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my first butt, pics, 22 hours of fun

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Sorry it took me 5 days to post. Hopefully it inspires others to take the plunge.[p]9.33 pounds $0.99/lb from Harris Teeter with VIC card.[p]meat.jpg[p]Used Elder Ward's rub.[p]rub.jpg[p]But addes some Yellow Mustard:[p]mustard.jpg:)[p]Did an indirect, using this setup:[p]setup.jpg[p]Didn't wait for the Egg to get hot before putting on the with chimney method, per Ward.[p]meaton.jpg[p]Used Soaked Alder Wood Chips, with them mostly concentrated for the 'coldsmoke' stage, but also spread out for 'over time' smoking:[p]smoke.jpg[p]Why Alder? My wife seemed to find Hickory a bit strong on our Chicken, and what the hey, says "Pork" on the package, who am I to argue... :)[p]So, what happened? Began at 2:30pm (62 deg. ambient, meat at 47) and watched things for 3 hours, until i went to the 2nd Washington Nationals Home game, much fun. So my wife was (nervous) and charged with watching temps for a few hours while i was gone.[p]Used the bottom at about 1/8" and the daisy, cap closed, and 'wheel' at about 1/4 slot. I left it at 210 dome, and i came back and it was at 200 dome. At 1am, i turned in. At 3am i checked it, and it was 180 dome, so i open'd the vents a bit. At 4am trouble: 150 degrees dome temp. Vents did no good, by 4am, i had to remove the setup and meat and unblock things. [p]Seems I got cheap. When i cleaned out the Egg before the cook i decided to recycle the 1/2 burnt lump in the firebox (which was very ashen) Next time i'll either use all new, or 'knock' the ash off my old lump, b/c it developed a LOT of ash (much more than normal) at 14 hours it had almost snuffed out the fire - the grate was clean (thanks to the large chunk at bottom) but the 'middle layer' was gray and like a blanket.[p]SO, i removed the goods, stirred the coals all around with my ash-poker, let the gray stuff fall through, and threw another (new) handful of lump on for good measure. Open'd both vents and got things back up to 250 this time. Things settled down to 220, with the meat on. At 7:30am it was 200. At the 2 hours/pound mark (9am ish) i bumped up to 270 deg. It 'plateu'd' at 175, and at 12:30 pm after i pushed it to 280/290 dome, it finally hit 195 deg internal. and the meat changed noticably in the last hour - pulling away from the shoulder blade, and 'cracking' nicely:[p]final.jpg[p]Made the "Piedmont" sauce but had to add about a Tsp. of sugar to make it 'wife friendly' , made slaw, and used potato rolls. Made my 2nd sandwich with Stubbs on the pork, under the slaw, that was good, too.[p]The sause was mod'ed with Shallots (had no onino on hand) and the sugar, and it was actually very good with the Pork.[p]letseat.jpg[p]Thanks to all for the info and tips.[p]

Comments

  • sorry, forgot to add:[p]put it in the cooler in foil and towels at 12:45, and at 3pm we got back from errands, and it was very warm still. didn't pull, but rather, just used a cleaver cross-grained, and it worked great.[p]
  • hakalugi,[p]Nice looking piece of meat. So you made the decision to use alder for the smoke. How do you think it tasted? Do you think it may have needed more "Smoke?"[p]Joe
  • Jason
    Jason Posts: 45
    hakalugi,
    one tip i learned from someone on here awhile back...when you get down to 140-160 range use a bent hanger with small hook on the end, stick it into the bottom vent. you should be able to hit one of the holes in the bottom grate shake it back a forth a bit and you will have a bunch of ash fall. you'll be back up to 210-220 in no time and you dont have to open the lid! hope this helps[p]jason

  • HolySmokes
    HolySmokes Posts: 446
    hakalugi,
    looks eggscellent!
    the mustard writing is a little over the top, but
    ok, you're allowed, this once at least.
    nice work on the butt.
    HolySmokes

  • katman
    katman Posts: 331
    hakalugi,
    looks great. sounds like you just need to put a bit more new lump in at the start, but that's the learning part. Alder is one of my favorites for fish and fowl, but don't write off hickory. Chicken really sucks up the smoke so you need to go easy with any flavoring wood. Nice to have another egger in the DC area!

  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    hakalugi,
    Looks great. Nice pic with the smoke puffing out. And the mustard message. :o) Instead of alder, try pecan or apple which make a lighter, sweet smoke. [p]Fun and food, that's what it's all about![p]

  • HolySmokes,[p]
    i know, i know, but i couldn't help myself. it was a good time, and i made some hot italian sausage last night (~300deg, direct heat) and threw in some Guava wood from Hawaii, and they wer absolutely amazing)[p]with spicy/whole mustard on the side afterward, i was flattened.[p]my wife broke her diet to have a bite, and ended up stealing a whole link from my plate, she was blown away with the smoke flavoring and the juicy-ness the egg imparted.

  • jason,[p]sweet idea, thanks.
  • Clay Q,[p]thanks for the tip on the wood, will give it a shot. (doing pork tenderloin on wednesday night, will try then)
  • Eggecutioner,[p]"Do you think it may have needed more "Smoke?"" --[p]Not sure, being my first. there was a definite 'ring' of pinkness easily visible and you could taste it. not as much 'bite' as hickory, but good in my view. I would've gladly paid for it if i was served it at a restaurant (this may have been better b/c no fat pockets were put into the pull)[p]:)[p]hak