I take back the part about lighting easily and getting going with the logs. I had thrown one on top of hot B&B briquettes and didn't pay much attention but it seemed to get going pretty easily.
I got preoccupied with other things later and when I checked the coals had burned down and I was around 150!

I threw a couple of the logs on the small hot coals and it's taking a while to get going again. It's all about surface area. Those logs do have indentations like every inch, so it would be easy to crack them into smaller pieces with more surface area to light and get going.

I'm not disappointed though, the 30lb bag of the logs was only 3 bucks more than the 20lb bag of briquettes and they do burn hot. Just plan accordingly or break some into smaller pieces to get going faster.

I like the B&B, but you can't go wrong with Kingsford Pro briquettes. They light fast and easy, especially adding to burning ones already.

Yeah.... I've been 'learning' that if you even 'think' that you are going to need more coals for the cook -- throw some on EARLIER rather than later when the coal bed has burnt down - 4 or 5 briqs at a time so they catch without generating too much 'fresh coal smoke'.

Pork butt going on later. Apple or cherry pellets?

Doesn't matter, you won't be able to tell the difference.

My neighbor gave me a bunch of bags of pellets (mesquite, Jack Daniel’s, pecan, apple, cherry, hickory) so humor me, fucker!

Go with the Apple but unless it's Hickory or mesquite, like MP said you won't be able to tell the difference. Yeah, you might smell a difference in the smoke coming out, but the smoke in the meat? Not likely.

You want a go to pellet, that works every time for anything?

Apple or Oak.

Want to kick it up? Hickory or Mesquite. You will taste that.

Oh dude, I know he’s right it’s just not as fun as I was hoping.

I’m smoking on the Costco pellet blend I was just hoping to add a little more appreciable flavor to the smoke with a different pellet. But the poo poo police have stopped by to quell me of that idea.

madpick is right you wont really tell the 2 apart

mike the costco pellets are good got 2 bags of those in the garage .....also apple Mesquite cherry and hickory i'd have to try pecan sometime alder is almost bland.
i like mesquite alot for my burgers and steaks like southern cooking brings out the bold.

check this out
https://www.lakesidesmokers.com/best-wo ... ood-chart/

The Costco pellets are what I’ve been using, just thought maybe adding something different to the smoke tube would change it up. Steve has a pretty solid track record of being right, i figured that was probably the case here too.

I’ll try the mesquite for burgers, thanks Chris!

18 hours on this one. 200 overnight and 250 starting at 9am. It just wouldn’t climb.

Finally pulled it at 1630 internal temp 197. 1.5 hour rest under towels until 1800.

Great bark, deep smoke, a little dry. Not bad, but the one I cooked at higher temps had more moisture. Everyone went back for seconds.

Yeah, I keep re-learning this lesson too. And I re-learned it about a week ago, with some baby back ribs.

It's stuck in my brain that lower temp = more smoke, and more smoke = good. Therefore, I keep trying to go as low and slow as possible.

However, I'm pretty sure that somewhat higher temps (like 275-ish) is usually better, at least for most of the cook.

I’m going with that next time. Low and slow, low and slow is the motto but I’m with you. 250-275 is going to be my next attempt.

I'm not sure what the fascination is with 'finishing' the butts on the smoker is..... I give my butts 6-8 hours on the smoker @225-275 (where ever it wants to run --- coals baby!) and then wrap them in foil and finish them in the oven @250 til 205 IT. I'm not sure why people make it so much harder and longer than that..... plenty of bark, never a need for probing and never dries out. The last ones I did I did take out to ~10 hours just because I wanted to impress my neighbor, but I don't think the extra time made all that much difference..... Spritzing with cherry coke was the key for those two!
But...... to each their own.


I should ad too --- ThermaPen One on sale for $80 with Mad Scientist BBQ link. Best price I have seen, but still way more expensive than a Lightning.
https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen-o ... t-bbq-dod/

For me its summer time finish in smoker to keep heat out of the house. Winter finish in oven to burn less pellets to maintain the heat.

There are no hard and fast rules for me. But I do agree, once it's wrapped the meat is no longer absorbing smoke, the meat doesn't care where it is finished.

For me it was the flavor. That shoulder had deep deep smoke. You guys are probably right about wrapping and oven finish. This roast wasn’t ever wrapped. It went in the pan with dr.pepper base at 170 but I never covered it.

Drier, yes. But undoubtedly the best tasting pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had due to how strong the flavor on the bark and deep the smoke was.

It definitely would have been more moist with a wrap. What temp do you wrap for pulled pork?