What to put in the smoker this weekend?

[Jer]

I've done a couple without wrapping, and now 4 or 5 with the wrapping (known as the Texas Crutch).
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...as_crutch.html

Wrapping tightly in foil (with a little liquid added in) really boosts the moisture and tenderness of the meat.

But the biggest reason is for a much faster cook time. The last butt I did without wrapping that was about the same size took about 12 hours to reach 200. With wrapping, it's about 8 hours. This one went from 150F up to 203F in 2.5 hours in the foil.

It's also awesome because it catches a lot of juice in the foil, which I re-add to the pan of meat after pulling.

The only downside to wrapping it is that it softens the bark.

I do the texas crutch on brisket as well. The first one I did without it, I watched the temp hit 150F and stay right there for next couple hours even though the smoker was 250F. I thought my thought my digital thermometer was broken. This is known as the "stall", and is caused by moisture being driven out of the meat, and evaporating off the surface, which cools the meat. Wrapping it tightly in foil prevents the evaporation, so no stall.

I actually prefer more of a 'caramelized' bark so that's why I foil and to help keep the meat moist. You got lucky on the cook time after foiling (upping the cook temp to 300 in an oven helps too) because I regularly still get stalls in the 190's that can last hours and hours. I do foil for the aforementioned reasons but still cook at 225deg (lately I've been experimenting with 275deg the entire smoke) so my stalls are amplified.

[DenverGP]

I regularly still get stalls in the 190's that can last hours and hours.

Are you wrapping very tightly (foil against the meat, ends crimped completely so no moisture can escape? I've done the crutch now for at least a dozen smokes, and haven't seen a stall yet. I get impatient, so I'm watching the digital thermometer closely pretty much non-stop for the last couple hours.

Hopefully I won't hit a stall after wrapping, but usually it's not a problem since my wife and I pretty much just eat whenever it's done. Last night we were eating with some friends, and they eat dinner at a set time, and rather early, so I was really banking on it getting done at the right time. Ended up being exactly perfect timing including about 45 minutes of resting.

[Jer]

Are you wrapping very tightly (foil against the meat, ends crimped completely so no moisture can escape? I've done the crutch now for at least a dozen smokes, and haven't seen a stall yet. I get impatient, so I'm watching the digital thermometer closely pretty much non-stop for the last couple hours.

Hopefully I won't hit a stall after wrapping, but usually it's not a problem since my wife and I pretty much just eat whenever it's done. Last night we were eating with some friends, and they eat dinner at a set time, and rather early, so I was really banking on it getting done at the right time. Ended up being exactly perfect timing including about 45 minutes of resting.

Sometimes I'm out at 3:00am in the cold/rain/snow so while I'll admit maybe I don't do the best of wrap jobs I do use heavy duty foil and try to do as best job wrapping as I can given the circumstances. It just seems that sometimes (read: always) the meat has a mind of it's own & isn't aware we're on a time crunch sometimes.

[DenverGP]

It just seems that sometimes (read: always) the meat has a mind of it's own & isn't aware we're on a time crunch sometimes.

Yup, have definitely seem some of that. If it wasn't for a good wireless digital thermometer, i'd be screwed trying to figure out when something was done.

This is the first time I've smoked something with a set dinner time, and I was getting a little nervous about 1/2 way thru since the temp took a long time just to get up to the 150F mark.

Normally I'd start the cook earlier, and just let the meat rest (wrapped, in a warm oven) for a few extra hours, but we were eating early, so I got up at 7am to get the smoker going and get the butt on. I'm not a morning kinda guy, so it's good that we normally eat late.

[Jer]

Yup, have definitely seem some of that. If it wasn't for a good wireless digital thermometer, i'd be screwed trying to figure out when something was done.

This is the first time I've smoked something with a set dinner time, and I was getting a little nervous about 1/2 way thru since the temp took a long time just to get up to the 150F mark.

Normally I'd start the cook earlier, and just let the meat rest (wrapped, in a warm oven) for a few extra hours, but we were eating early, so I got up at 7am to get the smoker going and get the butt on. I'm not a morning kinda guy, so it's good that we normally eat late.

I use a Maverick 732 and still have become a fair-weather-smoker for just that reason. Getting up in the middle of the night to go outside and deal with all that is garbage.

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it? For dinner I generally have to start the night before and even then I've had some smokes run long.

[Great-Kazoo]

With a 5lb shoulder are you not wrapping at all during the cooking process?

Not at all, for this go round.

I use a Maverick 732 and still have become a fair-weather-smoker for just that reason. Getting up in the middle of the night to go outside and deal with all that is garbage.

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it? For dinner I generally have to start the night before and even then I've had some smokes run long.

Using a Camp Chef pellet. 5lb pork shoulder 1hr smoke. 5 - 6 hrs @ 225 pulled @ 180* and sat an hour or so. Should have wrapped it after removing from smoker. However, We had a great bark, nice and juicy / flavor. We're not big on a heavy smoke flavor, just something to accent , bring out the flavors of meats smoked. Still get a nice smoke ring going it this way. We're always open to ideas, suggestions. Worse that happens, it's shredded for chili OR jerky

[DenverGP]

You got up at 7:00am to smoke a butt at 225deg and were done in time for dinner? That's impressive. What weight was it?

Mine was 7 pounds trimmed, no bone. Got it on the smoker at 8am, kept the smoker at 250 for the first 5 1/2 hours when it reached 150F, then wrapped and into the oven for the last 2.5 hours (which took it to 4pm) when it reached 203F then it rested until about 4:45 or 5:00 when we pulled it.

So 8 hours total cooking time to get to 203F.

I'm using the maverick 73. It's wireless range is a little short, but it's worked great for me, and I can do an antenna mode on it to boost the range if needed.

[Jer]

Using a Camp Chef pellet. 5lb pork shoulder 1hr smoke. 5 - 6 hrs @ 225 pulled @ 180* and sat an hour or so. Should have wrapped it after removing from smoker. However, We had a great bark, nice and juicy / flavor. We're not big on a heavy smoke flavor, just something to accent , bring out the flavors of meats smoked. Still get a nice smoke ring going it this way. We're always open to ideas, suggestions. Worse that happens, it's shredded for chili OR jerky

Yeah, I don't like over-smoking either and SO many people use WAY too much smoke which makes the meat bitter and adds creosote which is dangerous. TBS (Thin Blue Smoke) is the goal and lots of people don't get you don't need billowing black smoke to be smoking. In fact, the opposite is true. Most of the shoulders I get are nearly twice that size so that's probably the key difference in cook times but I'm looking at like 18hrs give or take most times w/a few lengthy stalls in the 160's, 170's & 190's.

Mine was 7 pounds trimmed, no bone. Got it on the smoker at 8am, kept the smoker at 250 for the first 5 1/2 hours when it reached 150F, then wrapped and into the oven for the last 2.5 hours (which took it to 4pm) when it reached 203F then it rested until about 4:45 or 5:00 when we pulled it.

So 8 hours total cooking time to get to 203F.

I'm using the maverick 73. It's wireless range is a little short, but it's worked great for me, and I can do an antenna mode on it to boost the range if needed.

There's the differences. I throw the whole damn thing in... no trim & with the bone. Also, running 250 for 5.5hrs makes a big difference too. I'd also recommend doing this even if you do run 225deg to avoid the danger zone (40deg to 140deg in less than 4hrs) for most people anyway. Like I said, I've been experimenting with 275deg from start to finish and have had alright luck so far. Not ready to give it the 100% stamp of approval as I had slightly lower quality pulled pork the times I did it this way but had other circumstances that were likely to blame.