Post by lytefly on Aug 31, 2009 16:45:49 GMT -5
I recently got extremely interested in smoking techniques. I was ultimately after pulled pork. I'm a BIG fan! I couldn't find it locally how I wanted, so I was determined to do it myself. I was interested in smoking with the Weber and ultimately came across the Smokenator. Did all my research on techniques and recipes and was ready to go. I initially started with beef ribs, migrated to baby back ribs, did a Beer Can Chicken, and now to the holy grail (IMHO), pork butt! This is my first attempt and it came out GREAT! Here is how it went.
Just prior to taking out to the grill. Plastic wrapped in dry rub overnight. Another coating before putting on the grill. This is a 6 1/2 lb bone in butt.
Getting the Weber ready. I'm not using the water tray from the Smokenator, instead I will fill the entire cavity (about 90 briquets) and use a water tray on top. Here I am firing up 12 coals to get things started. They will be added to the Smokenator using the Minion method.
Got the grill ready to go. Coals are started, hickory chips in, water tray and drip pan are in place. The grill temp sensor from my Maverick ET-73 remote smoker thermometer is in place. The meat probe is off to the right.
Just prior to putting the Butt on the grill. Internal temp is stabilizing. I only use 12 coals to start my fire. Once they are about half lit I place them in the Smokenator. It usually takes about 20 minutes for my internal temps (at grill) to reach 225*.
Well here we go! It's 8:30am, all pieces are in place. Time to make it happen!
This is shortly after closing the grill. Meat temp started around 54*, the grill temp is up to 225*, right on target. I actually like to cook a bit higher and ensure the grill stays between 225* and 250* at the grill. 230* to 240* is where I prefer to be.
Here's my Maverick ET-73 remote unit somewhere around 2 hours into the smoke. It was quite interesting how the temps rose. I was at 140* by 2 hours. The next 1 1/2 to 2 hours saw the temperature rise to around 152*. It slowly rose to 167* and stopped! I lost count on the hours it sat there. Was quite interesting. I was expecting this to occur closer to 140* based on things I have read. FINALLY, it slowly rose though the 170's then got stuck again at 181*. I began to wonder whether 190* would ever happen!
This is about 4 hours in. Need to add water! I do the water tray on top for two reasons. One, to allow more charcoal in the Smokenator, second, to allow more water capacity. With this water tray, I can typically go up to 2 hours without opening the grill. Obviously, went a bit too far this time
I let the grill temp rise closer to 250* while the temp was stuck at 181*. Once I saw it tick up another degree or two, I let the grill go even higher to around 275* in hopes of finishing her up. BTW, I have now removed the water tray.
OK! Here we are at 189* getting ready to pull off the grill. It hit 190* just before I got a hold of it. Cook time was almost exactly 12 hours. It's now 8:30pm.
This pic was the initial "pull". The bone simply fell away to the left and in the center I took two forks and split it open. It couldn't have been more tender! Check out that bark!
And here is the final result. A bowl full of pulled pork heaven!!
Just prior to taking out to the grill. Plastic wrapped in dry rub overnight. Another coating before putting on the grill. This is a 6 1/2 lb bone in butt.
Getting the Weber ready. I'm not using the water tray from the Smokenator, instead I will fill the entire cavity (about 90 briquets) and use a water tray on top. Here I am firing up 12 coals to get things started. They will be added to the Smokenator using the Minion method.
Got the grill ready to go. Coals are started, hickory chips in, water tray and drip pan are in place. The grill temp sensor from my Maverick ET-73 remote smoker thermometer is in place. The meat probe is off to the right.
Just prior to putting the Butt on the grill. Internal temp is stabilizing. I only use 12 coals to start my fire. Once they are about half lit I place them in the Smokenator. It usually takes about 20 minutes for my internal temps (at grill) to reach 225*.
Well here we go! It's 8:30am, all pieces are in place. Time to make it happen!
This is shortly after closing the grill. Meat temp started around 54*, the grill temp is up to 225*, right on target. I actually like to cook a bit higher and ensure the grill stays between 225* and 250* at the grill. 230* to 240* is where I prefer to be.
Here's my Maverick ET-73 remote unit somewhere around 2 hours into the smoke. It was quite interesting how the temps rose. I was at 140* by 2 hours. The next 1 1/2 to 2 hours saw the temperature rise to around 152*. It slowly rose to 167* and stopped! I lost count on the hours it sat there. Was quite interesting. I was expecting this to occur closer to 140* based on things I have read. FINALLY, it slowly rose though the 170's then got stuck again at 181*. I began to wonder whether 190* would ever happen!
This is about 4 hours in. Need to add water! I do the water tray on top for two reasons. One, to allow more charcoal in the Smokenator, second, to allow more water capacity. With this water tray, I can typically go up to 2 hours without opening the grill. Obviously, went a bit too far this time
I let the grill temp rise closer to 250* while the temp was stuck at 181*. Once I saw it tick up another degree or two, I let the grill go even higher to around 275* in hopes of finishing her up. BTW, I have now removed the water tray.
OK! Here we are at 189* getting ready to pull off the grill. It hit 190* just before I got a hold of it. Cook time was almost exactly 12 hours. It's now 8:30pm.
This pic was the initial "pull". The bone simply fell away to the left and in the center I took two forks and split it open. It couldn't have been more tender! Check out that bark!
And here is the final result. A bowl full of pulled pork heaven!!