Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Boston butt Cajun*Bandit Smoker stacker

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Boston butt Cajun*Bandit Smoker stacker

    My first long smoke

    I'm really satisfied with my new smoker and wanted to right a review using Fogo charcoal large lumps.

    Pork came out extremely tender and juicy.
    I don't think I needed to rest it in the cooler for 2 hrs.

    9# Boston butt
    Cajun Bandit Smoker stacker
    Texas style recipe

    Cleaned grill out real good and replaced lower vent. Probably should have added some ash to help the vent seal a little better being that it is new.

    Placed 2 fire grates in bottom perpendicular to each other to help keep small bits of charcoal from falling through.

    Covered gas ignitor (Weber) opening with foil tape because it was letting in air. I don't use it anyway.

    Rubbed the night before with:
    Rub good with olive oil.
    Mix together and rub it good:
    (Approx measurements)
    1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper
    1/4 cup kosher salt
    1 tbsp paprika
    1 tsp garlic powder
    1 tsp onion powder

    Placed 4 large chunks of apple wood around in charcoal ring with the first one being up close to the starting cube. Don't need the chimney. This stuff lights fast.

    Filled charcoal ring with large chunks Fogo lump charcoal.
    Lit 1 Weber lighter cube in center bottom and covered center over cube with medium chunks of lump.
    (Medium chunks probably caused heat to rise fast).

    Covered water pan with foil before adding hot water for easier clean up to about 2 inches from top.

    Goal is 250°+/- grill temp.

    6:00am.
    Lit smoker.

    6:15am
    Grill temp 255°

    6:20am
    Put meat on.
    IT is 36°.
    Use binder clips of needed to help seal lid tightly closed.
    Grill temp went up to 286°. Shut it down to bring temp down.

    6:45am
    grill temp 281°.
    IT 40°.

    6:55am
    275°. Opened lower vent right in between first 2 holes, I'm guessing about 1/4 inch.
    IT 45°.

    7:30am
    grill 254°
    IT 72°

    8:00am
    251°
    IT 85°
    Spritz with apple cider vinegar.

    8:20am
    grill 244°. Opened bottom vent to the second hole.
    IT 102°.
    Don't see much smoke at all coming out.

    8:35am
    237°
    IT 109°. Gonna open up some more, 2 1/2 holes. Top vent nearly 1/2.
    Spritz again.

    9:00am
    temp jumped up to 302°. Shut it down again. It takes off when I open to Spritz it.

    Note:
    I forgot to clamp lid down with paper binder clips last time I spritzed. I think this is why temp started going up.
    I hit the side to loosen up some ash and shake the charcoal up a bit and then I quickly opened and closed the bottom vent to try and help and limit air intake by spreading the ash around under vent.
    Cleaning the grill real well before I think had been a problem getting the lower vent to close and seal out air.

    9:40am
    temp is dropping. Now 270° from 208°.

    9:50am
    256°

    10:00am
    248°
    Time to open up a bit.

    10:20am
    4 hours so far.
    Temp 248°
    IT 146°

    10:37am
    IT 150°

    I0:50am
    IT 153°
    Note:
    Tried something different.
    Closed bottom vent. Spritz the meat. Then reopened the vent. Hopefully this slows incoming air to try to keep fire from gaining to much temp from opening.

    11:00am
    Temp still climbed to 256°.
    Closed all vents until temp comes back down.

    Note:
    I think when opening up to Spritz I should close all vents and wait until temp rise climbs and falls again. Then reopen.

    11:05am
    Seems to be working
    temp back down to 251°.
    IT 155°
    Reopening vents.

    11:30am
    249°
    IT 159°

    11:50am
    Temp 249°
    IT 161°
    Spritz

    Note:
    It worked. I closed all vents, spritz the meat. Closed it up. Waited until temp restabilized and then opened vents again.

    12:30pm
    IT 163°
    257°
    Spritz
    Wrapped meat with 3 layers tinfoil
    Replaced meat probe through foil.
    IT 170°

    Note:
    Meat looks incredible good. Nice bark. Fat broken apart.

    12:38pm
    283° temp coming down.

    2:00pm
    257°
    IT 185°

    3:15pm
    IT 199°
    246°

    Note:
    9 hours
    Removed meat and wrapped with a blanket still in the foil not opening it up and put it in a ice chest with heat probe. Must not let it get below 145°.

    3:23pm
    Carry over cooking is already at 202°.

    4:00pm
    IT still at 200°

    6:00pm
    IT still at 185°

    6:45pm
    Still at 178°

    Note:
    Using lump charcoal has been good after I learned what I needed to do to maintain temps like:

    Use large chunks of lump charcoal in the smoker for smoking long cooks. It's easier to control the heat. Use the smaller pieces for other cooks like steaks, hamburgers, chicken, links etc.

    Use a water pan. Wrap it in foil to help with cleaning.

    Put meat on right away after lighting and getting smoker set up. It was fast getting to 250°.

    Close down all vents when ever I need to open up the grill for anything. Wait about 10 or 15 minutes until temp re-stabilizes to just below goal heat before re-opening vents.

    If it starts getting a little hot, smack the side of the smoker to shake up the ash and lumps. It helps it to cool down a bit.

    After cleaning the bottom of the kettle around the vents, add some ash down in the bottom to help with sealing the bottom vent.

    Click image for larger version  Name:	20190810_191227.jpg Views:	1 Size:	3.06 MB ID:	728369Click image for larger version  Name:	20190810_185132.jpg Views:	1 Size:	3.11 MB ID:	728370
    Last edited by Joetee; August 11, 2019, 06:22 AM.

    #2
    Good lookin' butt.

    Comment


    • Joetee
      Joetee commented
      Editing a comment
      It was really good. Just seemed to be a little greasy. I'm thinking that's because I put it in a cooler for a couple hours. Meat just feel apart.
      But what I was doing was practicing for my first brisket next week end.
      Thanks

    #3
    What did you use in your spritz. Did it add flavor to the meat. You had a water bowl. Your opening the smoker interfered with the cook causing more fluctuations, that if you didn't spritzt. Read Meatheads pulled pork recipe and some of the pulled pork smokes done by other guys on here. Spritzing cools down the meat and really doesn't do anything for the pork. For example if you used apple juice use apple wood for the flavor.

    It looks like it came out pretty darn good.

    Comment


    • Joetee
      Joetee commented
      Editing a comment
      It was suggested from the recipe I followed, another site, to Spritz with apple cider vinegar to help it not dry out I guess. But he didn't use a water smoker. Not sure what it's called but a side by side maybe. But I can see what your saying. Probably didn't need it.
      The large lump was easy to maintain if I kept the lid shut. I'll try that next time.
      Thanks

    • Henrik
      Henrik commented
      Editing a comment
      I'm with mountainsmoker. Skip the spritz for a butt. Just let it cruise. If you're lookin' you ain't cookin' :-) It will be to your favor, the butt doesn't need it.

    #4
    I sense you had a lot of fun going through the motions (and emotions☺) for your first long cook.
    No butts but that Butt looks mighty good. I still think a hold makes a difference no matter how tender the protein seems when the cook is done.
    Agree if you have a water pan no need to spritz. It does add to the cooking time.
    Good job Sir.

    Comment


      #5
      Great lookin’ butt! I agree. I agree with others. Skip the spritz, not needed. And the rest in a faux cambro is important.

      Comment


        #6
        The cook looks good. You thought it was greasy. Did you trim the fat cap and other excessive fat areas. There is plenty marbling a Butt, so I don’t think you can over trim them. Also, wrapped in a an ice chest for a couple of hours allows the various muscles to separate, and you can remove the excessive fat that separates them as you pull the meat.

        Comment


        • LA Pork Butt
          LA Pork Butt commented
          Editing a comment
          Joetee it will be messy, but it should absorb some fat and make the bark a little firmer. I would be interested in knowing the results if you wrapped in butcher paper during the stall. Cooking at 275 might render more fat.

        • Joetee
          Joetee commented
          Editing a comment
          Has anybody had good results wrapping a pork butt in butcher paper instead of foil?

        • Joetee
          Joetee commented
          Editing a comment
          @LA Pork Butt
          Well I wrapped a 9 pounder with butcher paper at the stall.
          I smoked at 275°
          It took 11 hours total to get to 196° IT.
          I put it in a cooler for a couple hours to rest while we got ready and went to sons house to serve.
          It came out amazingly perfect.
          When I removed to wrap, it was 159°, the bark felt a little crispy. Which was fine and looked great. After the butcher paper wrap it still had a sort of firm bark but not as crispy. Probably because of the cooler for a couple hours.

        #7
        Outstanding cook and results.

        Comment


          #8
          looks good and nice write up!

          Comment


            #9
            LA Pork Butt
            That latest pork butt came out superbly wonderful. All the family couldn't say enough how great it was.
            Thank you for your advice.
            Now.... What to smoke next? LOL

            Comment


            • HawkerXP
              HawkerXP commented
              Editing a comment
              Did you do that brisket? How did it turn out?

            • Joetee
              Joetee commented
              Editing a comment
              @HawkerXP
              Yes I smoked the brisket last weekend. It came out perfect. Wonderful for my first brisket.

          Announcement

          Collapse
          No announcement yet.
          Working...
          X
          false
          0
          Guest
          Guest
          500
          ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
          false
          false
          {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
          Yes
          ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
          /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here