Brian Johnson
TVWBB Pro
Got home from work on Thursday and decided to fire up the 22" kettle for a little dinner. Lit about 3/4 chimney of Kingsford Pro and added some unlit coals for good measure. Then crammed some legs on the indirect side of the cooking grate
After the legs were done, I add a few more coals to maintain cooking temp and threw on some thighs.
Thigh's done. Time to eat!
Friday we decided it'd be a good time for the first overnight cook of the season and this pork butt decided to "volunteer" for the honor.
To be honest, I didn't really plan for this cook so I had to improvise a bit on several fronts. Anyway, I fired the the 18" WSM with a full ring of Kingsford Pro and a hodgepodge of hickory, apple and pecan "chunks" that I cobbled together from a few bags of scraps from last season. The butt went on at about 10:30 pm and cooked for about 11 hours. It took a bit for me to get the temperature where I wanted it, I probably started with too few coals, and it likely didn't help that most of my "starter coals" had been used previously. I went to bed about midnight and my remote thermometer woke me a couple of times for low temps. One of those times I found that the water bowl was not seated properly inside the cooker but was instead resting on the charcoal. Once I moved it back into place, and the temperature settled back down from the influx of oxygen, the temperature settled into a sweet spot and I was able to sleep through the rest of the night.
Once the sun was up, I had to add about a dozen more coals (half lit and half unlit) to maintain temp for the last hour or so. I pulled the butt off the smoker around 9:30 am and wrapped it in foil and towels and stuffed it into a cooler to rest/hold until lunch time.
I don't have any good pictures of the finished product all pulled and served up for lunch, here it is before pulling.
Final Thoughts: While not my best tasting pulled pork, it was very tender and pulled apart very easily. Additionally, there were no complaints from the family and anytime I get to cook on the WSM is a win, so I'll take it!
After the legs were done, I add a few more coals to maintain cooking temp and threw on some thighs.
Thigh's done. Time to eat!
Friday we decided it'd be a good time for the first overnight cook of the season and this pork butt decided to "volunteer" for the honor.
To be honest, I didn't really plan for this cook so I had to improvise a bit on several fronts. Anyway, I fired the the 18" WSM with a full ring of Kingsford Pro and a hodgepodge of hickory, apple and pecan "chunks" that I cobbled together from a few bags of scraps from last season. The butt went on at about 10:30 pm and cooked for about 11 hours. It took a bit for me to get the temperature where I wanted it, I probably started with too few coals, and it likely didn't help that most of my "starter coals" had been used previously. I went to bed about midnight and my remote thermometer woke me a couple of times for low temps. One of those times I found that the water bowl was not seated properly inside the cooker but was instead resting on the charcoal. Once I moved it back into place, and the temperature settled back down from the influx of oxygen, the temperature settled into a sweet spot and I was able to sleep through the rest of the night.
Once the sun was up, I had to add about a dozen more coals (half lit and half unlit) to maintain temp for the last hour or so. I pulled the butt off the smoker around 9:30 am and wrapped it in foil and towels and stuffed it into a cooler to rest/hold until lunch time.
I don't have any good pictures of the finished product all pulled and served up for lunch, here it is before pulling.
Final Thoughts: While not my best tasting pulled pork, it was very tender and pulled apart very easily. Additionally, there were no complaints from the family and anytime I get to cook on the WSM is a win, so I'll take it!
