Stand back, y'all. I'm gonna smoke this pig.

[Mistake Not...]

Bought a Weber Smokey Mountain (the 18.5"). Going to fire it up for the first time tomorrow and try a small (4lb-ish) pork butt. Haven't decided on the rub yet, or the wood mix. But Publix had apple, cherry, peach, maple, hickory, mesquite and oak so I bought a bag of each.

I'll post pics if it comes out.

Any other smokers in the hangar?

 

[Clark1961]

aviod the mesquite...big steel keg on my porch

 

[Mistake Not...]

I've read a little goes a long way, and it may not be appropriate for pork. I'm thinking apple+oak for the first smoke. Thoughts?

 

[Clark1961]

start simple, learn the different flavors of smoke - work your way up to building complex flavors - sorta like flying 'cept for the beer during rather than after...

 

[poadeleted21]

You got pork, you got a smoker. So far so good.

 

[Matthew]

4 lb is small. Probably boneless?

Start with a little hickory/oak, then shift to apple in hour 2. Conventional wisdom is that meat stops absorbing smoke flavor after a couple hours. Use a spray bottle of apple juice and spray every now and then. Stick close to 225. Just a slow gentle smoke is all you need.

The WSM is outstanding. I have a couple.

 

[Mistake Not...]

I'm going small because I'm want to do a couple this weekend and next. I want to get things figured out before I step up to "party sized".

After that, I'd like to figure out the sequencing for butt + ribs. It looks like you need to finish the butt first and store in a cooler, then do the ribs. Or something. Two smokers would make it effortless, but then I'd need two smokers, two sets of thermocouples, etc.

Nice problem to have though.

 

[Matthew]

Nope, put a butt on the top rack for 6-8 hrs or so. Then wrap in heavy foil and transfer to the lower rack and start the ribs. Use a rib rack. Pull off the butt after another 3 hrs or so and let it rest - maybe 10-12 hrs total. It will retain a lot of heat, so no need to put it in a cooler. Finish the ribs then pull the pork or slice if you can. Note: some people don't like to foil the pork, they say it steams it and ruins the texture of the bark. I like to foil it so I can recover the juice. Defat it and pour it in with the pulled pork for extra moisture.

Makes for a long day. Start early, get the coffee, bacon, and eggs going. Toss on a package of brats for about 90 minutes for lunch and crack open the beer when able.

I can get 2 butts and 1 brisket going at a time on thst smoker.

Note: times are for a roughly 7# bone-in butt or two.