Self-proclaimed Pit Masters of SH- I've got some questions

[LuckyDuck]

For those here that are well versed with the smoking of meat- I've got a Weber SMC coming this week and it'll be my first experience into giving this type of cooking a try myself (although I am a longtime fan of the end result). So as mentioned- I've got a SMC coming, approximately 70lbs of Kingsford Blue Briquettes, as well as Hickory/Cherry/Mesquite/Pecan/Apple Wood chunks.

I've been reading through various online articles and watching YouTube videos over the past week and it sounds like either pork butt or chicken thighs is the most forgiving for starting out and I'm leaning towards starting with the thighs myself. I think I'm good with the importance of maintaining temperature and how to do it (I also have a Termopro temperature gauge in the order with two probes, one of which I believe is best served to use one to monitor the ambient temperature at the rack with the 2nd being used to monitor meat temperature), understand the trimming of various cuts of meats, dry rubs, and marinating/basting timing. If I start with the thighs, I'm thinking of using either the Pecan, Cherry or Applewood for the first time (I prefer the heavy smoke flavor that hickory or Mesquite will impart but I'll likely have a crowd to evaluate how things turn out so understand the alternatives to be a bit milder/safer for a group.

I'm still trying to figure out the whole wet/dry brining element though as well as to understand the variations in smoking temperature. I've also seen some recipes where they put the chicken thighs in a pan rather than directly on the grill/arguments on whether or not to use the water pan (seems to focus more towards it being more favorable for the lower temperatures as far as I can tell but chicken seems to want to be smoked hotter than say the pork butt ... So many variables and I'm still trying to figure it all out.

All that said- for the Pit Masters here, any tips/tricks for someone starting out on their smoking journey that you'd be willing to share?

-LD

 

[ColbyLang]

I do all of my low and slow cooks/smokes on an XL Big Green Egg. Butts or chicken definitely the easiest cooks to start with.

Once you get the pit, you need to run it up to whatever temp you’re cooking at and maintain it with zero proteins in sight. A trial run. Once you’ve got that under control, go grocery shopping.

There a lot of trial and error with low temp cooks. The protein drives the cook time. Not every pork butt will shred at a 202° internal temp, every brisket won’t be ready at 205°, some might be 198, others 210.

 

[Big Phish]

Keeping it simple makes a better tasting overall experience. I you may be over thinking it all but you will gain knowledge on how how like your food done. I don’t mess with brines at all but basting in butte,salt and pepper especially on poultry’s. Ribs gets a liberal amount of your favorite rub. Bbq sauce kills it IMO

 

[sierracharlie338]

First and foremost I am not a pitmaster just someone who enjoys cooking and eating good food.

Pork butts are definitely the easiest IMO. Chicken can be slightly more tricky since they are smaller, I feel like, they can dry out on shorter notice but as long as you’re keeping an eye on them you should be fine. I’m a huge fan of brining chicken. It makes a difference in the moisture of the meat IME. I’ve never done the pan technique you described but I don’t see that being necessary especially if you brine them. I’d say you’re spot on with the wood choice, I’ve found that other people prefer a more subtle smoke flavor so mesquite/hickory can be a bit much for chicken and sometimes pork depending you their palate.

Most importantly take notes on what you do for future cooks and have fun.

 

[S Roche]

I've been cooking over a pit for 25 years. Here is a good place to start

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/

 

[diverdon]

Cook how you like to cook. Eat. If it's not great cook differently next time.

 

[Bradu]

Start with pork shoulders or pork loins. I like doing bacon wrapped pork loins stuffed with sautéed onions and jalapeños along with some cheese. I pull the pork loins at 145 and put on the charcoal grill at 350 just to crisp the bacon. You can also throw meatloaf on the smoker to add a little flavor to it as well. You'll find out the meat has more flavor after sitting in the fridge for a day or two.

Ribs are also easy. I do a dry rub and smoke at 225 for 5-6 hours until it passes the bend test. I hate wrapping ribs in foil because they are too tender and remind me of my mom's crock pot ribs from 20 years ago.

I do chicken and turkey at higher temps so the skin is crispy. I've never been a low and slow fan for poultry.

 

[notacos4u]

Start with pork…. Extremely forgiving and really hard to mess it up….

I’ve cooked on everything from Gateway drums, Myron Mixon gravity fed cookers, Insulated cabinet smokers, ole hickory rotisserie, pellet poopers and everything in between.

For chicken, use apple wood, not as harsh of a smoke onto it. Cook the chicken to 175*…. Be prepared to explain to the ill informed, the chicken is not in fact undercooked because it’s pink, it’s a natural process in cooking chicken.

For pork, here’s what I do:

Inject your pork butt with what ever profile you would like,for me I utilize a ginger ale, apple juice, and maraschino cherry juice mixture

utilize what ever rubs you would like to use that meet the flavor profile you’re looking for. Big poppa smokers and Simply Marvelous have some amazing rubs. I would suggest their cherry rub, spicy apple, and sweet money, layer them and it will give a great depth of flavor.

Get your smoker to the temp you’re looking to cook at, I cook at all different temps, from 225-275, all the way up to 400*, but only for a short period for chicken. For pork, I’d just run it at 275* and let it ride.

I believe on your smoker, you’ll have 2 grates/ levels you can cook on. Put a foil half pan with approximately 2” of water, recommend heating the water up beforehand so you’re not adding cold water and dropping your pit temp, put in on the bottom shelf, it’ll kind of act as a heat sink and adds humidity in your cooker. You're going to want to do this approximately 1 hr before you’re looking to put the meat on the smoker, it’ll allow the pit to come back up to temp in time. I normally add the water when my pit reaches 225*

Once your pit comes to the temp you’re looking for, and has stabilizes you can add your meat. About 1/2 hr before you plan on putting the meat on, that’s when I’d add your wood chunks, 3-5 is more than enough for the cook. Understand, you’re putting cold meat onto a hot smoker so the temp will probably drop by like 50*, don’t worry about it, you already have your fire set, so it should come back up to temp. Limit the time you keep the lid off the smoker to limit temp spikes.

Cook the pork until you get the bark YOU like on the meat, generally between 165-175* is where I normally decide to do my wrap. When I do my wrap, I’ll pull the pork butt out, and place it into an empty 1/2 hotel pan. I then take sugar in the raw, I prefer this over brown sugar because it dissolves better and has a higher burn threshold, I take a stick of pure butter, slice it in half length wise and place it on top of the pork butt. I then, take a mixture of half and half of whatever bbq sauce I want to utilize and maple syrup mixed together, and then pour about 8-10 ounces over the pork butt trying to cover it. Take a sheet of aluminum foil and place it over the top, and back in the cooker to finish cooking. I also utilize a meat probe to monitor the temp of the pork, so that way I don’t have to constantly keep opening the lid to see what temp the meat is at. Once it’s about 205-210*, it should be done, but understand, you’re cooking to TENDERNESS, not TIME or TEMPERATURE!!!!

I know it seems like a lot, but it’s not, just need to plan things out accordingly. If you want any tips or tricks, I’d be happy to share more, I’ve competed on the competition KCBS BBQ circuit having 8 grand championships and 2 reserve grand championships under my belt, so I’d like to think I might know a thing or two.

Other tidbits of advice, get yourself a notebook and record all your cooks. Just like when shooting and trying to keep all the data for the parameters of the rounds you expended, you want the same for your cooks. This will become your bible as you continue cooking. You can see what went wrong or right, and what you liked and what you didn’t. Make it as detailed as possible, especially your timeline, it helps you to backwards plan your cooks.

If you don’t want to babysit your cooks, this is amazing and makes things really easy and takes the guesswork out of fire management, plus it has meat probes as well as controlling the temp of your cook and sending you alerts on your cook:

https://www.flameboss.com/product/flame-boss-500-wifi-smoker-controller-kit-universal/

 

[notacos4u]

I've been cooking over a pit for 25 years. Here is a good place to start

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/

This^^^

Also join this site, lots of useful info and great bunch of guys that are more than willing to help you out

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/