Smoke out

Fair warning.  If you do not care about smoking meats, just ignore this post.  That is all that I am going to be talking about here.

It's 7:52AM on a Sunday, and I am awake.  Why?  There can only be one reason...

BBQ!  Well... I am actually just smoking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork sandwiches.

If someone were to ask me what my passion is, I honestly would have no real answer.  Science?  Microbiology?  People watching? Maybe...  But I would feel more inclined to say, "Barbecue." 

Through the years, I have developed a specific taste for food.  I tend to gravitate towards crunchy, smokey, often burnt, foods.  Throw bacon in the mix and I am sold.  I guess I take after my father who eats the same way.  I often find myself fighting with him at the dinner table for the same pieces of meat.  Because he never actually barbecued (or cooked in general...), I had to learn everything on my own (although I would happily accept an apprenticeship with Mr. Huang). 

Smoking is not as easy as it sounds.  I always thought it was a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal.  Apparently not...  The biggest thing about smoking is temperature control.  With a gas smoker, one would think this would be easily done since the gas flow remains constant through the cooking process.  However, this is not so.

The temperature of the smoker not only depends on the gas flow setting (high, medium, low), but it also is affected by the damper openings, wind factor, and most importantly, the wood.  The wood that is used when smoking could drastically change the internal temperature of the smoker if they should flare up.  My smoker went from a cool 180°F to 310°F during a flare up.  After that passed, it went back down to 150°F.  Not exactly a walk in the park trying to keep a constant temperature of 200-250°.  That is a wide range but the temperature can be unpredictable. 

To monitor the temperature, I have three thermometers set up - one of them being a dual sensor thermometer.  The door thermometer seems to be highly inaccurate so I placed a second inside.  Neither of these are digital...  I wanted a more accurate reading of the temperature so I bought the Maverick ET-85.  This will measure the internal temperature of the meat as well as the external temperature (oven temperature).

It's now 8:36 AM and the meat has been smoking for about 10 minutes.  However, time is not the deciding factor on when the pulled pork is ready.  It is the internal temperature.  Once the pork is 170°F, it is ready to be taken out.  Then, I get to use these!

They are called bear paws.  The box says they can be used for pulling pork, transferring, lifting, and carving.  I only see one use for this.  Pulling pork.

6:XX PM - Lost track of time since people came over.  The pork shoulder is finally done. 

Results

I honestly think that it turned out okay.  On a scale of one through ten, I would give it a six.  It was definitely edible.  For a first attempt, I am quite satisfied.

Since it is getting late, I must end this post abruptly.

-Thundalip