Confused on what I am reading- A few questions from a former Egger

[foodeefish]

I finally ordered my Model#3 and from what I have read these smokers are very "tight" and keep  moisture in more than other smokers. My questions are coming from someone that has used the Big Green Egg to smoke and it is a generally much drier smoke that what I am hearing about these smokers on this forum. I am concerned I'll steam the meat if I don't use the Jekry Drier most of the time for Ribs

- When do you use a water pan with apple juice or liquid in it and when do you not use one?
- How much liquid do you use for something like a pork butt or what about 4-5 racks of ribs?
- Do you really set the smoker and not open the door for say 4-5 hours for ribs?
- How many hours do you "No Peek" when your cooking a Pork Butt?
- Has anyone tried a Whole Suckling Pig as I think one might fit in a Model #3 and I am willing to try it if no one else has.


I know most of this will be trial and error, but I figure I'll save some time and effort ifothers have already made these errors.

Thanx

 

[NDKoze]

Hi Foodee,

I will try to answer your questions the best I can:

- When do you use a water pan with apple juice or liquid in it and when do you not use one?
A: I use a water pan for all of my smokes except Poultry, Uncooked Sausage, and Jerky.

- How much liquid do you use for something like a pork butt or what about 4-5 racks of ribs?
A: I usually fill a tin mini-loaf pan about 3/4 full. Same for butts and ribs.

- Do you really set the smoker and not open the door for say 4-5 hours for ribs?
A: Absolutely! I wouldn't open the door four 4 hours on baby backs and 5 hours on Spares. Trust me, they will be fine. Regarding steaming the meat, that is not a problem. Smoking unfoiled, you will get a very nice crusty bark on your ribs and your butts even with all of that moisture in the smoker. If you put the foil on, which I would not recommend, I think your bark would suffer.

- How many hours do you "No Peek" when your cooking a Pork Butt?
A: I do not open my smoker until the internal temperature hits 195, and I haven't had a bad one yet. The only time I would open the smoker would be if I was smoking multiple butts and they finished at different times. For pretty much all smokes, place your meat as high in the smoker that you can without touching the roof of the smoker. The temps are much more stable toward the top.

- Has anyone tried a Whole Suckling Pig as I think one might fit in a Model #3 and I am willing to try it if no one else has.
A. I have not heard of anyone doing this. But, I don't see why it wouldn't work if you can fit it in there. If my memory of the Pythagorean Theorem serves me right and I did the calculations correctly, your #3's which are 15" X 20" would give you a diagonal length of 25". If you can find a piglet that will fit in there, I think it would be an awesome test and presentation would be sooooooo cool to see.

 

[DivotMaker]

Gregg nailed it.  You run no risk of "steaming" your meat.  What you will not miss is the drying effect of charcoal or wood.  You will find many "traditional" smoker techniques just aren't necessary with these smokers (Lazy Q).

One of the hardest hurdles new owners, with a solid traditional smoker background, experience is letting go of the techniques you have always used.  Gone will be all the time foiling, spritzing, mopping, checking, testing.... you get the point.  Initially, I tried 3-2-1, or 2-2-1 ribs, until I decided they are so much better naked and allowed to do their thing with as little human intervention as possible!

Here's what you'll have to do to replace all the things you used to do when smoking with the BGE:

1.  Spend time with the family while the meat smokes.
2.  Go get a haircut; the smoker will be fine.
3.  With ribs, you can get in 9 holes of golf, or at least some time on the driving range.  With butts or briskets, go ahead and play 18!
4.  Spend time doing whatever you like, other than tending the smoker! ;D 8)

These are all about the meat prep, not the "process" of actually cooking.  When you see how easy it is, you'll undoubtedly find yourself smoking some great Q much more often!  Welcome to the club!

 

[foodeefish]

Thanks a million guys for answering  my questions. I am feeling a lot better about my purchase and I'll let you know if I attempt a suckling pig once I get quite  a few smokes under my belt.

 

[mnsmoker]

I did two 7 lb. pork Butts last Saturday, I put them in at 6 am. and left for 12 hrs., the people I was with asked if I was nervous about doing such a thing, nope not at all, came home at 6 pm. 2 more hrs. in the smoker, 2 hr rest, shredded em 10 pm., needless to say had some very happy guests even sent em home with a couple lbs., so yeah no peak to say the least, still amazed after 8 months.

 

[DivotMaker]

Hope you're not giving away our "little secret" to your guests, Jim!  Hahaha!! ;D ;D

 

[Pork Belly]

I think using the Jerky dryer for anything other than Jerky is prone to cause you problems. The exception might be sausage and trying to crisp poultry skin but that is limited and still experimental. Ribs turn out great with a small loaf pan of some type of liquid. these ribs went 5 hours with a small loaf pan of black coffee. You can tell the surface is not wet or steamed. Trust me the meat was juicy.

 

[NDKoze]

I agree with Brian.

Regarding using with Sausage, I would definitely use it with fresh/raw sausage. For precooked/smoked brat type sausages, I don't think it would be necessary.

I tried smoking snack stix without the Jerky Dryer and it basically just steamed them and the collagen casings never dried out and they didn't get that nice red color that they should have.

I am smoking some jerky tonight and will be my first test with my Jerky Dryer, but in mid-October I will be giving another 25lb batch of pepper stix a try and see how that works. I will create a new thread and post my results.

 

[DivotMaker]

Very nice rib pic, Brian!