Need some smokin advice

sparta

Hello all. I am attempting to smoke two pork butts in my large smoker. I have done ONE before and figured about 1-1.5 hrs/pound. My question is: Is the smoke time still the same for 2? I have a large egg.

Second question. How do I prepare the smoker? Where I live, I don't have the advantage of choosing from various lump coal. I'm stuck with Cowboy. Do I want to load it up, start it, and wait till the charcoal is white before putting it on? One guy wrote to put the meat on right after the charcoal was lit and to put hickory chunks throughout that would light and smoke at various times. Any input? Also do most of you put a pan of water under the meat when you smoke?

Lastly. I've read all the rubs that people use, but again I am located somewhere where those rubs are unavailable and they would take more time than I have to get here. So does anyone have a good recipe they want to share?

THANK YOU in advance for those who reply.

gdenby

The standard time per pound that most folks expect is 1.5 - 2 hrs per pound with a dome temperature of 250. Sometimes they go more quickly. A hotter temperature also speeds things. Most folks don't go higher than 300 without foiling.

If the butts are not touching, they will cook in the same time as a single. If touching, they will cook a little slower until they shrink and separate.

Cowboy is fine. Just fill half way up the fire ring.
Chunks all thru works well. At least put a few on top.

Let the lump burn at your desired temperature till the smoke thins, and is wispy. Otherwise the smoke will leave an acrid bitter flavor.

You can make a simple rub with just brown sugar and salt, with a ratio of 2 to 1. Almost all rubs for pork are mostly sugar, paprika, black pepper and salt, in descending quantities. Then there can be any number of other flavors, usually in small amounts. Cayenne, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, chili powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc. etc.

Good luck.

Grandpas Grub

 gdenby has you covered...

The only thing I could add would be with the cowboy lump. Some folks think cowboy doesn't burn as long and can burn hotter. My feelings is due to the shape of the cowboy lump there are more air spaces this allowing the lump to burn hotter. Again, due to the shape I don't think as much lump 'fits' inside the fire box/ring and thus the burn is shorter. All this is conjecture.

The burning hotter is not an issue as you will be cooking at 250°.

You may want to fill the egg to the top of the fire ring, but either 1/2 of the fire ring or full should easily provide a longer steady 250° than you will need.

If you have Kroger or Kroger owned stores available they can have or can order Kroger brand lump which is Royal Oak which is the same as BGE lump. Some Walmarts carry BGE brand lump. Although Cowboy lump is fine.

No matter what rub I use I slather the meat in mustard first. You won't taste the mustard after the cook is done.

If I am not using a commercial rub this works well with most any cut of beef and pork.

. Salt - Light to medium sprinkle
. Pepper - Medium to heavy sprinkle
. Onion Powder - Light to medium sprinkle
. Garlic Powder - Light to medium sprinkle
. Paprika - medium to pretty heavy sprinkle

Try not to use onion salt or onion salt with these seasonings. If that's all you have go very light on the 1st salt application. Salt can get overpowering very quickly.

Before going blind, get a inexpensive steak or even hamburger and try this mixture (or any other mixture) to see if you like the flavor.

Most any grocer store will have a great selection of inexpensive rubs if you want to go commercial. Google 'bbq seasonings' for a ton of recipes.

GG

sparta

LOL. Where I live there isn't a Walmart, so if I don't have that there is definitely no Kroger. Thanks for the advice about the Cowboy. As far as the chunks are concerned do I put that in after the coals have been going or right with them as they get started? Last time I did it I soaked them and then put them in right before I put the butt on. But too, I think the last time I think I broke all the smoking rules. I got the coals started, and once they were ready I put the soaked hickory chunks on (lots of smoke came from that) then put the butt on before I got it stabilized. Once on I shut the vent to bring it down to 215 and then just played with it for like a hour. Till it stayed there. I was looking through some pictures of people grilling/smoking things and noticed that they didn't wait till the coal turned white. So I'm guessing they are using what you told me and watching the smoke color. I will try that. I just hate to mess up and yes, I've had some where people have smoked it wrong where it just tasted like meat and no seasoning at all (very bland). It wasn't tasty at all.

I have been googling recipes and found a couple off the food network. Now to decide Alton or Tyler:) But yes, I will add mustard to it. Actually the first one I smoked said to do that too. I made a spicy one with Sriracha. It was pretty tasty, but not something you'd want to serve to kids as it can be a little to spicy for them which is why I need help because I will have 20 kids to feed.

BBQMaven

Sparta,
I'd suggest you load the Egg with lump and place "dry" chunks on the bottom, half way through the pile, and finally a couple on the top (about 1/2 way from center to outside edge.) Light the fire in a couple of spots in the middle and ensure you have red edges on the coals (5-10 minutes with dome open.) Drop the plate setter in, your drip pan, and the rack for the meat. Close the lid and let the Egg warm to 250 without going over the temp. Once the Egg is has held 250 for 30-40 minutes without any adjustments (stabilized)put the meat on and DON'T touch the upper or lower settings. The Egg will recover over the next hour or two and cruise there till done.

Griffin

Sparta - I think you are shooting too low if you are going by the dome thermometer. Most eggs like to cruise around 250, which will give you a temperature at the grate of around 225. At 215, the chances your fire will go out due to the limited amount of airflow are pretty great. I've done briskets/ribs/buts around 275 dome temperature and actually gotten really great results. Bump that temp up a bit, less chance the fire will go out, the meat will be done sooner and it won't dry out.

fishlessman

this should cover most questions, make a note in the cooking section, 250 dome temp is what you want. the rub and both sauces are good, the slaw is too sweet for me but if you like sweet slaw give it a go
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm

gdenby

It took me quite awhile to learn how very different the Egg was from other cookers I had had.

There is no need to soak any wood, not even chips. The Egg's fine air flow control will insure they do not burn.

For low and slows, only a few small spots of the lump need to be burning. After many hours, there will be a white ash cover. But that may need to be knocked-off late in the cook, as the ash may start to smother the fire.

As above, 215 dome is not a good temperature. If the fire doesn't go out, it will nevertheless take forever for the meat to reach the 195 - 200 F needed for easy pulling. Don't worry about drying the meat out by cooking above the boiling point. The Egg retains a lot of moisture, and what is lost is replaced by gelatin.

Its almost axiomatic that BBQ requires spiced meat, and that is almost always added at the beginning. However, I saw a show where a Carolina pit master added his flavorings after the meat was pulled. This allowed him to adjust the flavor to just exactly what he wanted.

I read a story about an fellow in Tennessee who cooked the hogs for the annual county fair. His BBQ was very straight forward. The rub was white sugar, salt, black pepper and cayenne. I don't quite recall what his sauce was. I think vinegar, ketchup, margarine, and brown sugar. Maybe some mustard, and a bit more cayenne. All stuff that just about any market will have.

sparta

Well here goes. I bought two boston butts. They were about 11 pounds a piece. I put them on the smoker and they touched! So not sure what that is going to do to my cooking time. I know one of you said "as long as they don't touch", but there was no way around it. I loaded up the egg to the smoke ring with cowboy and hickory chunks. Then in a small grill I got some coals nice and hot and then dumped them on top. I put the lid down and got a nice 250 going for about 30 min. Put on the butts and the temp went down to 200, I had the daisy open all the way and the bottom vent open as well. Took some playing around with and it went up to 400 one time (it was hovering around 220, I walked away for a few minutes and BAAM) played with the daisy and got it back down to 250 where it has been smokin for the past 1hr. I'm making the sauces from the naked whiz now. I was going to take a before picture, but was stressing getting them on the smoker because they really need to be done in 15/16 hours. We will see....tbc

BBQMaven

Sparta,
If you really need them in 15/16 hours, I'd suggest you push the temp up to 275-300.... I don't think you will get them done that fast at 250.... I've cooked many a butt at 300 and can't tell the difference.

If they get ready a couple of hours early that OK... they can rest in a cooler...

sparta

Really? If I stayed at 250 how long do you think it would take? If I bring it up to 275/300 am I still good with the coal? I shouldn't have to reload it should I?

BBQMaven

Sparta,
Each butt has a "cook life" of it's own. I've put two on like you have and one is ready an hour before the other. It really depends on the time it take to render the fat. As long as you stay under 300 it works just the same.

If you are monitoring them with a thermometer you will see them rise in temp over the first 2-3 hours fairly quickly and then around 145-160 they will "plateau" until till the fat is rendered. You can see them sit there for 8-10 hours.

I've finished butts, wrapped them in Heavy Duty Foil, then in towels, and packed into ice chest - 4 hours later I still had a hard time pulling the meat it was so hot.

Don't worry about finishing early - worry about not having them ready in time.

As for the lump - it will go the distance....