cup brown sugar with a couple teaspoons of garlic powder, a sprinkling of thyme and rosemary and a dash of apple cider vinegar. Soaked the meat in it for about 12 hours. The meat is in the fridge on a rack dripping onto a pan right now. Been in there about an hour so far.
> 
> Gonna give it another hour or so and then into the smoker. Based on your previous suggestions, I’ll be setting it to 325. Good internal temp 165 or 185? Given that it is all dark meat I’m thinking the higher temp, but I’m here to learn from others!
> 
> ...


Glad you liked my setup and are getting your setup beefed up! :D

I agree with the higher internal temp for dark meat.  Dark meat comes out better at a higher temp.  Lots of folks don't go over 180F but I dont think 185F would hurt anything.  Dark meat is forgiving.

Yep it would be a quick smoke and I think it will come out well for ya.

If this goes well I encourage you to do a dark meat smoke where you just season up and go.  
This will let you compare your brined/marinated approach to the season and go approach and allow you to weigh pros and cons of each.   Then you can pick which approach you want to do depending on the time you have for a smoke.

I've heard it said once that happiness means having options... after long and hard thinking, I came to completely agree with such a simple and innocuous statement haha :D


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