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[captive]

So say I put it on at 9:00PM the night before and 9 hours later (6lbsx1.5hrs) it would be done at roughly 6:00AM, would I rest it for two hours and then stick it in the fridge? What would be the best way to reheat it? Would I be better off starting it at 6:00 when I wake up and cooking it 9 hours until 3:00 and then resting it until 5:00?

I am less concerned about how long it takes, I just am going for maximum tenderness and moistness. All the ones I've done before have been no water pan, no spray/mop, no foil, and no rest and they come out a little tough and fairly dry. You're saying if I cook it longer to make sure it is fully done and let it rest for a good amount of time I don't have to worry about the other stuff?

essentially yes. I would start out simple, the less you have to think about the less mistakes you can make.

I typically inject it, but you dont have to
I foil because i aint about waiting, but you don't have to.

As for when you should cook it, personally i value my sleep. With 2 kids under 2 i need every bit i can get, so i just cook it during the day and foil it anywhere between 4 and 9 hours depending on how set i want the bark. Heating it up the next day in the oven tastes and feels the same to me as after letting it rest and pulling it. I usually pour some of the juices from the foil pan in the pyrex too which helps keep the meat moist when re-heating. I usually just put it in the oven straight out of the fridge covered in foil for about an hour at 300 or so.

 

[zbarron]

essentially yes. I would start out simple, the less you have to think about the less mistakes you can make.

I typically inject it, but you dont have to
I foil because i aint about waiting, but you don't have to.

As for when you should cook it, personally i value my sleep. With 2 kids under 2 i need every bit i can get, so i just cook it during the day and foil it anywhere between 4 and 9 hours depending on how set i want the bark. Heating it up the next day in the oven tastes and feels the same to me as after letting it rest and pulling it. I usually pour some of the juices from the foil pan in the pyrex too which helps keep the meat moist when re-heating. I usually just put it in the oven straight out of the fridge covered in foil for about an hour at 300 or so.

Thanks for all the tips.

I hear that. I have a 5 year old and a 4 month old. I'm surprised I don't see you post in ParentGaf OT (insomniacs anonymous). I'll ptobably start it early in the morning.

 

[zbarron]

The Slow N Sear arrived today. I just have to figure out if I'm supposed to put it flush against the grill or keep it away an inch or so. When it's flush I'll have an easier time filling it with charcoal though the grate. When it's offset it should be more efficient and it sits better on the charcoal grate.

Got a reply:

I like to keep my SnS 1/4" to 1/2" from the kettle wall. It's perfectly OK if the SnS hangs off the bottom grate a little bit. It'll work fine. No need to season, just fire it up!

We hope you stop by our Facebook page with pics of your cooks!


Adrenaline Barbecue Company LLC
We didn't invent the kettle. We perfected it!

Great customer service.

 

[zbarron]

I took the Slow N Sear for a test run tonight. I made smoked boneless skinless chicken breast. I just trimmed excess fat off, coated it in olive oil and rubbed it then smoked it with cherry wood chunks at ~225*F until it hit 160.

Keep in mind this graph was with only a single adjustment of the vents when it dipped below the red line. This was to emulate if I could do an overnight smoke with this.

Internal temperature.

Chicken:

There is still a ton of charcoal and water left as expected and I didn't fill it that high. I used the leftover charcoal from that steak I grilled:

I love how after you're done smoking you just need to leave the lid off and it becomes a sear zone. Perfect for saucing ribs or reverse searing:

I used a fork to move the chicken. You can see the juices come out where I pierced it:

 

[mr_chun]

Team Charcoal here. I have a three-year-old original 22" Weber kettle, same kind that my dad grilled over for us as kids.

I know a lot of folks like to grill their steaks quick over high heat, but I've had a lot of success with cooking them slow and away from the heat to retain moisture, create caramelization, and absorb some of that smoky flavor. Anyone else do it this way? Am I dumb?

 

[Skittles]

Transformation Tuesday:

(my stuff is on the left side of the grill)

Everything turned out excellent except for the steak, my first time cooking one so i'll only improve. Was like medium well instead of my intended medium rare haha. My kebob's were only over-cooked by about 30s but still damn good.

 

[The Lamonster]

There is still a ton of charcoal and water left as expected and I didn't fill it that high...I love how after you're done smoking you just need to leave the lid off and it becomes a sear zone. Perfect for saucing ribs or reverse searing:

YES! Welcome to the club.

Yeah, you'll end up needing to refill the water before the charcoal even comes close to burning out. And I've tried keeping it close against the wall and flat on the grate. They both work fine. You get a bigger indirect zone and room for a bigger drip pan if you have it pushed all the way back, but you'll notice it's tilted so the water is uneven. Also it could harm the paint if you have a really long searing phase.

 

[zbarron]

YES! Welcome to the club.

Yeah, you'll end up needing to refill the water before the charcoal even comes close to burning out. And I've tried keeping it close against the wall and flat on the grate. They both work fine. You get a bigger indirect zone and room for a bigger drip pan if you have it pushed all the way back, but you'll notice it's tilted so the water is uneven. Also it could harm the paint if you have a really long searing phase.

Thanks. I now have no regret. This thing is awesome and definitely worth the price.

I'll keep that in mind.

I kept the thermometer running to see how it goes. Still haven't touched the vents since about 5PM.

Now that more coals are lit it's running closer to 275 and it's stayed within 10 degrees for about 2 hours and before it was within 20 degrees for 2 hours. I think the app was closed for that weird diagonal line. The real test will be the pork butt tomorrow but I feel completely confident doing an over night smoke with this. I can't wait to try it out with high heat indirect grilling and searing.

I'm sure if I messed with the vents as needed I could get a pretty rock steady temperature but I think I might rather just kind of forget about it for 5 hours at a time and focus on other things and still get great food.

 

[zbarron]

The pulled pork was done in time for dinner.

We had 21 mph winds today so it was a bit of a struggle keeping the temperature stable but it was doable. Part way through I remembered seeing someone did this to prevent wind sucking air out of the top vent.

Not the best photo but here's how it came out.

I foiled it with no extra liquid at 157 since I was heading out for two hours and it obviously wouldn't finish in time without foiling. At 195 I opened the foil and twisted the bone and poked it with the probe several times. It went through effortlessly and the bone twisted easily. I wrapped it back up and shut both vents and let it rest in their as the coals died down. It was a perfect resting spot for two hours.

To pull it I put the meat which was falling apart and all of the juices from the wrap and the foil boat underneath it in my Kitchenaid stand mixer with the paddle attachment and lid. All of the juices got re-absorbed and it pulled it in about 30 seconds to a very fine shred.

Here's my finished plate.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Team Charcoal here. I have a three-year-old original 22" Weber kettle, same kind that my dad grilled over for us as kids.

I know a lot of folks like to grill their steaks quick over high heat, but I've had a lot of success with cooking them slow and away from the heat to retain moisture, create caramelization, and absorb some of that smoky flavor. Anyone else do it this way? Am I dumb?

You're not dumb at all, I'm gonna take a page from your (cook?) book and give this a shot

 

[ColdPizza]

Roasting/smoking a 100-120lb pig this weekend. Will try to update with pics. It's like my 5th time doing it, always something to learn.

 

[Chris R]

So the past couple of posts made me go and try to buy a Slow N Sear only to find they don't even ship to Alaska

Oh well, snake method has worked GREAT this year, wish I would have known about it from the start.

 

[zbarron]

So the past couple of posts made me go and try to buy a Slow N Sear only to find they don't even ship to Alaska

Oh well, snake method has worked GREAT this year, wish I would have known about it from the start.

http://slownsear.com/estimated-delivery-time/
According to this it ships to Alaska in 4-5 days. You could also try ordering it through Amazon

Where are you seeing they don't ship to Alaska?

 

[mr_chun]

You're not dumb at all, I'm gonna take a page from your (cook?) book and give this a shot

I've had the most success doing this with ribeye. Nice dark pink center, juicy. Takes patience, especially if you only want one flip.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

I've had the most success doing this with ribeye. Nice dark pink center, juicy. Takes patience, especially if you only want one flip.

One flip is all I need.

Rib eye it is

 

[The Lamonster]

I know a lot of folks like to grill their steaks quick over high heat, but I've had a lot of success with cooking them slow and away from the heat to retain moisture, create caramelization, and absorb some of that smoky flavor. Anyone else do it this way? Am I dumb?

I do this too. My method is detailed above in post # 2734.

FYI the only benefit of flipping once is grill marks. You'll get a more even cook if you flip multiple times.

and yes, ribeye is the best cut of beef there is

 

[Zeke]

Hey bbq gaf I just got a Weber jumbo Joe premium as a starter grill. Everything I've read about cooking with a Weber has dealt with 22 kettle. I know the jumbo is shallower than the kettle so I'm wondering how fitting a water pan and using the snake method would work in the jumbo. Should I use a smaller amount of charcoal since the jumbo is shallow and the heat will be much closer to whatever is being cooked? I've also read that setting up a deflector with foil on charcoal grate is a good idea. Would it be more important on a jumbo Joe?

 

[zbarron]

Hey bbq gaf I just got a Weber jumbo Joe premium as a starter grill. Everything I've read about cooking with a Weber has dealt with 22 kettle. I know the jumbo is shallower than the kettle so I'm wondering how fitting a water pan and using the snake method would work in the jumbo. Should I use a smaller amount of charcoal since the jumbo is shallow and the heat will be much closer to whatever is being cooked? I've also read that setting up a deflector with foil on charcoal grate is a good idea. Would it be more important on a jumbo Joe?

I don't have any experience with the Jumbo Joe premium, but I've used the snake method quite a bit. What thermometer and charcoal are you using? I'd agree a deflector would be very important here and they're always nice for catching drippings and keeping the grill clean.

Really there is only one way to find out and that's by doing a test run. Setup the snake 2x2 for about a third of the grill and add about 8 lit coals on on end making sure some go directly on the first line in the fuse. Leave the vents open and close the lid until your thermometer says it's at 175. From there I'd try closing both lids to 1/4 open and seeing what reading you get after 15 minutes and adjusting from there.

Hopefully you're using a probe thermometer but if not at least use an oven thermometer placed in the very center.

 

[Zeke]

I haven't set it up yet and likely won't until I get a thermometer. As of now I'm leaning towards the maverick 733 as I've read nothing but postive reviews. As far as charcoal it's going to be kingsford blue bag and maybe some wood chips/chunks for flavor. Thanks for the advice it's much appreciated. I'll give an update once I get everything going.

 

[zbarron]

I haven't set it up yet and likely won't until I get a thermometer. As of now I'm leaning towards the maverick 733 as I've read nothing but postive reviews. As far as charcoal it's going to be kingsford blue bag and maybe some wood chips/chunks for flavor. Thanks for the advice it's much appreciated. I'll give an update once I get everything going.

Forgive the rude question but why did you go for this one if the 22" kettle is only $32 more and you plan on smoking with it. I'm sure this one will work great for grilling, possibly even better since the food will be closer to the coals, but you're sacrificing some smoking oppurtunities.

 

[Zeke]

Was a gift, I've been eyeing the 22 copper kettle for sometime as the grill I wanted. Silver linning is I didn't pay for it and I can practice on this then I'll buy my kettle next summer maybe.

 

[zbarron]

Was a gift, I've been eyeing the 22 copper kettle for sometime as the grill I wanted. Silver linning is I didn't pay for it and I can practice on this then I'll by my kettle next summer maybe.

Alright that's one hell of a silver lining. Last summer I got a Smokey Joe pictured higher this page and was in a similar boat. Even after getting the Weber 22" Premium I still use it on occasion and even when it's not directly being used it makes a great surface to put my charcoal chimney.

The 733 is a great thermometer and it seems the one most in here use. Kingsford Blue Bag would also be great for smoking since it runs slightly cooler than some of the alternatives so that might help you keep your temps low. I'm interested to hear how it does with the snake method. You could very well hit 225 if you keep your airflow down but even if it only can go as low as 275 you should be able to smoke most things at that temperature.

 

[Zeke]

Ha, I figured once I get a kettle it will be relagted to chimney duty with sporadic usage. I'll definitely update once everything is up and running.

 

[suplex]

I think I'm gonna try to smoke some pork butt on Sunday using my 22" Weber kettle. I have a thermopop on the way, and picked up some cherry wood chunks, drip pans, and the Weber charcoal holders. I think I'm gonna pick up the pork from Costco tomorrow. I did a little search on grill setup, and how to control the heat, but this will be my first time attempting this, any other tips for a rookie? Any good suggestions on a simple dry rub recipe to use? I plan on using the meat for pulled pork sandwiches and pork and pineapple tacos.

 

[zbarron]

I think I'm gonna try to smoke some pork butt on Sunday using my 22" Weber kettle. I have a thermopop on the way, and picked up some cherry wood chunks, drip pans, and the Weber charcoal holders. I think I'm gonna pick up the pork from Costco tomorrow. I did a little search on grill setup, and how to control the heat, but this will be my first time attempting this, any other tips for a rookie? Any good suggestions on a simple dry rub recipe to use? I plan on using the meat for pulled pork sandwiches and pork and pineapple tacos.

I just did pulled pork with cherry wood. It came out great. I'd recommend the snake/fuse method instead of doing minion in the charcoal holders. Pulled pork takes a long time and you'd be refueling every few hours with those. I'd put the charcoal most of the way around 2 wide and 2 tall with chunks of wood over the first half of the fuse. Put empty drip pans in the middle. If you got the smaller drip pans put on on the top rack over the first part of the fuse full of water.

For dry rubs try either Meathead's Memphis Dust or just pick one up. I got Weber's dry rub and it's really tasty and I'll reuse the container.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

I made this little thing last night on the grill. It was a tri-tip about med-well. A little more than I prefer, but still amazing.

and at the end, I threw on a NY strip over the coals. It turned out a perfect med-rare.

 

[ThisGuy]

I have a 18" weber kettle that I do all my grilling/smoking on. Which is nice, but smoking is cumbersome. Now I love my weber, will I find that same quality with their smoker series? I've read about people starting it, getting the temp to what they want, then going to bed, and the next morning everything is nearly how they left it.

What are your recommended smokers? Webers ideal?

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I have a 18" weber kettle that I do all my grilling/smoking on. Which is nice, but smoking is cumbersome. Now I love my weber, will I find that same quality with their smoker series? I've read about people starting it, getting the temp to what they want, then going to bed, and the next morning everything is nearly how they left it.

What are your recommended smokers? Webers ideal?

I recommend the Weber Smokey Mountain. For the price, it's the best out there. I would stay away from the cheaper smokers since they end up being more hassle than they are worth. I had a <$100 Brinkmann and while I did end up with smoked meat it was such a pain in the ass to work with during the cook time. Temperatures weren't stable, the design of the smoker left a lot to be desired so I ended up modding to make it work for me, and it chewed through fuel like nothing. With my WSM once I get it to temp I just leave it alone until my meat is done.

 

[ColdPizza]

I have a 18" weber kettle that I do all my grilling/smoking on. Which is nice, but smoking is cumbersome. Now I love my weber, will I find that same quality with their smoker series? I've read about people starting it, getting the temp to what they want, then going to bed, and the next morning everything is nearly how they left it.

What are your recommended smokers? Webers ideal?

Yeah, they're pretty darn reliable. I own the 18.5" WSM and am pretty happy with it as a starter smoker. Very stable temps and quality as you would expect with Weber. There are a lot of mods you can make and there are also nice fan systems you can buy for them.

Though I still feel if I ever get another I might like to try my hand at an offset smoker. Something a little more traditional with more horizontal rack space.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

Is it worth it to upgrade my cooking grate? I'd love to have one where the sides flip up to add more coals. It's a pain because the grate doesn't like to come out very easily, but it's so well coated that nothing sticks on it. I can only imagine how awful new stainless grates would be to work with. How long before they blacken and become non stick?

 

[ColdPizza]

So who has an iGrill here? Was wondering what a good model is. Does it have a min and max temp alarm?

My brother got the iGrill mini as a stop gap to measure ambient temp in his pig cooker. Unfortunately it's only for food doneness and doesn't have a min alarm setting.

edit: looks like it lets you set a range

 

[zbarron]

So who has an iGrill here? Was wondering what a good model is. Does it have a min and max temp alarm?

My brother got the iGrill mini as a stop gap to measure ambient temp in his pig cooker. Unfortunately it's only for food doneness and doesn't have a min alarm setting.

edit: looks like it lets you set a range

I have the iGrill2. It's what I've been posting all fo those graphs with. You missed a great sale. Sams Club had them for $40 instead of $100 and it came with 4 probes instead of the normal 2. The iGrill mini seems like it is just as nice but 1 probe instead of 4. I almost never use the LED display and use my phone to check it so the lack of that shouldn't be a problem. I think you could even use 2 minis to get smoker temp and meat temp. The range is pretty good. It surprised me that Bluetooth went as far as it did but don't expect Maverick distances.

The graph is extremely helpful. Not only can you see how you did at maintaining temperature by seeing the previous temps and the curve of the graph you can with reasonable accuracy figure out where it's going to be in the near future.

It does peak temps and ranges and you can set as many custom ones as you want. I love it. I couldn't be happier with it. Honestly it's incredibly rare I use more than 2 probes so I'd suggest if you want to save money starting with one mini and getting a second one later if you want. What have you been using?

 

[Chris R]

http://slownsear.com/estimated-delivery-time/
According to this it ships to Alaska in 4-5 days. You could also try ordering it through Amazon

Where are you seeing they don't ship to Alaska?

When I put in my shipping details I see

"There are no shipping methods available. Please double check your address, or contact us if you need any help."

 

[ColdPizza]

I have the iGrill2. It's what I've been posting all fo those graphs with. You missed a great sale. Sams Club had them for $40 instead of $100 and it came with 4 probes instead of the normal 2. The iGrill mini seems like it is just as nice but 1 probe instead of 4. I almost never use the LED display and use my phone to check it so the lack of that shouldn't be a problem. I think you could even use 2 minis to get smoker temp and meat temp. The range is pretty good. It surprised me that Bluetooth went as far as it did but don't expect Maverick distances.

The graph is extremely helpful. Not only can you see how you did at maintaining temperature by seeing the previous temps and the curve of the graph you can with reasonable accuracy figure out where it's going to be in the near future.

It does peak temps and ranges and you can set as many custom ones as you want. I love it. I couldn't be happier with it. Honestly it's incredibly rare I use more than 2 probes so I'd suggest if you want to save money starting with one mini and getting a second one later if you want. What have you been using?

Well I'm out of town and my bro is cooking a 120lb pig and I suggested getting a wireless thermometer to at least check smoker temp. So we found this iGrill mini at Ace Hardware. Hoping it does the trick for now. If t performs well perhaps I'll get the more advanced one for my set up at home.

At home I used a BBQ Guru DigiQ. It measures food and pit temp and if the out temp drops below my min it fires up a fan that blows air onto my coals. It's cool, but doesn't offer the wireless monitoring or graphing that iGrill does

 

[MarkMclovin]

Not sure if this question is gonna get laughed out of the thread, but any tips for using a gas BBQ? I much prefer to get that smokey flavour you get when using coals so is there a way to get it when using gas?

 

[zbarron]

When I put in my shipping details I see

"There are no shipping methods available. Please double check your address, or contact us if you need any help."

Send him an email. The last time I sent him one he responded in 2 hours.

Well I'm out of town and my bro is cooking a 120lb pig and I suggested getting a wireless thermometer to at least check smoker temp. So we found this iGrill mini at Ace Hardware. Hoping it does the trick for now. If t performs well perhaps I'll get the more advanced one for my set up at home.

At home I used a BBQ Guru DigiQ. It measures food and pit temp and if the out temp drops below my min it fires up a fan that blows air onto my coals. It's cool, but doesn't offer the wireless monitoring or graphing that iGrill does

Why do you need wireless monitoring or graphing of a straight line? Don't those Gurus keep it steady at where you set it without doing anything?

Also I'm not sure if the mini is any less advanced. As far as I knew the only differences were 1 probes vs. up to 4 and the unit itself is smaller and lacks a display with the mini but it does have colors it changes to depending on how close it is to being done. In fact some times I feel the smaller unit would be preferable sticking to surfaces.

Not sure if this question is gonna get laughed out of the thread, but any tips for using a gas BBQ? I much prefer to get that smokey flavour you get when using coals so is there a way to get it when using gas?

You could throw some wood chips in a pouch you made of tin foil and poke some holes in it. This'll only really work for longer cooks with the lid closed though.

 

[ColdPizza]

Not sure if this question is gonna get laughed out of the thread, but any tips for using a gas BBQ? I much prefer to get that smokey flavour you get when using coals so is there a way to get it when using gas?

Best you can do is get a small cast iron box or tin foil and put some woodchips in there and place it near your heat source to get wood smoldering.

Or buy the Amaze N pellet smoker $35 from Amazon

 

[ColdPizza]

Send him an email. The last time I sent him one he responded in 2 hours.

Why do you need wireless monitoring or graphing of a straight line? Don't those Gurus keep it steady at where you set it without doing anything?

Also I'm not sure if the mini is any less advanced. As far as I knew the only differences were 1 probes vs. up to 4 and the unit itself is smaller and lacks a display with the mini but it does have colors it changes to depending on how close it is to being done. In fact some times I feel the smaller unit would be preferable sticking to surfaces.



You could throw some wood chips in a pouch you made of tin foil and poke some holes in it. This'll only really work for longer cooks with the lid closed though.

Because on long cooks even with the DigiQ fuel will run out eventually. So an alarm for dropping below the min would be a luxury. That's all. Plus I like toys.

 

[Applesauce]

Not sure if this question is gonna get laughed out of the thread, but any tips for using a gas BBQ? I much prefer to get that smokey flavour you get when using coals so is there a way to get it when using gas?

Wood chips in a cheap bread pan over a hot burner. Don't worry about soaking the chips either. I did this on a cheap shitty grill years ago mainly for leg quarters, it got the job done. If you are doing longer cooks you should think about rotating 2 pans so you have a constant supply of smoke

 

[Applesauce]

The DIY kettle pizza is done and ready to cook. I did a test run last weekend and got the stone and plate temps to sustain 750F after I dropped the firewood on top of the coals. A couple of additions though - one a roughly shaped piece of expanded metal to keep the coals neatly arranged, and a high temp sensor that plugs into my multitester and reads temperatures of up to 800C. I brought the plate in today to cut the hole for the sensor.

I made enough dough for 5 pizzas last night which I'll let cold ferment until Sunday when I intend to cook all of them. I'll be sure and post the results

 

[ErnieMcCracken]

Doing a pork butt tomorrow. Local Kroger has butts for 99¢/lb so I couldn't pass that up. Full spares were $1.57/lb which was tempting too.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

Doing a pork butt tomorrow. Local Kroger has butts for 99¢/lb so I couldn't pass that up. Full spares were $1.57/lb which was tempting too.

I'm doing a 2 day brine with mine and plan on tossing it on the grill on Sunday. I usually only cook them for about 8 hours (10lbs), but I'm going to go for an overnight cook. I want some really well done fall apart meat. I can do it in a crock pot or the stove, but I've never managed with it on the grill. I also got a sprinkling of apices from the bulk bins at winco.

 

[zbarron]

The DIY kettle pizza is done and ready to cook. I did a test run last weekend and got the stone and plate temps to sustain 750F after I dropped the firewood on top of the coals. A couple of additions though - one a roughly shaped piece of expanded metal to keep the coals neatly arranged, and a high temp sensor that plugs into my multitester and reads temperatures of up to 800C. I brought the plate in today to cut the hole for the sensor.




I made enough dough for 5 pizzas last night which I'll let cold ferment until Sunday when I intend to cook all of them. I'll be sure and post the results

It looks great. I found my spare Weber Kettle lid. It doesn't have a thermometer or top handle attached. I'm considering cutting a door on one side of it, using the holes where the lid would go and attaching a cheap pizza pan on the inside to lower the roof. I'd look for a high temperature dial to get dome temperature and use my slow n sear full of charcoal under the grate in the back with a firewood log on top of the grate right over it and my 12" cast iron pizza pan would be used as my stone near the front.

Do you think I'd have moderate success with that?

 

[Applesauce]

It looks great. I found my spare Weber Kettle lid. It doesn't have a thermometer or top handle attached. I'm considering cutting a door on one side of it, using the holes where the lid would go and attaching a cheap pizza pan on the inside to lower the roof. I'd look for a high temperature dial to get dome temperature and use my slow n sear full of charcoal under the grate in the back with a firewood log on top of the grate right over it and my 12" cast iron pizza pan would be used as my stone near the front.

Do you think I'd have moderate success with that?

I'd put a pizza stone or something similar on the top instead of a cheap pizza pan. Those pans are made from cheap metal (aluminum) and have poor heat retention, they will bleed a lot of heat through the top. Cast iron is a good choice for the bottom as long as you can easily turn it for an even cook and preheat it with everything else.

 

[ColdPizza]

Piggy on. Injected and rubbed. Pics tomorrow. (Not rubbed in this pic)

 

[Rajack]

Smoked a Boston Butt today, as you can see, the results were spectacular. The bark was delicious and the meat was sweet, smoky, and tender. A truly great second attempt at smoking meat for me.

 

[ColdPizza]

Well, I was worried about smoking such a large cut but in the end everything turned out fabulous.

Cut into the ham to give it a head start.

After that we injected the entire hog with brine and rubbed the meat.

About halfway through

Awesome bark

Completely fall apart tender. Took the shoulder to 195

Will update later about the grease fire we had at the very end.

 

[zbarron]

Smoked a Boston Butt today, as you can see, the results were spectacular. The bark was delicious and the meat was sweet, smoky, and tender. A truly great second attempt at smoking meat for me.

The looks great. You got good color on it. How many hours did it take you and how much did it weigh?

Well, I was worried about smoking such a large cut but in the end everything turned out fabulous.

Cut into the ham to give it a head start.

After that we injected the entire hog with brine and rubbed the meat.

About halfway through

Awesome bark

Completely fall apart tender. Took the shoulder to 195

Will update later about the grease fire we had at the very end.

Looking good. I'm looking forward to your grease fire story. I recently had a grease fire seasoning my wok but it was uneventful. Coconut oil has a lower flash point than I thought and the oil inside caught fire. I moved it over to the sink (I didn't turn the water on) and left it in there away from anything flammable until it died down.

 

[ColdPizza]

I was handling the coals all day. These pig cookers in the south aren't offset and have horrible fuel efficiency so you basically need to light a chimney of coals every hour. I handled that for basically 10 out of the 15 hours we cooked.

Then towards the end I let my brother do it and he wasn't pushing the coals to the side like I was so there was a pile below the shoulder.

The fat was dripping down on them as guests started to arrive and I started to smell an acrid scent.

So I opened the cooker and sure enough there was like 16 inch flames under the shoulder. My idiot brother starts dousing it with water which was putting the flames out temporarily but exacerbating the problem by spreading the grease. So now the flames are getting huge and spreading and now I'm a little worried we are going to burn the pig and have a huge fire.

So finally I said "we need to throw dirt on the coals" and luckily my brother had a bag of topsoil so we toss that on there and save the day. Immediately after I inspect the pig. Luckily we had a layer of foil underneath and we're cooking the pig skin side down with no intention of serving the skin anyway (always gets too hard).

All in all a very scary experience (and embarrassing) but all of the meat was spared. My brother just doesn't have the experience I have with these situations so he made a bad situation worse.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

This is my first time fully smoking a meat. I've done pork shoulders, but never long enough to make it fall off the bone.

So I started with a 9lb pork butt, and did a salt/sugar/spice brine for 2 days. And then I let it dry out a little bit before I put on the dry rub.

I did a snake of coals for the first time, and had excellent results. I had a small bag of lump wood charcoal, so I took the biggest piece to smallest and laid one piece down end to end. Then I covered it in a few briquettes with soaked wood chips on top. I used all my chunk wood a while ago and had a small bag of chips laying around.

This is it after about 11 hours. I started it around 11pm last night and let it go all night. I tested the temp with my meat thermometer after the first 30 minutes and it was a nice steady 220. I never checked it again.

This is my final after letting it rest. I don't have heat gloves so I had to let it cool enough to handle before breaking it apart. I also thought the bark was a bit on the salty side, so I used an apple cider vinegar finishing sauce. Think it works nicely.

I also made my own bbq sauce and I made the green beans from fresh picked. I also made fresh slaw that's not pictured.

All in all, I spent about 17-18hours making this meal. Awful lot of food for only 2 people. No one came over.