First time DigiQ II user?

Danny, go for it!!!

One doesn't have to cook a butt first without the q2. You have well enough experience already. Same advice for users who don't have egg experience.

Over time a new user will learn the settings even if using a powered vent system.

Butt is an easy cook and the q2 makes it even easier.

figure about 1.5 hours per pound. I use mustard then coat with your favorite rub & ready to put on the egg.

Keep in mind there are many ways to do the following.
Get your egg lit and up to about 200° - I light the lump in 3 places. Install the q2 vent adapter, lifting the sliding piece up into the upper track. Close the screen & vent door to the right side of the q2 tube.

Set the q2 to about 1/3 open (large & medium egg). Close the slider on the DFMT and open the petals about 1/8 to 1/3 open.

Your flavor wood should be in the egg. I go indirect with raised grid and a drip pan. If using the setter use something to lift the drip pan off of the drip pan.

Put the food probe in center mass of the meat. I clip the pit probe to the grate about 2" away from the meat and guide the wires over the leg of the setter and out of the egg.

Turn on the q2. Press the pit button and adjust your pit temp to about 225°. If you decide to clip the q2 pit probe on the dome thermometer then set the pit set temp to about 245°.

Set your meat temp to 200° (or what ever you want the meat temp to get to).

If by chance you overshoot your pit temp then close the q2 slider down a little more, about 1/4 open and close the DFMT pedals down a little also. Remember one adjustment at a time & watch, then another adjustment.

On the q2 leave the Ramp Mode-off and Dome Open-on.

You are done!

Watch but trust the q2.

GG

Danny,

No, no tape ever. The slider on the top of the adapter slips up in to the upper vent door guide. You will find sliding the screen and door back over the right side of the q2 adapter will be a very strong seal.

When removing the q2 adapter, if the egg is hot, have some gloves on. Remove the fan. Then lift the adapter up to the top vent, to push the slider down onto the q2 adapter. This will all be clear after the first use.

As for the meat. Thirdeye has a pretty good description of the different two pieces in the pork shoulder.

The following might be wrong but the front leg has two pieces. the bottom part is what we see in the hams we buy. What you want is the top piece.

I try to get something other than 'pick nick' cut. I like bone in as the meat around that bone gets some really good flavor, but it really doesn't matter.

Take the number of people eating and divide that by 2.4 and you will be in good shape as for quanty to buy. (more if you want left overs)

Here is thirdeye's write up. The write up will help you decide what cut of meat you want to get.

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-pork-shoulder-butt-picnic.html

Celtic Wolf has some good info on pulled pork also. http://www.celticspiritbbq.com/howtos.html

This is a pretty easy cook.

Kent

Good to hear you're putting it to use! I think I'm going to try firing it up myself to learn the Guru's ways and then have it at as a demo on the weekends. After having Monica's brisket at the Fest I've been craving brisket in a major way. Let me know how it goes.

I have now done 2 cooks with mine. It is truly "set it and forget it". For both cooks, when I got up the next morning, the dome temp had not changed 1 degree. Amazing!

One thing that no one seems to mention is the setting of your pit temp. Since we all mostly cook based on Dome temp, clip your pit probe to your dome thermometer and adjust your DQ2 accordinly to create your dome temp. If you clip it to your grate, same thing applies.

On my set up, I am about 25 degrees off. Don't know why and I have put in a question to guru. But assuming your Dome Thermometer is correct, set your pit temp to the setting that creates the desired dome temp.