Welcome to the pit from Southern Illinois
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Welcome! Good luck on that cook!Comment
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Welcome from the Lowcountry of South CarolinaComment
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Hi JimmyH, welcome from Seattle! Since you already bought the smoker, I'm guessing you're pretty eager to start using it, so I'll give you a quick run-down of my NON-expert opinion on how to smoke your pork shoulder, and then dive into the research later:
1. The one thing I wish I had been told before I started was that you NEED a leave-in thermometer. Otherwise it is like cooking in your oven without a temp setting. The Maverick XR-50 is a new one with nice features, or get the ET-73 model for just the basics for a bit cheaper.
2. You also need a charcoal chimney. ecowper is the WSM master and he can tell you how much to start to get things rolling. My guess is that you should fill up the base of the WSM with unlit charcoal, then pull out enough to fill the chimney, light that, and 20 minutes later, pour it on top of the rest of the coals.
3. If you have a store-bought rub you are planning on using, check if salt is one of the first ingredients. If so, coat the pork shoulder in salt and skip to step 6.
4. The day before you cook, salt the pork with 1/2 teaspoon of salt per pound using Morten's Kosher salt, or about 1/3 teaspoon of table salt
5. Any time before you start, put on a good amount of either Memphis Dust or whatever non-salt-heavy rub you have on the pork.
6. Light the charcoal and get the smoker going, then put dry wood chunks on top of the lit coals. Allow yourself 12 hours to be safe, and adjust your vents so that your smoker temp is anywhere between 200 and 325 degrees - don't worry about big swings too much, pork shoulder can handle it. Wait until the temp is in that range and a bit stabilized before putting the meat on, and remember that the meat will probably make the temp drop - that's okay.
7. Around 160 degrees, the meat will probably stick at one temperature for many hours, that's okay. That's why you've allowed for 12 hours.
8. If you are within 3 hours of eating and it is still stuck, pull it off and wrap it tightly in foil, or stick it in a disposable aluminum pan and cover it tightly with foil, and put it back on until it reaches 200 degrees internal temperature.
9. If your smoker temp starts to die before it is done, finish it in the oven at 275 degrees.
10. Once it is done, set your oven to 170 degrees and let it sit in there - still in foil - until you are ready to pull it apart.
Don't expect your first cook to go smoothly, make sure you can be at home watching it all day in case the temperatures get out of control. But with a little practice, it will become much easier, and everyone will beg you to open a restaurant. That is a very common occurrence here, all thanks to Meathead and the community of people
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Welcome to the Pit! Thanks for joining up! best of luck with your first cook, my friend! Check out this thread for everything pulled pork. This will have all the essentials you need to get going. Pork shoulders are forgiving, so don't get too worried when you are cooking. Try to keep the temp between 225 F and 300 F. Anywhere in there and you will be just fine. Heck, even 300 + and you will be okay.
Once you are done with that cook, and you have a second, please give this thread a once over. There is some important information for you. This information will ensure you get the most out of your experience here in The Pit.
Also, it's very important that you:- Check your email, go to User settings then the account tab.You currently cannot change your email on file with us since it’s tied to your Pitmaster Club account as well as our payment processor, Stripe. Don’t worry though, we’d be happy to change it for you. Please visit this link: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/pi...il-request.php
- Add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list. We NEVER spam! This is important to receive special deals we occasionally work out for our members, notices about your account, such as if you’re up for renewal or are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner, which is open to all USA members or those with a USA delivery address (we’d hate to have to pick another person because you don’t answer us)!
Thank you for your support. We are excited to have you and we look forward to your contributions.
-Spinaker
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Welcome from Ohio.Comment
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Welcome Jimmy! I see you’re getting lots of tips here. I’m pretty new to this as well, and appreciate the awesome advice and ideas these folks are willing to share. My first long cook was a shoulder for pulled-pork and it fired me up - was so good. This is addictive; there’s no looking back. You’ve been warned - hehe. BTW - pics of your cooks are required here, so keep the camera nearby - we’re a shared-drool group here. Hmm, not sure that came out right. Anyway, have fun with it!Comment
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As far as rubs go, Meathead's Memphis Dust is a favorite around here. You'll notice that it contains no salt so that you can dry brine without fear of over salting. Just be careful if you decide to use a rub that does contain salt ... like virtually all commercial rubs. If you use one of those, just use it for brining and don't add more salt before smoking.
... and welcome from Colorado ...Comment
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Welcome from California! Check out the main AmazingRibs page for great tips, techniques, and recipes. AmazingRibs is such a great wealth of barbecue knowledge, and The Pit is the perfect place to discuss it!Comment
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Welcome to the pit!
Cheers from NorwayComment
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My wife knows I’m crazy. But as long as I keep cooking she’s happyComment
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Welcome for Wisconsin! Another piece of advice is to pick up Meathead's cookbook. All the detail including the "why". It's the BBQ bible.Comment
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Welcome to The Pit from Madison, WIComment
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Welcome to the Pit. Lots of good information here.Comment
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feeling discouraged. Had done all this research on pork butt from everyone here who's been extremely helpful. Bought a chimney starter, researched and bought a thermometer, prepared the memphis dust rub, dry brined my meat this morning, and went out to get the grill prepped for my first smoke and noticed there's rust on one of the grill grates, but even worse, it looks like there's mold forming on the walls of the middle section of my 18" WSM. At this point, (and how late it is on East coast) I don't think I have time to research and clean to start cooking tomorrow at 5am.
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