First smoke

[DivotMaker]

divotmaker, what breed is the really big dog? I've got a 5 yr old mastiff.

English Mastiff!  Cyrus ("Meathead") is the best dog ever! (The pic is him doing what he does best).

[sprin001]

He's definitely greyer in the beard than mine - I love the temperament though. Mine's a girl.

[sprin001]

Alright. I went and got two butts. Placed one of the 7lb butts in your brine mixture. Any rub after that or straight to the smoker?

[DivotMaker]

He's definitely greyer in the beard than mine - I love the temperament though. Mine's a girl.

Yeah, he turned 8 on the 4th of July.  Your girl sure is pretty!  Meathead would like her!

[sprin001]

Ha-ha I bet. She has a hard time finding a guy her size ! So far here's where im at:
-brined a 7lb butt for 8 hours
-took it out to warm for 45 min.
-put bbq (head country) and mustard on it
-put in smoker at 9 PM (with water pan, temp at just over 225, 5 oz local hickory)
-checked temp at 7 AM was ~198
-pulled it off, wrapped in foil, then towels
- planning on doing a two hour rest and then pics to follow.

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like you're IN, Sprin!

[sprin001]

Well ended up wrapping it in foil, resting for an hour then placing back in the SI #1 to hold at 140. Left it in the hold for 4 hours until dinner time. It's all gone and seems everyone liked it. No pics this time but im repeating the process tonight and will remember to get pics then. Thanks for all the info on here - extremely helpful!

[swthorpe]

Well done, sprin!   Can't wait to see the pics next time!   

[sprin001]

Wow, re-did it. Brined for 24 hours. Put on a dry rub of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chili powder and some regular pepper. Smoked at 225-230 for 12 hours and had to pull it off at an IT of ~180-185. wrapped in foil, then towels and let rest in cooler for 2 hours. Pulled it out and it was the juiciest pork I've ever seen. I realized my first pork got too dried out I think getting to around 200 IT was too much. If you've been hesitant to try the brining; wait no more - it's delicious. I found there were two different textures on the different ends, one more plush and soft, the other was more firm, strandy, and didnt want to break apart as much. Flavor was second to none. Thanks everyone here for all your help.

P.S. I saw my wife eating it without barbecue sauce. That NEVER happens!

[DivotMaker]

Looks great, Sprin!  Get it into the low 190s, before wrapping, and that tougher end won't be.  On your first one, taking it to 200, and then holding at 140 for 4 hours probably had formed the opinion you have about temp.  If you do what you did on the second one, but get it to between 192-195, it will be just as moist, but a little more tender.

[sprin001]

Yea I know what you mean. I think I like the different textures, but others may not (dinner guests). I'll keep working on it. I need to get the maverick and some proper wood. Been looking at smokinlicious and probably going to just bite it and pay up. I'll keep updating as I go.

[AlinMA]

Yea I know what you mean. I think I like the different textures, but others may not (dinner guests). I'll keep working on it. I need to get the maverick and some proper wood. Been looking at smokinlicious and probably going to just bite it and pay up. I'll keep updating as I go.

Another way to look at the cost is....If you take DivotMakers purchase and his estimated weight it's a lot of smokes! At 4 ounces per smoke it relates to about 50 cents a smoke.

[DivotMaker]

Yea I know what you mean. I think I like the different textures, but others may not (dinner guests). I'll keep working on it. I need to get the maverick and some proper wood. Been looking at smokinlicious and probably going to just bite it and pay up. I'll keep updating as I go.

Another way to look at the cost is....If you take DivotMakers purchase and his estimated weight it's a lot of smokes! At 4 ounces per smoke it relates to about 50 cents a smoke.

+1!  Cost-effective, and quality wood!