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Pulled pork on the 26er

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    Pulled pork on the 26er

    I am breaking in the 26 inch kettle I picked up used tomorrow. Picked up a 10 pound pork shoulder today for $1.49 a pound. It's trimmed and seasoned and in the fridge. I've done pulled pork a few times on our Memphis pellet grill. I'm new to using the kettle.

    I'm going to start cooking when I get up, probably around 7:00. Aiming to eat at around 6:15 (half time of the USA Canada soccer match). Plan on wrapping after it has a good crust and possibly bumping the temp up to 300 or so to get it done on time.

    I could use some guidance on how to setup the 26er. I have the 2 charcoal baskets it came with. I also picked up 3 firebricks today to use as a poor man's (well, cheap man's) Slow N Sear. I have some B&B briquettes and KBB briquettes.

    I was thinking of using the firebrick setup, but now I think a snake may be easier to maintain a steady heat. What do you all think, firebricks or snake? If I do a snake, what configuration? I was planning on using the B&B briquettes.

    #2
    Fire brick it and run it like the SnS. If you don't have the raised grate may want to flip at some point. I wanna say I got a good 10 hours from the B&B on the 26er. The 22 would give me almost 15 hrs at 225.

    Comment


      #3
      The firebricks will work fine. Light it just like a SnS with about 8-10 briquettes and when asked over add a couple chunks of wood then fill it with unlit charcoal. I would add a water pan under the pork and leave the bottom vent at maybe 1/4 open and the top at around 1/4 or less. This should keep you around 250 and make small adjustments as needed when you throw that big hunk of meat on. Don’t chase the temps too much….just keep it somewhere between 225-275.
      Have fun and make sure to take plenty of pics to show us how it went.

      Comment


        #4
        I’d use the firebrick to split zones like SNS stated above.

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          #5
          Pork butt is cooking. A few impressions from starting my first Weber Kettle slow cook:
          1. The one touch ash cleaning system was disappointing. Left a lot of ash behind from my burn out yesterday. I had some old coals on the grate and didn't want to remove it, so I poked a thin piece of wood between the grates to push the ash out the slots.
          2. Lighting 6 B&B briquettes using the chimney upside-down didn't work well. I tried the paper towel soaked in oil thing. I'm not sure how you are supposed to use the chimney upside down. I set the charcoal directly on top of the paper towel. I think maybe a small chimney is in my future, although next time I may just try starting the first coals in place using a starter cube. I've seen that done in some videos. I lost probably at least an hour this morning just trying to get things started. I need ideas how to do it better.
          3. Once things are going, temperature, while not as steady as the pellet grill, are holding nicely with minor tweaks of the top vent.
          More to come...
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          Comment


          • zinfella
            zinfella commented
            Editing a comment
            @Panhead John

            Good stuff with that paint brush use! OTOH, IMO, the little bit of ash left in the kettle after sweeping with the One Touch won't normally be a problem with future cooks, and can be ignored until the next sweep.

          • Panhead John
            Panhead John commented
            Editing a comment
            If it’s not windy, you’re right, it shouldn’t be a problem. But I’ve had occasions on a windy day that ash has blown around in the bowl when removing the lid. Don’t want it getting on my food so I try and get as much out as I can before my cook.
            Last edited by Panhead John; July 18, 2021, 01:15 PM.

          • zinfella
            zinfella commented
            Editing a comment
            Good point! I had forgot about wind, it's been so long tgat I've had to worry about it using my kettle where it lives now.

          #6
          The kettle isn’t a pellet grill and you do have to be involved ( paying attention)
          and remember you are smoking a pork shoulder not a butterfly,,,,,
          Minor temp swings aren’t a serious thing

          Comment


            #7
            Originally posted by IdahoJim View Post
            Pork butt is cooking. A few impressions from starting my first Weber Kettle slow cook:
            1. The one touch ash cleaning system was disappointing. Left a lot of ash behind from my burn out yesterday. I had some old coals on the grate and didn't want to remove it, so I poked a thin piece of wood between the grates to push the ash out the slots.
            2. Lighting 6 B&B briquettes using the chimney upside-down didn't work well. I tried the paper towel soaked in oil thing. I'm not sure how you are supposed to use the chimney upside down. I set the charcoal directly on top of the paper towel. I think maybe a small chimney is in my future, although next time I may just try starting the first coals in place using a starter cube. I've seen that done in some videos. I lost probably at least an hour this morning just trying to get things started. I need ideas how to do it better.
            3. Once things are going, temperature, while not as steady as the pellet grill, are holding nicely with minor tweaks of the top vent.
            More to come...
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            You don't become a kettle expert the first time you use it. It will do anything that a pellet grill can do, and more, once you become familiar with it! The first thing to know is that it has no automatic features, it relies on you to control it.

            The One Touch system is designed to sweep out ash, not chunks of unburned fuel.The SnS does a very good job of keeping unburned fuel chunks out of the kettle bottom.
            Last edited by zinfella; July 18, 2021, 01:10 PM.

            Comment


              #8
              Three hours in. Just put a probe in the meat. It's at 126. Nothing really resembling bark yet. I don't think I'm getting enough smoke. It's my own fault. I didn't have any wood chunks, just apple wood chips. I've mixed them in with the briquettes and thrown some on the top. When I throw them on top, I get a lot of white smoke for a few minutes then it dies off. Note to self: go by smoke wood chunks.

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                #9
                Steady temps are overrated. I had a cheap offset run 180-333 CONSISTENTLY. Somewhere in there is a steady average.

                I use a gas burner to light my chimneys. B & B takes a bit more to light than something like Kingsford. I use a totally different approach with the Pit Barrel but that is by private consultation only.

                Comment


                • STEbbq
                  STEbbq commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Omg. The PBC is lighter fluid isn't it?

                #10
                If ur lookin’ you ain’t cookin’,,,,,,,
                a famous quote from ,,,,,,somebody,,,,,

                Comment


                  #11
                  I gootta say, noth'in wrong with ein young and adventuresome, maybe try'in put various peices of outdoor cook'in hardware un search of what suits you best. OTOH, npth'in wrong with being old, but damn good look'in, and knowing that one piece of hardware is all I need to do what suits me!

                  Comment


                    #12
                    6 hours in. Meat is at 175 and Auggie (the dog) is soggy. He loves the sprinklers.

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                    Want to eat in about 2 1/2 hours. Do I wrap? It looks like it could keep going unwrapped to me. I would like to hold it a while...

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                      #13
                      Will be tough to be eating soft tender pulled pork in 2.5hrs if you're only at 175 now. Nearly impossible if you don't wrap now. My advice is to wrap unless you want to eat in 4 or 5 hours. Crank your kettle up to 275. Take the meat up to 200ish, close your vents up, and let it hang out there about an hour. Then pull, shred and enjoy.

                      Comment


                        #14
                        At 7 hours in, meat was reading 181.

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                        I wrapped it and put it back on the grill and the meat temperature read 169. Woops. Bad probe placement. Didn't see much in the way of a stall. Opened the top vent most of the way and settled in at about 300 degrees. In the mean time, someone (I won't mention her name) realized the soccer game was at 3:00, not at 5:30. Everyone had already eaten lunch before they come over, then had to leave after the game. Oh well, 10 pounds of pulled pork for me and the wife and lots of leftovers. Pulled the meat off the grill at 6:45, 9 hours and 45 minutes into the cook and about 30 minutes past the original time we planned to eat. Let it rest for about half an hour while my wife put some green beans in foil on the grill.

                        The end result:

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                        Very tasty, moist and tender. May have benefitted from a little more rest. I spooned the juices in the foil back over the meat. There wasn't that much fat in it. I think the flavor was better than what we've gotten off the pellet grill. The whole experience was definitely more fun and interactive, but we still managed to sneak out for about an hour and a half and grab lunch while the grill hummed along at about 260 degrees. I think this is my new smoker over the pellet grill. May want to get a temperature controller as some point, but not yet. Just want to play with it. Learned a lot on this site before ever trying this. Thanks to all of you.
                        Last edited by IdahoJim; July 20, 2021, 08:51 AM. Reason: Correct grill temperature, not 160, 260.

                        Comment


                        • HawkerXP
                          HawkerXP commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Cut that hunk o meat in half next time. More bark.
                          I will use the drippings from the water pan after separating some of the fat as well.

                        • Dadof3Illinois
                          Dadof3Illinois commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Looks pretty tasty!! Like HawkerXP said, cut that hunk o meat in half and really cut down on cooking time.
                          I've learned to finish pork butts and briskets somewhere 2-4 hours before I want to eat. This way I have time to make any adjustments and if I run an hour or so long i'm still good to go. Both cuts of meat keep well in a cambro until serving time. This way i'm not rushing around trying to get things ready while the guest are arriving.

                        #15
                        Way to go! Now, you'll just get better at it.

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