Wow, I lost track of this thread. When I smoke a big'ol pork butt I usually trim most of the fat off inside and out. The meat itself had enough fat to keep it moist and anything like the fat cap on the outside just melts and washes away any rub that's been applied.
For smoker temps I'll start at 140f only for safety reasons. The FDA has the saying "40f to 140f within 4 hours" to avoid the bacteria growth. Deep inside the meat is usually not a problem unless you inject it or really pry it apart to get rub in between the muscles. Once I get past the 140f mark I'll lower the temp to 225f for the duration. I always use the Texas Crutch foil wrap starting at 165 to power through the stall. Mostly to save time so it's not a 16+hour day. It can destroy the nice bark but there's still plenty there and I'll always save the juices in foil by pouring them into a cut and mixing it back in after the pork is shredded. I've also started adding some fresh rub to the pork after shredding it to give it an extra burst of flavor. I don't know what's going on with the breading but some pork is just plain bland and others are really sweet and great.
Personally, I don't add sauce to the pork, only the juices. Some people like the sauce mixed in while other like just the pork alone so I'll put it on the table and let them decide.
For pork ribs I tried something that seems more popular that I thought and that is to smoke them at 275 instead of 225. I found it cuts an hour off the time and the smoke, flavor and texture is all the same. I do use foil on ribs too because the family like them fallin' off the bone. I'll eat them either way.
The grocery store often has sales for the pork butts at $1 (US) a pound. I'll get two and freeze one.
Oh, yes to the high temps for chicken and turkey. I'll run the temp up to 375f or the skin becomes rubber. I haven't smoked a turkey in a while because it can take days for prep. The best way is to wet brine soak it in a bag for a day and then day for smoking with a bunch more steps in between. The best luck I had was to spatchcock the turkey by splitting the breast and laying it out flat to get the smoke inside and out. Takes up a lot of real estate on the grill.
Happy smoking and grilling!
For smoker temps I'll start at 140f only for safety reasons. The FDA has the saying "40f to 140f within 4 hours" to avoid the bacteria growth. Deep inside the meat is usually not a problem unless you inject it or really pry it apart to get rub in between the muscles. Once I get past the 140f mark I'll lower the temp to 225f for the duration. I always use the Texas Crutch foil wrap starting at 165 to power through the stall. Mostly to save time so it's not a 16+hour day. It can destroy the nice bark but there's still plenty there and I'll always save the juices in foil by pouring them into a cut and mixing it back in after the pork is shredded. I've also started adding some fresh rub to the pork after shredding it to give it an extra burst of flavor. I don't know what's going on with the breading but some pork is just plain bland and others are really sweet and great.
Personally, I don't add sauce to the pork, only the juices. Some people like the sauce mixed in while other like just the pork alone so I'll put it on the table and let them decide.
For pork ribs I tried something that seems more popular that I thought and that is to smoke them at 275 instead of 225. I found it cuts an hour off the time and the smoke, flavor and texture is all the same. I do use foil on ribs too because the family like them fallin' off the bone. I'll eat them either way.
The grocery store often has sales for the pork butts at $1 (US) a pound. I'll get two and freeze one.
Oh, yes to the high temps for chicken and turkey. I'll run the temp up to 375f or the skin becomes rubber. I haven't smoked a turkey in a while because it can take days for prep. The best way is to wet brine soak it in a bag for a day and then day for smoking with a bunch more steps in between. The best luck I had was to spatchcock the turkey by splitting the breast and laying it out flat to get the smoke inside and out. Takes up a lot of real estate on the grill.
Happy smoking and grilling!
