first smoke - pork shoulder

[easy now andy]

he guys. so i've done one dry run with no meat to season the UDS and then another smoke to try out the minion method where i popped a small piece of neck fillet it. turned out nice, but was running a bit hot so i've now i sealed up the edges of the vents with silicon.

popped into sainsburys friday and they had pork shoulder half price so i grabbed a few. i removed the skin from all of them, diced a couple up and put them in the freezer for sausage making and then rubbed a 2kg one up ready for today. i'm still waiting on my mate to get me some chunks of oak so i've had to make do with weber hickory chips (half price in waitrose at the minute).

the smoke flow from the outlet vent is now much easier to control, and so is the temp. got it constant at around 235F at the minute and the meat has gone in.













i'll post another update this afternoon

[easy now andy]

still struggling to keep the temp down with the lower vent fully closed. when it started creeping above 250 i soaked the other half of the hickory chips for 30min and covered the coals with them. it dropped back down and stayed there for the next 2 hours.

it's very tasty, but the very middle isn't as succulent as the majority of the joint. i made a south carolina vinegar based sauce to go with it, and the smoke taste is strong enough to come through and compliment it. nom nom.







lolz. i love my wife, she came back from the shops with a rolled belly pork joint that had been reduced. there was enough charcoal left for me to rub it up and leave it for 45min and soak a bag of those beech chippings. it's in the UDS as i type this!

[easy now andy]

after taking the shoulder off the temp raised to 340F but when i tipped the bag of smoked beech on the coals and brought the temp back down to 230F and it stayed there for the duration of the belly pork - 4 hours.

they were like butter. amazing. a lot of the fat had rendered off but what was left melted in your mouth. i shredded the joint up and finished it with some budweiser brand bbq sauce, which is actually much better then i thought it would be.

[Saucy Pig]

I always worry that the smaller joints will turn out drier. These look good enough for me to give them another go.
Thanks

[Clayfish]

It all looks good to me, I think you and that drum will have a happy future together!