Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCat
Glad to hear the review! Mine just arrived the other day. Still waiting to do my first smoke. I'l be gone this weekend, so it's looking like the weekend after. Trying to decide whether to do baby backs for 12 people as a first run or whether I should experiment on my own a bit before subjecting other people to my final product.
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I smoked a pork butt the first time around, as I heard it was the toughest one to mess up haha. I still enjoy doing them for larger groups, as they don't take up as much space for the amount of food you end up with, and they are way cheaper per person than other cuts. They are also a little more forgiving in that less surface area is exposed to the smoke, so you can't really "oversmoke" one. I suppose you could, but it's more difficult than most others. And since it's such a high fat content, they are way more forgiving with moisture content.
I've never done ribs for a group, because frankly, they're too expensive for me. 12 people = 6 full racks. On average, the regular price (at least around these parts) is just a hair south of $15/rack. Sometimes they have them on sale for 1.99/lb, but they are definitely not baby back ribs. They label them "Pork loin back ribs" and are considerably larger bone with less meat.
I try to keep my smoker around 225-250, I use natural lump coal, and - at least with pork - prefer apple wood chunks (not soaked). I shoot for a thin blue smoke out of the stack, as that seems to impart just enough smoke flavor to please everyone.
But I use a different smoker than the WSM. I use a horizontal barrel style smoker/grill combo. Currently in the market for another one though.
That's what I've found works great for my tastes. I know you didn't ask for my amateur advice, and I am by NO means an expert; just a guy who likes to cook slabs of animal flesh on the weekends with family, friends, and cigars. And let's not forget the beer
