I usually do 225 for 10-12 hrs pending weight, once the bark is set is when I wrap it for an hr and crank it 300. pull it off and let it sit for half hr. don't forget the most fat side up. I don't use a thermo, I some what poke it with my finger or fork.

some times every hr I'll spritz apple juice during main cook


Times I'll coat my pork mustard and the rub it puts a twist to it

Just be careful if you're using a pellet smoker. The heat comes straight up from the burn pot at the bottom, so especially if your meat is on the lower rack you can burn the bottom at the higher temps.

At higher temps on a pellet smoker, you can sometimes do better with fat side down, since the fat can protect the meat from the higher heat.

So much to learn. So very much to learn.

You need to add a Webber Kettle to your smoker arsenal. Pellet grills are easy, but if you really want to get into it and learn you need to smoke with fire. Offset smoking with Charcoal and wood is where you really learn.

Pellet grills are the microwave of smoking and I love mine, but you can really lay the wood smoke on with an Offset stick burner or Charcoal. Steve is giving you good advice for the Pellet grills, but you need the old school 3 bottom vent large Weber kettle and you will learn much.

They are the cheapest too, don't buy the ash catcher can one, you want the old school cheap 3 vent one. Offset smoking with one of those will give you results the pellet "microwave" can't, but it requires more attention for temps and management.

That's a lazy Spring or Summer Day sitting on the deck and monitoring it while it's running. Nothing better than that watching the kids play in the yard or petting the dog and tending the fire.

Thin blue smoke, a happy family and good BBQ, that's what you are shooting for Mike. I don't BBQ or smoke for me, it's all about the family.

very true mike, if you got a pressure cooker, pop it in there 2 teaspoons smoke sauce coat it with sea salt, and 3 cups water pressure cook 90 mins, mean while cook 2 cups rice once meat is done take it out and throw in thin sliced cabbage for 7min. then take your butt and shred it. once cabbage is done mix all together and you got a kalua pig

As you are learning, there really isn't a magic temp to wrap at --- if you had a probe and were monitoring it thru the cook you would have seen (guessing dependent on size and grate temps) that the temp would have slowly climbed up to ~150-160ish in about 5-6 +/- hours and just locked in there --- the stall - and it just sits there for hours (depending on pit temp) while it sweats out moisture. Trying to pick a 'temp' to wrap at is wrong --- I would say the the 'right temp' is the stall temp to retain as much moisture, but there is a really BIG window of where it will sit at that temp so I go more by time --- anything past 6 hours is fine (for me) depending on how much smoke (wood chunks) I've thrown at it and what I am after - as long as I'm happy with how much bark has developed. I will say that I don't get that 'meteor bark' that I always see - that kinda bums me out - but its still a helluva bark that is more than tasty good and satisfying. I could probably get it to that point if I finished on the smoker and went lighter on the spritzing, but after 7-8 hours of tending and spritzing (to keep the surface from drying out too much), its time to just 'get er done' in time to deal with it before you go to bed.... It usually ends up being an all day cook for me with no hope of being ready for dinner.... unless you are going to eat at 9:30-10pm.

By all means use that smoke tube too --- I refrained from commenting on apple or cherry when you asked since I'm not a (true) pellet guy and not knowing what your mix was in the hopper, but you can never go wrong with more apple or cherry.... well, you'd have to try REALLY hard. I have yet to find the limit for 'too much smoke' on a butt - the last ones for 10 hours I thought was a silly amount, but they could have had more. The only time I was close to it was when I used too much hickory (chunks + lots of chips) early on and didn't have any other flavors to cut it with --- that hickory flavor got old after a while, but I don't think it was 'too much'.

I wrap or cover at 165 IT and turn my smoke down to setting 1 and temp to 250-265 depending on the wind.

I love smoking because:

This is $14 worth of pepperoni ends and bits and a whole chicken

$6 of pellets and rub later this is multiple delicious entrees for my family and a whole lot of snacking on pepperoni.

I normally don’t care for pepperoni due to all the unrendered white fat mixed in. Smoking at 250 for an hour renders the fat and makes it enjoyable to me.

This is value and flavor and without a doubt the best way I’ve ever had chicken. I brine for 4 hours, spatchcock and heavily season then cook at 250 until 150 internal. Then I crank the smoker to 450 until 168 internal to crisp the skin then rest for 20 minutes uncovered before slicing. How do your guys do chicken?

Looks great, Mike!

I'm no JMB, but my thought on the chicken is that you're cooking it to too high of a temp. If you're pulling it at 168, it's probably up in the 170s during the rest. I'd be targeting more like 155 internal, then pull it. That will easily meet all USDA standards, and you'll have a moister bird.

I’m with you man. I would pull at a lower temp but I’m already stretched on convincing my wife that the pink in the lower breast and dark meat is from the smoke, not the low temps.

Any more pink and she’s going to pull the plug even though she loves the taste and incredibly the kids are eating it well too.

The Costco packaging says to cook to 185 internal

There's nothing wrong with getting the dark meat to 185, I think that's a great target.

But white meat . . . oh hell no.

That is one damn fine looking Chicken Mike, well done. I don't know shit about Chicken beyond thighs on the Blackstone, but I pull them at 165 and they are moist and well cooked.
Wife and kids love it? You are doing a great job with the smoker.

Interesting point, I haven’t ever put a probe in the dark meat. I just assumed it would play nice?



Thanks brother! If the kids are eating it I’m generally happy. It’s like having a 3 and 6 year old Karen at your table every night that only thinks mac’n’cheese and hot dogs are good food.

Sorry fellas the site is giving me fits tonight. Hopefully that all made sense as editing feels like too much of a task for a Thursday night right now.

It all made perfect sense Mike, no worries.

I totally get the kid thing, (it's been a minute since mine were that young though ) I went through the picky kid stage back then too.. Anytime the Wife and kids are happy with the cook?

You Won! Well done my friend.