# My First Smoker



## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

This is my new pit only done chickens and ribs so far going to venture to pork butts first then brisket was able to get all the materials as scrap and only pay for the welding which worked out great. It is a tad bit big for the backyard but hey for what I paid I can not complain it took a bobcat and 6 guys to get it back there. I am wanting info on how long to cook the pork butt? Do I marinade or just rub and smoke time to foil time? I am new to this and appreciate the info.


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

Forgot to add the photos.


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## Dcrawford (Jan 3, 2008)

nice looking pitt!! want your money back? LOL

here's what I do:

*Pulled Pork - What You'll Need (not my on, but good)
*

Whole pork shoulders are more difficult to find than pork butts, so it's easiest to go with a couple of those. They might be called Boston butts or pork shoulder roast in your area. The following recipe will work with a pair of 6 to 8 pound butts.

*INGREDIENTS*


2 cups coarse, spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1 teaspoon crushed celery seeds (use a mortar and pestle)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

After trimming the excess fat from the surface of the pork, rub on a good coating of the brown mustard. Combine the remaining seasonings in a container, then coat the pork butts with a generous amount on all sides.

Cook the pork butts in a smoker or in a grill at 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit until falling apart tender. If cooked in a grill, use some hickory or apple wood wrapped in foil to add smoke flavor. To speed up the cooking process, wrap the butts in foil after the first few hours of smoking.

When done, pull the pork apart, removing any remaining fat you can find, and any other unappetizing pieces of whatnot. Then commence to shredding it up with either a couple of heavy forks, or your fingers if the meat is cool enough.

When the meat is shredded, I like to douse it with just a little bit of cider vinegar, then work it in. Serve with white bread or buns, bbq sauce, dill pickle slices and hot sauce. To make the pulled pork sandwiches shine, pile a mound of crispy cole slaw on top of the meat before covering it with the second piece of bread.

This _pulled pork recipe_ takes most of the day to finish, but once you bite into that first pulled pork sandwich, you know it's worth every minute! 

BB-

*Kansas City Classic Barbecue Sauce (again not mine!!, but really good if you like the vinegar sauces)
*

_*"I've been in more laps than a napkin."* Mae West_
Classic Kansas City sauces are brass bands with multiple layers of flavors, sweets, and heats. Because they are thick, they sit on top of the meat, not penetrating very much. A KC sauce can afford to have big bold flavors because the meat flavors will not be masked unless you use too much. Click here for saucing strategies.
They are always tomato based, and tre are a lot of ingredients, but they are easy to assemble and each contributes complexity. The best have multiple sources of sweetness (brown sugar, molasses, honey, and onion - which gets sweet when it is cooked); multiple sources of tartness (vinegar, lemon juice, hot sauce, and steak sauce); multiple sources of heat (chili powder, black pepper, mustard, and hot sauce); and it gets layers of flavor from all the above as well as ketchup, Worcestershire, garlic, and salt. It's not a KC Masterpiece, but it _is_ a KC Classic. Try it and you'll never use the bottled stuff again.​*Recipe*

*Yield:* 6 cups. Click here to calculate how much you need and for tips on saucing strategies.
*Preparation:* 15 minutes
*Cooking:* 15 minutes
*Ingredients*
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon table salt
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup yellow ballpark-style mustard
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup dark brown sugar (you can use light brown sugar if that's all you have)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
_*Optional.* If you are cooking your ribs indoors, or if your meat does not have a lot of smoke flavor, or if you just want more, you can add 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke._
_*About the chili powder.* Not all chili powders are created equal. Many of the common grocery store chili powders are lifeless and dumbed down for the Anglo consumer. Buy your chili powder from a Mexican grocer or online._
_*About the vinegar.* I like my sauce tart. If you are not big on vinegar, cut it in half._
_*About the steak sauce.* There are many different brands and they all have different flavor profiles, but what we want here is the meaty depth of savoriness that they call umami, so use whatever you have on hand._
_*Secret ingredient.* Add 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste. This exotic ingredient isn't really that exotic. It shows up on the ingredient lists of a lot of great BBQ sauces. It has a sweet citrusy flavor and really amps up a sauce. If you can't find it in an Asian grocery, it is available online. Worth looking for._
*Do this*
1) In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, black pepper, and salt. In a large bowl, mix the ketchup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon juice, steak sauce, molasses, honey, hot sauce, and brown sugar. Mix them, but you don't have to mix thoroughly.
2) Over medium heat, warm the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute until limp and translucent, about 5 minutes. Crush the garlic, add it, and cook for another minute. Add the dry spices and stir for about 2 minutes to extract their oil-soluble flavors. Add the wet ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid off to thicken it a bit.
2) Taste and adjust. Add more of anything that you want a little bit at a time. It may taste a bit vinegary at first, but that will be less obvious when you use it. Strain it if you don't want the chunks of onion and garlic. I prefer leaving them in. They give the sauce a home-made texture. You can use it immediately, but I think it's better when aged overnight. You can store it into clean bottles in the refrigerator for a month or two.​

*Don't forget to top off the sandwich with a nice scoop of angel hair pasta. I use the kind from the grocery store and just follow their directions, usually vinegar, sugar, mayo.*

goodluck!!


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## Texan (Jan 8, 2005)

Nice pit! I would have put it in the back of my truck and just left it there!

Pork butts are pretty easy to cook, if you have done ribs already and like how they turned out then you will have no problem with the butts. Just takes longer and watch your smoke. If you don't have an instant read thermometer, get one. That will tell you when the thick meats are good to go.


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## C.Hern5972 (Jul 17, 2009)

My next days off are MOnday and Tuesday. Im loading the chickens up in the smoker. Cant wait


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## chickenboy (May 5, 2008)

Now that is a nice pit. Good size. Man you are going to have a lot of fun with that thang. With the holidays right around the corner, I hope you get a lot of use out of it.


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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

wipe the inside down with chrisco lard, low heat for 2 days 150-175 all day.


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## Cartman (Jun 18, 2008)

Profish00 said:


> wipe the inside down with chrisco lard, low heat for 2 days 150-175 all day.


x100! You need to season your pit first. Wipe the inside down good! The 2 days at 175 might be a bit of overkill tho, I would fire it up to 500 and throw some oak in there and let it go for a few hrs at the very least. Get started on the right foot with such a beautiful pit.


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## kim e cooper (Feb 18, 2006)

Nice pit, but i do like your back yard no grass to cut.


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

I seasoned it with oil and bacon grease at 275 for 6 hours before I cooked on it the way I had it built with baffles inside it is hard to get the air flow needed for more than 325 with split wood but I will normally not be cooking that hot anyway. I had it built with baffles so the smoke and heat have to travel up over the meat then down past the meat 8 inches to get under the other baffle and out the stack when it is smoking even the tin foil comes out smoked. Thanks for the comments and advice. Where do you get an instant read thermometer? are they wireless or what?


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## Cartman (Jun 18, 2008)

You can get a instant read digital from Harbor Freight for cheap. This one http://www.ikitchen.com/maresmth.html?CS_003=740477&CS_010=maresmth is great for long smokes. It has a hi/lo temp. alarm on the wireless console so you always know where your at.


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

Thanks for the info that looks pretty cool and it does not look as if this is going to be an inexpensive hobby but hey it is something to do in the back yard.


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## kutb8t (Jul 1, 2009)

_Kool lookn pit,bout 2 start on mine,can't wait till it's done. _


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## ifish2 (Aug 13, 2005)

www.texasbbqrub.com has a forum with tons of info. Search pork butts and you will get lots of help. Their rubs are awesome too and they are local. I am not affiliated with them, I'm just a girl who wanted to learn to make good BBQ and have, because of it. I use Chris Lilly's sauce recipe. I used to use his injection recipe, but couldn't tell a whole lot of difference with or w/o injecting. You can google it! If you are going to cook often, I recommend a thermometer that has a smoker probe and a meat probe. I have one made by Maverick that has a receiver thing so I can see my pit and meat temps from inside the house. I can't imagine not having it now! If you follow the "how to make a brisket" on the rub website, you will be glad. It will get you started and then you can change things if you want the way you like them. Good luck! www.texaspepperjelly.com as a glaze on ribs is the best after smoking with original rub! I should definitely be getting a discount and both of these places!


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## frenzyfinder (Jul 8, 2008)

Nice pit, it should be a lot of fun!


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## RLwhaler (Sep 10, 2005)

SWEEEET looking pit! There's a few guys here that are bad arse on them.

Cheers,
RL


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## rodwade (Feb 13, 2007)

Cartman said:


> You can get a instant read digital from Harbor Freight for cheap. This one http://www.ikitchen.com/maresmth.html?CS_003=740477&CS_010=maresmth is great for long smokes. It has a hi/lo temp. alarm on the wireless console so you always know where your at.


 woot.com had a wireless thermometer for 12.99 I grabbed it up quick!


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

*First Pork Loin and Brisket*

I cooked teh first loin yesterday and got up today to start the brisket will add ribs and chicken later.


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## danduhman (Jan 19, 2007)

ALL RIGHT!!!! you owe me a new key board it shorted out when I drooled all over it


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

*Dinner*

Here is how it turned out for my first true BBQ all went well not to fond of teh spare ribs the baby backs and beef were great did not like the spares that much brisket turned out good used the Texas BBQ rub 1 2 3 method.


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## webfisher3 (Jul 27, 2007)

What was the prob with the spare ribs?


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## Maroon85 (Jun 6, 2007)

Mmmmmmm............M E A T


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## Trout Laguna (Aug 31, 2007)

Can't believe no one has said this, there's no such thing as a smoker that's TOO BIG!


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

The spare ribs seemed to fatty chewy like everything else was awesome.

Yes I thought it was to big when I got it but I filled it up pretty easy so it is just right.


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## ONDABORDER (Sep 23, 2009)

MAN! Thats a smoker to be proud of......... Cooks beautifully to perfection - course a good pit man helps. What a purty sight!


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