How much wood? Pulled pork.

bboulier · June 2014

I am planning to produce NC pulled pork with two seven pound pork butts on a medium egg. I will be using hickory as the primary wood. When cooking ribs, I usually use a mix of hickory and apple, but hickory is the traditional NC choice for pulled pork and one that I like. How much hickory in chunks would you use for smoking? Cubic inches or fistful measures would be fine. I plan to use the turbo method. Thanks for your help.

Bryan

SGH · June 2014

@bboulier‌
I usually don't give advice on time or how much of something to use because we all have different taste. But since none of the gurus responded I will tell you how much I use. It will ultimately be up to you to decide if you want to use the same amount or not. If you want a very pronounced taste use 6 chunks the size you see in the picture. 2 in the front 2 in the back and 1 in the middle. For a mild smoke flavor use 4 chunks. Same loading format except you won't have one in the middle. For just a hint of smoke use 2 chunks off to one side of where you light the lump. If you don't mind let me say if you are not accustom to smoking with hickory please be very carful and watchful of your cook. It's very easy for the inexperienced to ruin meat with hickory. Here is a alternative that you may want to consider. Use 4 chunks of Apple and 2 chunks of hickory. The apple will provide a good smoke and also help tame the hickory if you get to burning a little dirty. It's very easy to become oxygen deprived in the egg as it is smoldering the wood instead of burning it. It is for this reason that I limit my use of hickory in the egg. Again these are just my opinions and what works well for me. Good luck my friend
Just a note. I placed the chunk on the daisy wheel for a reference to its size. I find that this size works best for my needs. I hope this helps my friend.

SMITTYtheSMOKER · June 2014

I like one chunk of Hickory and one chunk of cherry (for a nice color). We use an XL to cook 3 butts and this works out well for us.

Keefer · June 2014

I use 5 to 6 chunks of Hickory for a low and slow butt cook. I like 2 inch cubes. I make my own and keep quite a bit around.

badinfluence · June 2014

I use only 3 chunks hickory ans 3 apple when doing a large cook on my egg I would use 1 and 1

bboulier · June 2014

Thanks for the advice.

@SGH I used to use 4 or 5 good sized chunks of hickory when I was cooking butts on a Weber Bullet, but find that the more confined space of the egg requires much less wood. I have usually been mixing hickory and apple when I do ribs, so will probably heed your advice do that today with the butts.

SGH · June 2014

@bboulier‌
Good luck my friend. Let us know how it goes. Again I myself usually avoid hickory unless I'm cooking for someone else who has requested it. Oak has a great taste and is much more forgiving. Just my thoughts brother. Again good luck.

NervousDad · June 2014

I use a chunk smaller than my fist and that gives me plenty of smoke. The egg draws much more smoke around the pork so it really sucks it up. If I was using a kettle grill I'd use much more.

Miked125 · June 2014

Depends on the type but anywhere from 3-6 depending on the chunk size! Monster chunks I would say 3, average probably 5.

500 · June 2014

I read a cooking article about NC pulled pork. Since NC traditionally does whole hog, in order to reproduce a "whole hog" flavor, this article says he cooks one Butt and one Picnic Shoulder, then pulls and mixes them together, for the closest thing to whole hog cooking. The next time I do a pulled pork, I think that's how I'll do it, instead of two Butts, for bigger mix of hog.

Eggcelsior · June 2014

500 said:

I read a cooking article about NC pulled pork. Since NC traditionally does whole hog, in order to reproduce a "whole hog" flavor, this article says he cooks one Butt and one Picnic Shoulder, then pulls and mixes them together, for the closest thing to whole hog cooking. The next time I do a pulled pork, I think that's how I'll do it, instead of two Butts, for bigger mix of hog.

I've talked to my butcher about getting the entire leg from hock to shoulder intact for this very reason.

TonyA · June 2014

@ 500 and @ Eggcelsior - I often go "Faux Shoulder" ( Butt and Picnic) if I'm doing more than one roast. They combine nicely - the picnic is a little lighter in color and usually has a little more chew to it. Whole shoulders in the northeast are unheard of unless you are buying local.

bboulier · June 2014

For 2 butts weighing a total of 15 pounds on a medium egg, I used one cube of apple and one of hickory, each about 2 inches on a side. Was just the right amount of smoke. I don't think I could have fit more meat than this quantity on a medium egg. I had to be careful to work around the thermometer. Served about 20 adults and about 10 young children with some leftovers to distribute to children and to freeze in Foodsaver bags. Also had some chicken wings to supplement the pork. I like the idea of mixing butt and shoulder, but butts only was pretty close to the pulled pork I am used to eating in NC. Go State!

SmokinPacificNW · June 2014

SGH said:
@bboulier‌
Good luck my friend. Let us know how it goes. Again I myself usually avoid hickory unless I'm cooking for someone else who has requested it. Oak has a great taste and is much more forgiving. Just my thoughts brother. Again good luck.

I'm new to the BGE and have been lurking around here for a while reading up. SGH, I'm interested in your comments on hickory chunks. Does the smoldering effect due to the low oxygen environment in the BGE impact hickory more than other woods? Is there any way to get a cleaner smoke out of chunks on low temp/low oxygen cooks? Thanks!

SGH · June 2014

@SmokinPacificNW‌
Sorry my friend for not responding sooner but I have really been down with a severe sinus infection. At any rate here are my thoughts on "ole hickory". Please remember that what I'm about to say is based on my own experiences and is my thoughts and opinions only. Others will no doubt disagree but those folks skill levels are far superior to mine so they can get away with and pull off things that us less skilled can not achieve. Hickory by nature is a strong wood. One can over smoke with hickory even when running a clean oxygen rich fire due to the potency of hickory. Now you brought up a point that I made in another post some time back about the egg smoldering instead of burning. I feel that this certainly compounds the problem dramatically especially with hickory and mesquite because they are both very strong and stout tasting woods. As a test you can try this for a reference point. Build a small fire in your egg with lump and let it stabilize. Once it is stable drop a chunk or two of hickory on the glowing coals and shut the top and bottom vents down to achieve a 225 degree temp in your egg. Pay close attention to the smell omitted from the hickory. It's almost acrid. Now open the vents wide open and in no time at all you will notice the smell change to a very pleasant smell once the hickory starts burning. So all that being said I certainly do believe it's the smoldering in an oxygen deficient environment that makes it much harder to get good results in the egg with
hickory than in true wood burning units. Please note that I'm not saying that hickory can not be used successfully in the egg. It can if one uses care and common sense. I have in a pinch used it many times in my egg with good results. But that being said I never recommend hickory to a new egger seeking smoking wood advice due to the fact it is so easy for a new egger to mess up with hickory especially if he hasnt even cooked a brisket or shoulder before. Numerous times I have seen someone post saying "I'm cooking my first brisket or shoulder on my new egg what wood should I use?" Hickory is never my recommendation in these circumstances for the reasons stated above. I know it's a personal thing and a matter of taste but I find both oak and pecan superior to hickory in both taste and forgiveness so it's both what I use and more often than not what I recommend. I hope this helps my friend and again sorry for the late response. If I missed something let me know and I will gladly take a shot at it again my friend. And again please be aware that all of the above are my findings, opinions and what works for me. Other peoples results and opinions will no doubt vary. Especially the elite level cooks. But for the beginner or average skilled cook all the above is proven and sound advice in my opinion.

SmokinPacificNW · June 2014

Sorry if we're veered a little off topic here...

@SGH‌
Given the constraints of the air environment in the egg, do you have any tips or tricks to keep from getting acrid smoke on a low and slow? I assume that cooking at a little higher temp (275?) with higher airflow would help. However, I'd like to be able to keep cooks in the 225*-250* range if possible.

SGH · June 2014

Let me finish cooking and I will gladly offer what advice that I can.

SGH · June 2014

@SmokinPacificNW‌
Sorry if I veered of course a little above. I have been under the weather lately and some what sedated. My head is a little more clear today so I will try to answer your question again. First I would like to point out a few of my findings when smoking on the egg. Remember that this is my findings and my opinions and others may have dissimilar results and opinions.
I offer them here as a reference only because you asked me directly for my thoughts. Nonetheless this is my findings. On any cooker be it the egg, offset, vertical or horizontal smoker the higher and hotter the temp the smoke will usually be cleaner. Less sooty and acrid if you will. You notice I said usually. There are exceptions to this rule but they need not be delved into here for our purposes. Any time you have a excess of fuel vs oxygen you get incomplete combustion and this results in a carburizing flame. A flame producing impurities and soot. How do we combat this in the egg? First be sure that you have a small but very well established bed of coal. Next for low and slow I only light one spot and let this one small fire burn clean and slowly bring the egg up to temp. Next I put the bulk of my wood for smoking toward the back of the egg. Why? This is where air flow is greatest in the egg. I have actually verified this with a burning candle test. I test all my smokers this way for obvious reasons that need not be discussed in this writing. However I will delve into them should the need arise. Next step that I take that seemed to really help in my opinion is to preheat to the +50 rule. What this means is if I'm going to cook at 250 I let the egg slowly creep up to 300 and stabilize it there for a few minutes then walk it back down to 250 and lock it in. This seems to really help combat the VOC'S in my opinion. It is the most useful trick that I have found. Here is another thing that I monitor very careful for low, long and slow cooks. Wood quality. Poor wood usually will produce poor results. Again this is just my opinions and what works for me. I prefer wood that had been seasoned between 8-14 months on long slow cooks. The smoke it produces is less dense than greener wood and the taste is superior to wood seasoned longer than this. Again this is just what works for me. I hope that I have answered your questions. If I have not let me know and I will take another shot at it. Just a note. You may wish to seek advice from others who have been cooking on the egg far longer than myself. There are some well seasoned vets on this forum who could probably offer more info than I have. Good luck my friend.

bboulier · January 2015

Like SGH, I raise the heat slightly above and then lower it to my desired temperature. When cooking either ribs or a pork butt on my medium egg, I get the temperature stabilized, add the wood, and then put in the woo with a deflector on the bottom, a pan made out of aluminum foil to catch drippings and then the meat raised direct On a medium egg, I would usually add about a 2 cubic inch piece of hickory and a similar size piece of apple for ribs or a butt, perhaps a little more for a butt. In the confined space of an egg, you really want to be careful how much wood you add. It is easy to oversmoke. I put the chunks near the spots where the fire is set since I am adding wood at the same time I am adding the meat. Postings I have read suggest that the meat absorbs smoke better when the temperature of the meat is lower. Thus, I want to create the smoke earlier in the cook. Also, if things go awry, you want to be able to bring the smoked meat into the oven to finish the cook if necessary That happened once where the butt stalled, the charcoal ran low, and the weather was awful. Finishing in the oven, wrapping in aluminum foil, and then in towels in a cooler for an hour and a half turned out the best butt, I have ever made.

Ozzie_Isaac · January 2015

@SGH Thanks for your long detailed posts. Very informative!

I ran into a dirty burn on a pork loin. I used the egg like my WSM and threw the wood and meat on at the same time. About a fist size chunk of hickory and same size chunk of cherry. I dialed the temp back to 230 and it started to burn dirty. I bumped temp to 280 and it cleaned right up.

My WSM has a lot more air flow at temp than the egg. I also always run the WSM with exhausts fully open. I am struggling to find the right inlet/exhaust setting for a good clean burn around 225 with hickory.

Does removing the bark help? I never have had to before, but I wonder if it is to strong for the low amount of air flow in the egg.

btw, the cherry has never been an issue in the egg. I haven't used mesquite yet, but I usually save that for grilling steaks.

UrbanForestTurnings · January 2015

I like three chunks of hickory and two cheery on a low and slow. Or one cheery bowl that cracked.if I can't turn it I burn it

dstearn · January 2015

I used a combination of post oak 2 chunks, hickory 1 chunk and apple 1 chunk a few weeks ago for 2 8 lb butts. The meat was not oversmoked but I did follow SGH and was light on the hickory.

nolaegghead · January 2015

HELP! I loaded up my egg with hickory and mesquite bark and got it raging hot, then shut all the vents and threw in some chicken leg quarters and let it smoke for a few hours. For some reason all my dinner guests left because (they said) their babysitters just quit. I think the meat was a little smokey too. Can anyone tell me if they think their babysitters really quit?

UrbanForestTurnings · January 2015

nolaegghead said:

HELP! I loaded up my egg with hickory and mesquite bark and got it raging hot, then shut all the vents and threw in some chicken leg quarters and let it smoke for a few hours. For some reason all my dinner guests left because (they said) their babysitters just quit. I think the meat was a little smokey too. Can anyone tell me if they think their babysitters really quit?

IMHO I think they wanted chicken breasts.

tarheelmatt · January 2015

bboulier said:

I am planning to produce NC pulled pork with two seven pound pork butts on a medium egg. I will be using hickory as the primary wood. When cooking ribs, I usually use a mix of hickory and apple, but hickory is the traditional NC choice for pulled pork and one that I like. How much hickory in chunks would you use for smoking? Cubic inches or fistful measures would be fine. I plan to use the turbo method. Thanks for your help.

Bryan

Usually I do about 3-5 pieces of Hickory for a cook, but I also like some Oak in there too. Lexington, NC places use a mixture of Hickory and Oak for their shoulders.

jak7028 · January 2015

Another vote here to use Hickory and Mesquite in moderation. They are good when used correctly, but can overpower food in a hurry.

In the egg, I usually stick with Apple or Cherry for pork and oak for chicken and beef. I usually only use mesquite if I am going to grill over coals, usually in a fire pit.

THEBuckeye · January 2015

For a low and slow Butt cook I've used 3 medium to large chunks of Hickory. Love it.

TylerA · January 2015

I like to use either apple or orange as the base for the smoke, and accent with a stronger wood like cherry or pecan for taste. I don't really like hickory but its ok if used in moderation, and I cant stand Mesquite. Mesquite is quite popular here, but I find it strong and overpowering, and bitter. I think the secret for me is to just accent a mild smoke when you want more smoke flavor.

bboulier · January 2015

@Ozzie_Isaac. I use a lot less wood with the egg than the WSM (now passed on to my youngest son.) There is a lot more air flow in the WSM. I think the smoke in the egg is much more concentrated. On the egg, I try to control the temp with the bottom vent to the extent that I can and leave the top open wide. Of course, that is not always possible if the temperature gets away from you. I have always thought that leaving the top wide open would prevent any condensation from dripping back down on to the meat. I don't really know, however, whether this is an important issue.

How much wood? Pulled pork.

Comments

Categories