What to put in the smoker this weekend?

[Dave]

Looks nice. Curious why not do it in smoker only? We do 5lb pork shoulder / butt and get a nice bark on smoker. I know there's many different ways to cook the same item. So it never hurts to get more ideas / input, thanks.

With a 5lb shoulder are you not wrapping at all during the cooking process?

[DenverGP]

I've done a couple without wrapping, and now 4 or 5 with the wrapping (known as the Texas Crutch).
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...as_crutch.html

Wrapping tightly in foil (with a little liquid added in) really boosts the moisture and tenderness of the meat.

But the biggest reason is for a much faster cook time. The last butt I did without wrapping that was about the same size took about 12 hours to reach 200. With wrapping, it's about 8 hours. This one went from 150F up to 203F in 2.5 hours in the foil.

It's also awesome because it catches a lot of juice in the foil, which I re-add to the pan of meat after pulling.

The only downside to wrapping it is that it softens the bark.

I do the texas crutch on brisket as well. The first one I did without it, I watched the temp hit 150F and stay right there for next couple hours even though the smoker was 250F. I thought my thought my digital thermometer was broken. This is known as the "stall", and is caused by moisture being driven out of the meat, and evaporating off the surface, which cools the meat. Wrapping it tightly in foil prevents the evaporation, so no stall.

[Jer]

Looks nice. Curious why not do it in smoker only? We do 5lb pork shoulder / butt and get a nice bark on smoker. I know there's many different ways to cook the same item. So it never hurts to get more ideas / input, thanks.

A pork shoulder is only going to take smoke for about the first 4 hours or so. Lots of people after that will foil (I foil at 165deg instead of a time), move it to an oven for ease of cook or both. I took cook to 203deg and then rest a minimum of 1 hour. Often I wrap in a bath towel and place in an insulated cooler for a few hours or so until it's time to eat. Lowering the stove to 100deg or so accomplishes a similar result.

[Jer]

I've done a couple without wrapping, and now 4 or 5 with the wrapping (known as the Texas Crutch).
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...as_crutch.html

Wrapping tightly in foil (with a little liquid added in) really boosts the moisture and tenderness of the meat.

But the biggest reason is for a much faster cook time. The last butt I did without wrapping that was about the same size took about 12 hours to reach 200. With wrapping, it's about 8 hours. This one went from 150F up to 203F in 2.5 hours in the foil.

It's also awesome because it catches a lot of juice in the foil, which I re-add to the pan of meat after pulling.

The only downside to wrapping it is that it softens the bark.

I do the texas crutch on brisket as well. The first one I did without it, I watched the temp hit 150F and stay right there for next couple hours even though the smoker was 250F. I thought my thought my digital thermometer was broken. This is known as the "stall", and is caused by moisture being driven out of the meat, and evaporating off the surface, which cools the meat. Wrapping it tightly in foil prevents the evaporation, so no stall.

I actually prefer more of a 'caramelized' bark so that's why I foil and to help keep the meat moist. You got lucky on the cook time after foiling (upping the cook temp to 300 in an oven helps too) because I regularly still get stalls in the 190's that can last hours and hours. I do foil for the aforementioned reasons but still cook at 225deg (lately I've been experimenting with 275deg the entire smoke) so my stalls are amplified.

[DenverGP]

I regularly still get stalls in the 190's that can last hours and hours.

Are you wrapping very tightly (foil against the meat, ends crimped completely so no moisture can escape? I've done the crutch now for at least a dozen smokes, and haven't seen a stall yet. I get impatient, so I'm watching the digital thermometer closely pretty much non-stop for the last couple hours.

Hopefully I won't hit a stall after wrapping, but usually it's not a problem since my wife and I pretty much just eat whenever it's done. Last night we were eating with some friends, and they eat dinner at a set time, and rather early, so I was really banking on it getting done at the right time. Ended up being exactly perfect timing including about 45 minutes of resting.

[Jer]

Are you wrapping very tightly (foil against the meat, ends crimped completely so no moisture can escape? I've done the crutch now for at least a dozen smokes, and haven't seen a stall yet. I get impatient, so I'm watching the digital thermometer closely pretty much non-stop for the last couple hours.

Hopefully I won't hit a stall after wrapping, but usually it's not a problem since my wife and I pretty much just eat whenever it's done. Last night we were eating with some friends, and they eat dinner at a set time, and rather early, so I was really banking on it getting done at the right time. Ended up being exactly perfect timing including about 45 minutes of resting.

Sometimes I'm out at 3:00am in the cold/rain/snow so while I'll admit maybe I don't do the best of wrap jobs I do use heavy duty foil and try to do as best job wrapping as I can given the circumstances. It just seems that sometimes (read: always) the meat has a mind of it's own & isn't aware we're on a time crunch sometimes.

[DenverGP]

It just seems that sometimes (read: always) the meat has a mind of it's own & isn't aware we're on a time crunch sometimes.

Yup, have definitely seem some of that. If it wasn't for a good wireless digital thermometer, i'd be screwed trying to figure out when something was done.

This is the first time I've smoked something with a set dinner time, and I was getting a little nervous about 1/2 way thru since the temp took a long time just to get up to the 150F mark.

Normally I'd start the cook earlier, and just let the meat rest (wrapped, in a warm oven) for a few extra hours, but we were eating early, so I got up at 7am to get the smoker going and get the butt on. I'm not a morning kinda guy, so it's good that we normally eat late.

[Jer]

Yup, have definitely seem some of that. If it wasn't for a good wireless digital thermometer, i'd be screwed trying to figure out when something was done.

This is the first time I've smoked something with a set dinner time, and I was getting a little nervous about 1/2 way thru since the temp took a long time just to get up to the 150F mark.

Normally I'd start the cook earlier, and just let the meat rest (wrapped, in a warm oven) for a few extra hours, but we were eating early, so I got up at 7am to get the smoker going and get the butt on. I'm not a morning kinda guy, so it's good that we normally eat late.

I use a Maverick 732 and still have become a fair-weather-smoker for just that reason. Getting up in the middle of the night to go outside and deal with all that is garbage.

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it? For dinner I generally have to start the night before and even then I've had some smokes run long.

[Great-Kazoo]

With a 5lb shoulder are you not wrapping at all during the cooking process?

Not at all, for this go round.

I use a Maverick 732 and still have become a fair-weather-smoker for just that reason. Getting up in the middle of the night to go outside and deal with all that is garbage.

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it? For dinner I generally have to start the night before and even then I've had some smokes run long.

Using a Camp Chef pellet. 5lb pork shoulder 1hr smoke. 5 - 6 hrs @ 225 pulled @ 180* and sat an hour or so. Should have wrapped it after removing from smoker. However, We had a great bark, nice and juicy / flavor. We're not big on a heavy smoke flavor, just something to accent , bring out the flavors of meats smoked. Still get a nice smoke ring going it this way. We're always open to ideas, suggestions. Worse that happens, it's shredded for chili OR jerky

[DenverGP]

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it?

Mine was 7 pounds trimmed, no bone. Got it on the smoker at 8am, kept the smoker at 250 for the first 5 1/2 hours when it reached 150F, then wrapped and into the oven for the last 2.5 hours (which took it to 4pm) when it reached 203F then it rested until about 4:45 or 5:00 when we pulled it.

So 8 hours total cooking time to get to 203F.

I'm using the maverick 73. It's wireless range is a little short, but it's worked great for me, and I can do an antenna mode on it to boost the range if needed.