Northern gal tries to slow-smoke swine

[Jennifer Brizzi]

Friday I tried to slow-smoke a 9.75 picnic shoulder on my Weber grill, western Carolina style was my aim, and I did my research, read every word on it in all the archives of eGullet and many other sources. I kept the smoker between 210 and 250 the whole time, but after reaching that famous "plateau" after about eleven hours of smoking, it never left it and didn't reach the intended 195-200 degrees inside, staying stubbornly at 160 all night.

I finally gave up after 19 and 1/2 hours of trying, in need of sleep. The shredded meat was tasty, but a bit dried out after all that time on the fire. After I recuperate I might like to do it again some day and wonder if any of you pros have any idea where I went wrong...

If you could possilby need more detail, here is the before and the after from my blog.

Thank you so much for any advice.

[chefrodrigo]

Was it the type of Weber that you would have to lift the lid every time you want to tend the fire? If so, I'd recommend buying a Weber bullet before the next try.

Keeping a steady temperature is one of the keys to succesful smoking and every time you lift the lid you let out that precious heat, moisture, and pressure built up inside the chamber.

Rodney

[moosnsqrl]

Was it the type of Weber that you would have to lift the lid every time you want to tend the fire?  If so, I'd recommend buying a Weber bullet before the next try.

Keeping a steady temperature is one of the keys to succesful smoking and every time you lift the lid you let out that precious heat, moisture, and pressure built up inside the chamber.

Rodney

←

Exactly. You can, in theory, smoke on a regular Weber kettle (turkey breast, salmon and the like) but when you're talking about a whole shoulder it's really not practical. I bet that's the only thing you "did wrong" from your report.

[Jennifer Brizzi]

Thanks! Yes, it was a regular old 22 1/2" Weber, and for the thermometer I used a ten buck digital with the probe held in place in one of the top vents with a shaved cork, and it did show a pretty constant temp. Maybe that part of the grill is hotter than where the meat was? Is the bullet the same as the "smokey mountain"? I will have to look into other kinds of Weber.

Edited August 21, 2006 by Jennifer Brizzi (log)

[Luckylies]

Thanks! Yes, it was a regular old 22 1/2" Weber, and for the thermometer I used a ten buck digital with the probe held in place in one of the top vents with a shaved cork, and it did show a pretty constant temp. Maybe that part of the grill is hotter than where the meat was? Is the bullet the same as the "smokey mountain"? I will have to look into other kinds of Weber.

←

sometimes you have to raise the heat a bi if it's not coming out of the stall. If my meats stalling for top long I'll usually give it a burst of real heat--at, say 300f it usually pulls the meat through the stall and saves it from a overcooking and dryness. Or foil it and pop it in the oven to bring it around. Don't forget to rest your cooked meat in a coller wrapped in a towel for a few hours before you serve it. It really helps with moisture.

[007bond-jb]

Hello Jennifer You need to monitor the smoke chamber temp at your cooking grate level the heat rises to the top & will read hotest at the vent the reason you meat was dry was because you cooking at too low a temp for way too long. My smoker has 35deg. difference in temp top to grate level. After your Butt or Shoulder reaches 195 don't forget to foil & let it rest in a empty ice chest for an hour

[Jennifer Brizzi]

Thank you! I DID foil it and put it in a cooler, actually for several hours. But I did not keep in mind that the temperature it was cooking at was probably a lot lower than what the thermometer said. Next time I will let the thermometer temp get a little higher, and be saving up for the Weber bullet, which looks handy for smoking all kinds of things.

[slo_ted]

You will be happy with the Weber Smokey Mountain water smoker. It is pretty much set and forget. You can get good results with your Weber covered kettle grill but it takes a lot more effort. Snowangel can provide advice in the kettle dept., but it sounds like you/ve read her posts. Glad you had some success and hope you get your bullet. TD

[DTBarton]

Excellent web site with instructions for Weber bullet (aka Smokey Mountain) and link to Amazon for purchase:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

[BigHoss]

my advice to you is to stay at it. try it again soon with a 6-7lb butt. when you get a butt thats almost 10lbs you might as well cook a whole shoulder (skin on ALWAYS). we cook shoulders 22 hours, sometimes longer than that in the winter. stay in your temp range around 225 and figure 2 hours per pound. flip half way through and flip again at the 3/4 mark. baste if you like the last few hours but your best bet is to have your butcher give you some hog skin with at least an inch of fat on it. lay it on your butt like a blanket during the last 4-6 hours of cooking for your baste. your life would be easier if you had a weber smokey mountain, green egg, or small off-set......it can be real frustrating when that internal has been sitting around 165* for what seems like a week, but just open another pabst and let it do its thing.