First try at Low n Slow

[Diggin' On Swine]

Hi guys,

Tried my first effort at low n slow at the weekend with a 3lb pork shoulder. Seemed to go OK but found some issues - any advice greatly appreciated!

I started off the night before by removing the skin, rubbing the shoulder with a little olive oil and some Meathead's Memphis Dust then wrapping in cling film and into the fridge for the night. Looked ok on the day although maybe a little wet, I kept the salt content down so it shouldnt have drawn much moisture out.



Got my Weber One Touch 57cm silver up and running using minion method half lit, half unlit of Big K with a nice big water pan/drip tray on the opposite side. After about 30mins the temp was reading 275F so i closed the bottom vents almost fully and it started to drop, stabilised about 250F pretty well.

I estimated 1.5 hours per lb and so put the meat on at 3.30pm - aiming to take it off and foil at around 8pm. All seemed to be going well, the temp stayed between 235-250F all the way through - However, the internal temp took AGES to come up, only reaching 160F by 7.30! I expected the stall but thought it would have come earlier in the day. The temp started to move up again about an hour later but by then the smoker temp had started to drop down to 225F and looked to be going further down rapidly. I opened the vents fully which got it back up to 230F but only for 15 mins - guess the fuel had all gone!

The meat was only showing 170F so I was forced to foil it and put it in the oven to finish - Hungry looks from the better half meant I had to take it out and foil it. Time was getting on at 10pm on a Sunday night. After half an hour I unwrapped it - looked pretty good, had a decent bark and a nice pink smoke ring. Took a little effort to pull but wasnt too bad.





Result - as a finished product 5/10, a pretty good start but definitely room for improvement. As a learning experience - priceless.

A couple of queries -

1. Would a second water pan above the coals help maintain a lower temp from the start and therefore extend the heat time?

2. Should I have rubbed the meat with oil first or is this necessary to get the rub dissolved and penetrate the meat?

3. Time per lb - was I totally off with 1.5 per lb? What I estimated at 4.5 hours actually took over 6 and still didnt hit 190F

Any help or advice greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

[keith157]

I don't rub the pork with oil just the dry rub well rubbed in and leave it in the fridge without cling film, the cold fridge does dry the surface nicely. I then add a lighter rubbing as it comes out of the fridge, old habit die hard and I let it come to room temp before cooking which I understand to be a No-No on the comp circuit (from reading the rules but again I may be wrong).

[Toby]

Ok a few things that i have noticed, i generally dont put oil on the meat as it can act as a barrier for the smoke. most rubs in the market are salt based, and you shouldnt lose too much moisture through the salt content. Your estimated cooking times are for an oven which cooks alot hotter, low and slow is a different beast so you need to start cooking earlier. Keep the bottom vents open half way and adjust the top vent to control temperature, you may have suffocated the coals. You mention the water pan but not what was in it. Did it have water and if so how much? was it straight from the kettle? Remember water will absorb the heat first.

I generally only apply the rub a few hours before a cook as the salt can start curing the meat and as Keith mentioned you should bring the meat up to room temp before putting on the Q. If you used the minion method, did you just have charcoal on one side of the one touch (you mention a pan on the other side)? If may be a case that you need more fuel from the start.

Just my initial thoughts, have to take my daughter to school now but will add if I think of anything else when I get back.

My first effort was a disaster, it does get easier!

[RobinC]

Like the others I tend to allow the meat to come up to room temp first (exception being when its a 5 am start in which case it gets the time it takes to get the cooker ready). Rub is generally applied no more than 2 hours before the start of the cook - I've read conflicting advise on this on other forums but I tend to do it close to the beginning of the cooking because of convenience, remember the rub is only ever going to flavour the outside of the meat it doesn't penetrate it.

Have never used oil to adhere the rub. Some people use cheap hot dog mustard. To be honest I've never had a problem getting a dry rub to adhere.

Cooking time. It's done when its done. These days I'm pretty relaxed on internal temp and tend to go on how tender the butt is. I've had good results with butts @ 180 and poor @ 200. I've never had one be bad when it has been probe tender. The guide of 1.5 hours per pound is a little bit meaningless. Most 8lb butts that I do that around that time but generally its the thickness of the butt (distance from outside to the core) that determines the cooking time rather than weight.

[The Big BBQ]

Personally I would have removed the string and cooked it flat not rolled.

Rubbed without oil and would have made my own low salt rub for pork shoulder. Cling filmed and fridge overnight. Removed an hour before cooking starts.

Also I would have started at 6am for a tea time meal.

Keep at it though, its a royal pain to get right but great once it starts ahppening

[Riverrat]

I use my OTS a lot for low and slow cooking with some good results, this link from the VWBB gave me a lot of useful advice on the direction to go with regard to longer burn times -- http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/904 ... p=1&cdra=Y --.

I now use a couple of fire bricks to retain the charcoal and foil the rest of the fire grate to send the incoming air towards the fire not straight out the top vent, this has worked very well for me so far!!

I kind of estimate my cooking time at about one and a half hours a pound, but allow up to two hours as it usually ends up nearer the latter!! If the fuel starts to run low just add some more - hinged grate is really useful if you have one.

Just wondered where your temp readings are from, grate level or top of dome temp? I fitted a gauge to the to the top of my dome but you have to bare in mind there can be several degrees difference between the two, I tend to work on 250/260 ish dome temp knowing the cooking grate is somewhat cooler ( a bit wing and a prayer, no science to back this up!!!)