kratty
New member
Got my #2D Friday and by Saturday I was beginning a new adventure not only with an SI, but also with my first attempt at sausage making. Made sweet Italian, then tried a slightly modified version of a chicken/sun-dried tomato/basil/parmesan recipe I found here. Made that last one in two batches, one fresh and the other with some cure since I planned on smoking it. That batch was the inaugural post-seasoning smoke with the unit. Despite 14-degree weather, it performed flawlessly. The sausage was simply incredible. Casing got the deep color and crack that I read is the goal (that's what's in the pic).
Monday I put in a 9lb boneless pork shoulder that had a yellow mustard-with-rub bath the night before. Started at 7am with a mix of hickory and apple wood, but it wasn't done by dinner. In fact, I finally pulled it at 11:30pm @ 197 degrees! I normally shoot for 203, but was too tired to wait any longer. I wrapped it in a few layers of HD foil. It was still warm this morning when I shredded it. Have to say, it shredded better than any shoulder I've ever done before. The family enjoyed it tonight for dinner and all agree it was the best I've ever done in taste and texture!
So, a great start with lots of learning. The thing that really surprised me was the amount of time the shoulder took. When I do shoulders on my Hasty Bake, which I've gotten pretty good at maintaining a steady 230-245ish temperature, the longest it has taken is 8 hours. But what a difference a steady low-and-slow cook makes on the SI. Lesson learned: as many on this forum have said, expect 1-2 hours/pound on an SI. That is spot-on.
The final thing that I'm still struggling to come to terms with is the idea of putting such a small amount of wood in all at once and never adding more. Again, with the Hasty Bake set up with a fuse burn of charcoal, I probably use 3X as much wood that lasts for 5-6 hours. But the proof is in the pork, as it were. The smoke flavor of the shoulder was perfect.
Monday I put in a 9lb boneless pork shoulder that had a yellow mustard-with-rub bath the night before. Started at 7am with a mix of hickory and apple wood, but it wasn't done by dinner. In fact, I finally pulled it at 11:30pm @ 197 degrees! I normally shoot for 203, but was too tired to wait any longer. I wrapped it in a few layers of HD foil. It was still warm this morning when I shredded it. Have to say, it shredded better than any shoulder I've ever done before. The family enjoyed it tonight for dinner and all agree it was the best I've ever done in taste and texture!
So, a great start with lots of learning. The thing that really surprised me was the amount of time the shoulder took. When I do shoulders on my Hasty Bake, which I've gotten pretty good at maintaining a steady 230-245ish temperature, the longest it has taken is 8 hours. But what a difference a steady low-and-slow cook makes on the SI. Lesson learned: as many on this forum have said, expect 1-2 hours/pound on an SI. That is spot-on.
The final thing that I'm still struggling to come to terms with is the idea of putting such a small amount of wood in all at once and never adding more. Again, with the Hasty Bake set up with a fuse burn of charcoal, I probably use 3X as much wood that lasts for 5-6 hours. But the proof is in the pork, as it were. The smoke flavor of the shoulder was perfect.
). Also, I usually remove & wrap around the 189-192 range. Through a lot of experimentation, I've found the tenderizing is done during the stall, and once the butt climbs out of it, longer smoking only serves to dry it out more, not tenderize it. Also, brining a Boston butt takes it to a whole new level! I have a post somewhere around here about how to brine one (it's a sticky on the pork page). 
