Originally Posted by lewdog (Post 9896939)

I have a smoking question and figured we might as well bump this thread up. There was some good info in here last year that I used quite a bit.

I'm going to a friend's house for opening day. Here on West Coast time that means 10 a.m. kickoff. I am going to smoke a pork butt for some pulled pork sandwiches, but due to time constraints and not being at my house, I'm going to have to do this the day before.

Given the butt size I will be using it will likely take 9-10 hours to get it up to a temp of 190.

My question is how do I store this and re-heat it the day after so that the meat doesn't get dried out and tastes as close to coming off the smoker as it can be instead of microwaved leftovers?

Originally Posted by Dunit35 (Post 9901452)

What wood pellets should I buy for beef, pork, fish, etc? I've heard oak is good for beef. Mesquite is strong, and fruit woods are usually the way to go. Anybody know what is best?

Originally Posted by jspchief (Post 9901460)

I would reserve the stronger ones for beef like mesquite and hickory. Fruitwoods are good for pork, as well as milder woods like oak and maple.

For anyone just starting out smoking, I always give the same advice. Keep a journal. Document things like the wood, rub, cooking method, etc. There are a lot of different ways to smoke good meat. Personal taste and actually being able to track what you did that gave you the results you liked helps.

Conversely, because there are so many different ways to get it right, you can get away with "winging it" alot. If you aren't that particular, just try something different from the web every time.

Originally Posted by jspchief (Post 9901085)

There might be some websites out there with mods for that smoker to improve temp control.

Originally Posted by Dunit35 (Post 9904833)

Cooked baby backs on the traeger today. They were decently tender and had a good spice to them. I want more flavor though. I went with:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1tbs black pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs chili pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs onion powder
1 tps cayanne pepper

Cooked at 225-240 for 2 hrs, spraying apple juice/apple cider vinegar occasionally. I removed and wrapped for an hour adding apple juice and a bit more rub prior to wrapping. I removed foil, added a bit more rub and some honey. They needed more of a sweet flavor to it.

Originally Posted by lewdog (Post 9924223)

I'm going to smoke a pork butt on Saturday in my Charcoal vertical smoker.

Any recommendations for tips? Should I brine it over night? Give me your best ideas!

Originally Posted by KCUnited (Post 9924316)

I've never brined a butt, there's plenty of moisture in there. I trim the fat cap and any other unsightly fat pockets. I salt mine and let it sit to build a pellicle and then rub it (I use a saltless rub because I've already salted the meat), but you can use mustard or oil to help adhere your rub. Throw it on around 225-250. I flip mine around 8 hours and start to baste it with an apple juice/vinegar/rub mix and pull off around 190. Let it rest for 30 mins to a couple hours depending on what the plan is. Good luck, man. Enjoy yourself.

Originally Posted by KCUnited (Post 9924316)

I've never brined a butt, there's plenty of moisture in there. I trim the fat cap and any other unsightly fat pockets. I salt mine and let it sit to build a pellicle and then rub it (I use a saltless rub because I've already salted the meat), but you can use mustard or oil to help adhere your rub. Throw it on around 225-250. I flip mine around 8 hours and start to baste it with an apple juice/vinegar/rub mix and pull off around 190. Let it rest for 30 mins to a couple hours depending on what the plan is. Good luck, man. Enjoy yourself.

Originally Posted by lewdog (Post 9938506)

I actually am going to cook it all Saturday, leave it whole/refrigerate and reheat whole in the oven the next day at my buddy's house. Not the best scenario but only way it is going to work for me.

What temp to re-heat it at in the oven and do I need it to get back to 190 degrees again?

/n00b questions

Originally Posted by KCUnited (Post 9938551)

You may as well be speaking Cantonese, homie. I've never tried reheating a whole butt in the oven. I'd probably pull the bone when it comes off the smoker though. You may google it. Good luck.