Just set mt first pork shoulder (8lb pinic w/bone) on the grill (NBBD-type,
still not sure it that's my model, lol). Not because I think I *needed* it,
but because it sounded more fun, I put a rub on it very close to the "hog
rub" listed on about.com. I did the rub last night, and applied it again
right before setting it on the grill.

I've got a $5 bag of Hickory Wood Chunks from the local wal-mart to use. I
think this will get me though the day, but if I need more it's only $5 bucks
=p. I used my boy scout skills, and started a small fire since I've been
reading that a small hot fire with all vents open is better than a large one
kept low though vents. After letting it burn for ~30 minutes, I closed the
grill and let it sit another 20 minutes until the smoke is almost 100%
clear.

I was supposed to get up at 6am and start this, but the meat didn't go on
the grill until 9am. If it takes to 9pm so be it - I've got a goal of doing
a brisket for dad on father's day so I need to do it right. Right now the
temp gague reads ~260F; which should be perfect since it's mounted in the
lid and will read (from what I learned here) 20-40 higher that the food
level.

Right now, I just plan on adding wood as needed every 30-45 minutes. I've
told myself not to peek until 6 hrs have gone by, lol.

I'll post updates as I go!

Mike

12pm...

It's clear now that I'll need another $5 bag, there are not enough "chucks"
in a bag and too many "chips". Next time I'd love to get a few logs for the
base and use the bag stuff on top of it and to keep things going.

I haven't peeked in yet, but I'm doing pretty well on temp I think; keeping
the theromoter reading between 200 and 250. I read some people turn the
pork shoulder, and some don't think that's needed. I'm going to leave well
enough alone, the cut I've got was pretty well covered in fat on the top so
I think it's best to leave be.

My clothes reek of somke. That's not a big thing, imho =p

Mike

Michael C. Neel wrote:
> 12pm...
>
> It's clear now that I'll need another $5 bag, there are not enough
> "chucks" in a bag and too many "chips". Next time I'd love to get a
> few logs for the base and use the bag stuff on top of it and to keep
> things going.
>

WhoooHOOOO, hope it turns out as well as you expect. And I expect it will.
You know about the chips in foil trick already I imagine .


--

"Michael C. Neel" > wrote in message
...
>snip<
> My clothes reek of somke. That's not a big thing, imho =p
>
> Mike
>
That's one of my favorite parts of the experience. I love the smell as it
fills my yard, clothes, and house.
I've got a big day Monday and will start Sunday night doing 6 racks of ribs,
two pork butts, and a big beef something. Not sure what cut it is cause I
let someone else buy the meat. Should have got them to give me the money and
let me buy it but they got all of it for half price.
This is the largest cook I have done at one time.

Hope things turn out well for you. Sounds like you are on the right track.

ag

Michael C. Neel wrote:

> My clothes reek of somke. That's not a big thing, imho =p

That's the gift that keeps giving; like when you go
to do the laundry and catch a whiff of the smoke...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Sounds like you're well on your way, Mike!

Dana

Michael C. Neel wrote:
> 12pm...
>
> It's clear now that I'll need another $5 bag, there are not enough
> "chucks" in a bag and too many "chips". Next time I'd love to get a
> few logs for the base and use the bag stuff on top of it and to keep
> things going.

Mike, get yaself some lump to do your cookin. Wood (logs & chunks) is
for flavorin ya food.

> I haven't peeked in yet, but I'm doing pretty well on temp I think;
> keeping the theromoter reading between 200 and 250. I read some
> people turn the pork shoulder, and some don't think that's needed.
> I'm going to leave well enough alone, the cut I've got was pretty
> well covered in fat on the top so I think it's best to leave be.

Bump your temp up to around 275°F; less cookin time with the same
results.

> My clothes reek of somke. That's not a big thing, imho =p

Smellin like smoke is part of the game, dude. Once the cookin's done,
take a shower to get all that off ya so ya nose and taste buds won't
be tainted when ya chow down.
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

"frohe" > wrote

>
> Mike, get yaself some lump to do your cookin. Wood (logs & chunks) is
> for flavorin ya food.
>

I'm real glad ya said that, frohe. I was thinkin' it, but it seemed so
obvious and no one else was sayin' anything. I figgered I was missin'
somethin'.

Use lump charcoal for the fire, and use them hickory chunks for smoke. Then
you won't need but 4 or 5 of the chunks per cook as opposed to usin' 2 bags
of em.

--
Fosco Gamgee Whitfurrows
and his 6" boner

7pm

I've read about lump, lump w/wood, and using wood alone. I found the same
bag of hickory at Korger for $4 (and they also carry mesquite for the same
price), and I needed a bag and a half for 10 hrs, which would be $6 bucks -
and I've not seen any place yet that carries lump charcoal (granted I've
only looked in wal-mart and a small kroger near my house). I've spent more
than $6 bucks to grill for 30 minutes, so for 10 hours I'll take it, lol.

I'm not sure if it's done, I've never checked anything for fork tender
before though the fork does go in easy enough. It's not exactly falling
apart, but I was supposed to get up at 6am to start this and didn't get
going til 9am; so I might have to deal with it underdone a little because
everyone is about at their limit. You should have seen the looks when I
said it has to sit for about 20-30 minutes before we pull it!

Another thing I liked about the wood; I found it very easy to control the
temp with. I could build back up a good flame from a few coals with ease,
which was good because when I ran out to get more wood I was gone longer
than I expected =p.

I'll know in about 20 minutes how things came out. I can tell it's juicy,
you can touch the should without creating a puddle, lol.

Mike

Michael C. Neel wrote:
> 7pm
>
> I've read about lump, lump w/wood, and using wood alone. I found the
> same bag of hickory at Korger for $4 (and they also carry mesquite
> for the same price), and I needed a bag and a half for 10 hrs, which
> would be $6 bucks - and I've not seen any place yet that carries
> lump charcoal (granted I've only looked in wal-mart and a small
> kroger near my house). I've spent more than $6 bucks to grill for 30
> minutes, so for 10 hours I'll take it, lol.
>

Yeah, you want lump charcoal, made of wood. Oak is preferred for BBQ.
I buy it 40lbs/$12, which is a bit cheaper than average.
You can check with restaraunt supply places too.

--

"F.G. Whitfurrows" > wrote in message
...
>
<snip>
> Use lump charcoal for the fire, and use them hickory chunks for smoke.
Then
> you won't need but 4 or 5 of the chunks per cook as opposed to usin' 2
bags
> of em.
>
> --
> Fosco Gamgee Whitfurrows
> and his 6" boner
>

I have done an all chunk cook and it worked out pretty well. I had a harder
time keeping a steady temp and the flavor was a little strong for me but it
wasn't bad and fuel cost was about the same. I would do the lump and chunks
in my bullet though if I had a choice between the two. However, If I have
logs then that is all the fuel I would use. Burn them puppies down to coals
and shovel 'em in.

ag

10pm

Well, things turned out pretty well. The parts of the shoulder under the
fat on the top were the toughest, which stuck me as odd, but the rest was
good. It came out with a nice pink color and you could tell some of the rub
made it though. Even though the rub didn't penetrate like I'd hoped, it did
make for a nice texture and flavor for the ends of the pork.

I think I've found a standby item to always do, so if the other items don't
turn out well I know the pork will. Then again, from what I've read on
shoulders, this isn't saying much (but those who come to eat don't need to
know that).

Mike

Michael C. Neel wrote:
> Another thing I liked about the wood; I found it very easy to
control
> the temp with. I could build back up a good flame from a few coals
> with ease, which was good because when I ran out to get more wood I
> was gone longer than I expected =p.

Unless you're pre-burnin ya new wood before addin it to the fire,
addin new wood will give ya a bunch of smoke that ya may not want,
dependin on when in the cook ya added it or how much (or little) you
and those who eat with ya can handle the taste of smoke.

But nonetheless, ya learned one good lesson outta this - make sure you
have more than enough fuel when ya start your cooks.
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

F.G. Whitfurrows wrote:
> "frohe" > wrote
>>
>> Mike, get yaself some lump to do your cookin. Wood (logs & chunks)
>> is for flavorin ya food.
>>
> I'm real glad ya said that, frohe. I was thinkin' it, but it seemed
so
> obvious and no one else was sayin' anything. I figgered I was
missin'
> somethin'.

LOL, we may both have missed somethin. I just thought he'd be better
off in his rookie year of Q'n usin lump.
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

On Sat, 29 May 2004 12:10:48 -0400, "Michael C. Neel"
> wrote:

>My clothes reek of somke. That's not a big thing, imho =p

Nope, not a big thing, but your Q will taste better to you if you
change clothes and shower before dinner. Honest.

--
Kevin S. Wilson
Tech Writer at a University Somewhere in Idaho
"Anything, when cooked in large enough batches, will be vile."
--Dag Right-square-bracket-gren, in alt.religion.kibology

> Unless you're pre-burnin ya new wood before addin it to the fire,
> addin new wood will give ya a bunch of smoke that ya may not want,
> dependin on when in the cook ya added it or how much (or little) you
> and those who eat with ya can handle the taste of smoke.

I had read about this, and people altering their NBBD to include another
stack vent in the firebox to help this problem. When I added wood I opened
the side completely and the top, and left it open until the smoke became
mostly clear, which was in about 5-8 minutes. I actually think I could have
closed it sooner for more flavor, but I tend to like a heavy smoke flavor.

Still, I'm not making a whole pork shoulder for myself, so I don't want to
put anyone off, and I probably won't do anything differently in the respect
next time.

Mike

Michael C. Neel wrote:
>
> I had read about this, and people altering their NBBD to include
> another stack vent in the firebox to help this problem. When I added
> wood I opened the side completely and the top, and left it open until
> the smoke became mostly clear, which was in about 5-8 minutes. I
> actually think I could have closed it sooner for more flavor, but I
> tend to like a heavy smoke flavor.
>
> Still, I'm not making a whole pork shoulder for myself, so I don't
> want to put anyone off, and I probably won't do anything differently
> in the respect next time.
>
> Mike

I like that mod, hadnt come across it before. But yeah, of all the pieces to
worry the least about oversmoking it's gotta be a pork butt. Ribs yeah, pork
butt? It would be difficult to do. Oversmoked IMO is too much build up of
smoke particulates (not necessarily creosote) on the meat itself. A butt has
so much meat compared to surface, and then it's all chopped together it
would take some doing to oversmoke.

--

Michael C. Neel wrote:
> When I added
> wood I opened the side completely and the top, and left it open
until
> the smoke became mostly clear, which was in about 5-8 minutes.

Sure lost a lot of heat AND cook time with the side and top open that
long. Start ya wood in a side fire and add the coals after it's
burned down.
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

> Sure lost a lot of heat AND cook time with the side and top open that
> long. Start ya wood in a side fire and add the coals after it's
> burned down.

Interesting, I didn't think so. The temp wouldn't get much below 190 with
it open like this, and as soon as it was closed would get back up to where
it needed to be. I plan to extend the stack in the cook side down lower,
and it should even have less of an impact. I was also looking at bricks in
the cook chamber as well, but now I really don't think they are needed.

For comparsion, I noticed opening the cook side would drop the temp down to
180 in a flash, which is probably why checking on it too much is bad, lol.

Mike