Decided to make some pulled pork for supper and for a few meals for the week. It's been way too long since I've fired up this smoker. It'll be fed a steady supply of Mulberry to give its smoke.
Post up with your questions, theres plenty of experience on here to point you in the right direction. These are about 8 pounders, so I'm hoping somewhere in the 10-12 hours, but could be upwards of 16 hours. Really depends on what temperature you want to smoke at. I'm going to try to run at 225 ish.
I did two with mulberry on the smokey joe about two months ago. It was the best I ever did. Still eating on the left overs.
Yes, Mulberry is a great smoking wood. I'd never would have known that if it wasn't for thistle who turned me on to it several years ago. Plus we have a abundance of that tree around here, bonus...
I have fond memories of climbing the big old Mulberry in backyard & couple others in the neighborhood. 7-8 years old was practically scared of my own shadow,but I'd climb up 20-30 feet & didn't bother me at all. Would get all scratched & clothes would be purple in June but I didn't care.Even getting scolded or what have you didn't stop me. I'd be back up there in a few days that's for sure.
So what does the coating/rub consist of? I have 17# of butt to smoke here soon and I don't have a plan for the spices.
Highbeam, You really can't mess up smoked butt, it's gonna be good. Just use your temp probs. and get it over 200 to cook the fat out. All kind of rubs on youtube, but it doesn't really matter, it's just a surface treatment. Believe me, it's gonna be good. I smoke it for 3 to 4 hours, then wrap it in foil and put it in the oven at 225. Ten hours or whenever the temp gets right, it's just not sensitive other than not getting it up to temp.
Here is mine Highbeam Give it a go. If you get any rave reviews, claim the rub was yours... I use this for anything beef pork or chicken. And add some other things depending what I'm cooking. Reverse flow smoker | Page 5 | Firewood Hoarders Club
Here is a good BBQ sauce recipe. Been using it for about 10 years. Reverse flow smoker | Page 5 | Firewood Hoarders Club
Highbeam - as they mentioned above. I'm not particular to any rub, just find a decent rub for pork. I got mine at Costco from Jack Stacks BBQ. I pat it dry... then rub the heck out of it in regular yellow mustard (helps keep the rub in tact and it cooks out never tasting) then apply the rub. Cover and Refrigerate it over night. Then I inject it with Apple Juice before going in the smoker in the morning. Then just aim for about 205 F internal temperature.
I make my own rub. It's a little different every time, but basically: 4 parts brown sugar 4 parts kosher salt 1 part of each: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, oregano flakes, cumin 1/2 part: cayenne pepper Sometimes I will substitute coriander seed for the cumin if you want it a little more asiany and less mexicanny. These measurements don't need to be precise. I usually use a "big spoon" and a "little spoon", put them in a bowl, and mix until the brown sugar isn't clumpy. This is good on chicken and pork. I don't smoke beef (too $), so I can't comment on that.
Thanks folks, I will likely give it a try this weekend. Not my first butt but I've always smoked them pretty naked.
Was it good? What I have discovered is it's just like tooling, good tools don't necessarily make the finished product any better, just makes it easier to make a good finished product. As of right now, my home built Ugly Drum Smoker does the best at maintaining a constant temperature and close behind is my new Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker. I have a smoker that looks similar to the one you used and it required too much attention to maintain temps and it was a gas version! But when you load up a good smoker, it will cook for ten hours and you just wander by every now and then and smile.
