Beef roast and pork shoulder cook

[MNKennicutt]

So I decided to smoke a beef roast last night and I had a pork shoulder that needed to be cooked, so I threw that one on as well. I smoke on a Weber Performer using the ‘snake’ method for my charcoal. I decided to use a couple of prebottled rubs on this one. On the roast, I used a coffee rub that was purchased at Hy-Vee and I used a ‘John Wayne’ brand rub on the pork shoulder.

I let the rub rub sit over the course of the day as I rubbed in the morning and I smoked overnight. I use Kingsford briquettes which, I know, aren’t the greatest to use, but I seem to be able to get the best temp control with them.

I snaked the charcoal 2 wide by 2 high about 3/4 the way around my kettle and placed chunks of oak on the first 1/3 of that for my smoke points. I placed a drip pan and adjusted my upper and lower vents. Top vent was a little over half closed and bottom was only slightly closed. After an initial spike of temp to about 300 degrees, it pulled back and sat at 225-230 all night. I checked on it once at about 2am, but other than that, I left it alone.

I pulled both both off at about 5:30 this morning and wrapped them in foil and rested them until 7. Sliced through the beef and it was tender and juicy. The pork had a little body but shredded easily. And the flavor was better than I hoped. Will do this cook again!

[Skip]

That meat looks wonderful MNKennicutt ! I thought there was a little blue smoke in the east last night. Good job!

[HawkerXP]

I could almost hear the birds chirping with the sunrise! Nice looking meat!

[Huskee]

I was thinking the same thing. I love hearing the robins singing at first twilight, perhaps my favorite sound next to the forlorn call of loons on a still lake...

[HouseHomey]

Sandwiches anyone? Works for me.

[MNKennicutt]

Shredded pork nachos are on the menu...

[jgreen]

Looks like good breakfast food, with leftovers for lunch.

[MNKennicutt]

The roast was brunch and the pulled pork is going to be bbq nachos...

[HorseDoctor]

Nicely well done! Good job!

[RonB]

Great lookin' cook.

[Henrik]

That's the way to do it! That snake always works well.

[David Cox]

Hi @MNKennicutt, I'm a complete newbie to smoking so please forgive my ignorance... can I ask please how and where you lit the snake? Do you light the coals just at one end and then close up, so the unlit coals catch fire during the night? Thanks!

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana

[MNKennicutt]

My Weber Performer has a gas igniter so I started a small pile in the center and used tongs to move the hot coals to the end nearest the start of the wood chunks. This causes the coals to burn slowly throughout the cook without having to reopen the lid multiple times. It has taken a few tries and I have stalled out a couple of cooks but practice and patience pays off

[Joetee]

David Cox

Yes David and welcome.
Light the charcoal at one end. It's really a great way to a low and slow long cook.
Any other questions? Feel free to ask. Many people here will chime in.

What grill do you have?

Again welcome to the pit.

[David Cox]

Thanks Joetee ! I have just bought a CharBroil Kamander to dip my toe into smoking and slow cooking...please don't tell me that it's rubbish as all smokers are very expensive and difficult to get over here in Ireland! The US is definitely the center of the BBQ universe...

[Joetee]

That's alright. I'm a Weber kettle guy myself. But you will master it in time. It's all about airflow and heat. Indirect and direct.
Look on this site and read about "how to calibrate your grill".

Do you have any photos of your cooks?

[MNKennicutt]

Welcome! I am fairly new here myself. I learned on a small barrel style smoker that was a promotional giveaway, so it was pretty inexpensive. I have found that, like with some cuts of meat, just because it is less expensive doesn’t mean it can’t be great. Stick with it! It gets better.

[Troutman]

That was a really nice cook and good write-up. What kind of roast was that, a chuck? As a suggestion, the snake and minion methods work really well, but you might want to look into a Slow N Sear for your kettle. It will up you game and provide great benefits to a variety of cooks. Keep up the good work !!!

[MNKennicutt]

I have looked at the SnS but I want to get a rotisserie first. I think that a smoked rotisserie prime rib would be amazing! The Slow and Sear might be a winter buy to practice with before next summer...

[Troutman]

Both are awesome, both will up your game, quite frankly that may be all you need to turn out some excellent cue brother !! Look forward to watching you grow !!!

[Joetee]

MNKennicutt
You will love a rotisserie. Makes awesome chicken.
But to be honest, I use the slow n sear almost every cook. Use the rotisserie a few times a year.
Neither is necessary but very useful and fun to use.

[Spinaker]

Great bark!

[David Cox]

MNKennicutt or anyone else, another question please...I tried a snake with briquettes (see photo), lit one end and then closed up and kept the temperature low for 9 hours as I'm supposed to, but my pork shoulder tasted a bit harsh, of chemicals... Do you have to be careful of which briquettes to use, do some of them release chemicals when they start burning? I was surprised to find that the snake had only burned about 1/2 way round even after the 9 hours. Any advice please? Thanks!