009 from Santa!!

Welcome to the forum, make sure you read through the owners forum and owners archive. There are a lot of people that have similar new owner questions.

My suggestion, don't go making modifications until you use it. First, you'll void the warranty.

The latch IS hard to close, by design.

For two butts, just remove one of the shelves, say the top and they'll both fit on the shelf together. Unless you're talking about shoulders instead of butts. I can easily fit 2 8 lb shoulders on one shelf, next to each other.

Welcome and let us know how it goes.

Smokin'

Smokin' is right on about loading butts.

Mash 'em a little,they'll shrink anyway.

The little guy will handle over 30 lbs of butts,with a little choosing for shape.

I'm breaking my smoker in as I type... it might be empty, but it sure smells good!!

As for the latch, I'll leave it "as is"... I'm sure it'll loosen up with time.

Regarding the cooking grates, the instructions say to leave a 1" gap between the food and the oven walls. Won't the meat touch the sides if I cram two butts in side-by-side? Also, if there was a slot to hold a cooking grate between the top and middle slots, then using the bottom grate and the new grate position, you could easily fit two butts in the oven. I'll have to rig something up myself and test.

Thanks for the comments thus far! I've been using a Brinkmann All-In-One propane smoker for many years and can't wait to try my first butt in the 009!

look again at the grate positions. you can adjust the two side brackets... there are two ways to mount them. One way, you can use all three shelves (with not much space between either the top shelf and top of unit, or bottom shelf and heat box). the other way, you can basically use two shelves with more room between the top shelf and the top of the smoker, as well as more room between bottom shelf and heat box. is this making sense? I set it up for the two shelf use most of the time, and can get two butts per each of the two shelfs. four butts in all. It is tight when you load side by side, but if meat just touches the wall at outset no problem... it will shrink back. I think you don't want to cram stuff against the wall.

Yes, I did notice the two mounting positions. I currently have it set up in the "three grate" configuration. I'll try your suggestion and set it up in the "two grate" mode.

Just got back from Sam's Club... picked up a 17.5 pound two-pack of Boston butts (each butt being ~9 pounds). Freezing one, but the other is getting smoked tomorrow. It's sitting in the frige coated with the Cookshack dry rub that came with the unit.

Regarding my old Brinkmann All-In-One propane water smoker... the Cookshack manual says that steam is bad for smoking meat. Makes sense in that the steam might make the meat "soggy" and affect the bark. The funny thing is that my All-In-One uses steam as an intergral part of smoking... i.e. the water pan! Go figure!

Anyway, I'll post the results of my first butt in the Smokette!

Thanks again for all the tips!

Oh yeah... one last comment: during the initial burn-in, I noticed that with the thermostat set to 200 degrees F., my thermometer would read as high as 205 and as low as 167. That's quite a swing! I'm hoping that it's due to running the oven empty. Hopefully it'll settle down with some meat inside.

Yes, I have found with my smokette that the temp remains more constant when it is full. Also, a good amount of condensation(steam) is usually produced in a Cookshack, more noticeable after short cooks and with meat containing alot of moisture such as turkeys and jerky. Hold your hand over the smoke hole and notice the moisture on it. This is why when smoking jerky it is important to smoke until it is dried. Some people even open the door now and then. I believe the moisture also has something to do with the 'plateau' that is sometimes hard to get over without bumping up the temp.

Smokin is right about the latch. Mine is very tight also, but I believe that's one of the reasons you don't need a water pan.

With a tight door fit it traps more of the smoke, heat, and moisture which then can only escape through the vent hole on top.

To me it's that, and the insulation that makes the cookshack so efficient and unaffected by outside air temp or wind.

Welcome to the forum...I think you'll be very happy with the product, and with the amount of help and knowledge you'll get from all the folks here. Good group of people with one thing in common....to make great Q.

I've only owned my Smokette since the beginning of November and already I'm becoming a bbq legend with my family and friends.

Enjoy...

SmoKen

Do a search on temp fluctuations. The range you mention is about what it will be. That's the design. They could make it more closer, but you wouldn't want to pay for that expensive heating element.

Fluctions are fine, it's the average that matters. The brinkmans and others fluctuate also, every time you open a door. Here, you have a sensor that tells it to come back on so the "average" stays about your temp setting.

You'll also find that there is plenty of moisture created by the butt you smoke and that moisture tends to keep the air in the smoker very moist.

Since you haven't really used it yet, make sure to read through the archives, there are a lot of good stories and thoughts in there.

And DON'T add too much wood, you can easily oversmoke in a CS.

Smokin'

Ok, smoked a ~9lb. Boston Butt in my new smoker (this is my first time using the unit).

The butt took 17 hours to reach 190 degrees (internal). Had the Smokette set at 225 degrees. Used 4 oz. chunk of hickory. Never opened the door.

17 hours seems like too long! Comments anyone?

The butt was awesome, BTW!

Hi!!!

While it is true that the smokette doesn't need a water pan to put moisture into the meat, it can help to enhance the flavor of the meat to put a can of apple juice, wine, grape juice, or any other choice of flavor that you can dream up into the smoker during the cooking process. I put a small jar of apple juice in my smokette the last time I did ribs and they were the best ribs I have ever done. I think I will be using this method from now on. If you like bark on your ribs, I have heard that some people finish them up on the grill or even use a butane chef's blowtorch to crisp them up. Just thought I might share these ideas with you.

G'day,

Micah

Bluecrab,

17 hours is about right. I smoked a 7.8 lb butt at 225 and it took it 14 hours to reach an internal temp of 200.

yup same here 18 hours for a 8.5lb butt

plateaued at 159 for over an hour cracked it up to 250 for the remaining time and an internal of 200*

Bluecrab - Did my first butts yesterday too. 2 small ones (3.5) at 225 till 200 & it was close to 10 hours. Came out looking very dry, but cut into it & yum - pulled on it's own with lots of crisp skin to mix with the meat. Next time I'll try the larger cut from Sams & either mop it a few times or put in the bottle of juice.

Bluecrab.

I have a few strong suggestions, but really only one rule:

It's done when it's done

The idea is simple, you can't cook Q by a specific recipe for time and temp like a cake. The meat variations are enormous so a 12lb brisket won't always cook for the same time because they're different cows.

Butts especially have a mine of their own. If you track the temps, by hours, you'd see that it plateaus around 160 and can hang there for hours. That's normal.

Oh, I guess I have a second rule. Keep good notes. Regardless of how good we are, you'll know you're Q best so the notes will be your key to knowing what worked in the CS.

Congrats for the success.

bluecrab,
I've done many a pork butt, usually the 8.5 to 9.5 lb size, and that's the time it usually takes. I've had them finish anywhere from 16-18 hrs. ( I've always kept logs as Smokin has suggested )

I've always used temperature probes, and have lived by that credo...."it's done when it's done".

Have had nothing but rave revues.

The advice you get on this forum is invaluable, and it's what I attribute all my success to.

Keep on smokin !

SmoKen

Thanks for all the replies!

The only reason I questioned the 17 hours is that my butts only took about 12-15 hours to smoke on my old propane-fired Brinkmann water smoker. The temperature in that smoker usually ran a little high, say around 250 degrees and it stayed fairly consistent throughout the cooking process (no temperature fluxuations) unless I popped the lid to take a peek (rarely).

So, now that I think about it, 17 hours seems about right given the fact that I had the Smokette set to 225 degrees and that the temperature inside the Smokette fluxuates between 200 and 250 degrees due to the heating element turning on and off.

And, after 17 hours, the butt in my Smokette was the most "pickable" that I've ever produced. It was unbelievably tender and moist. I can't wait to try some ribs and perhaps a turkey in the unit! And I want to try the apple juice idea that someone else suggested. In my old water smoker, I'd fill the water pan with 50:50 water and cider vinegar. The vinegar added a wonderful flavor to the meat, I hope the apple juice does the same.

bluecrab,
I too just graduated from a Brinkmann propane fired water smoker. Produced some incredibly good bbq with it.

The main reason I went to a Cookshack are the rough New England winters. I did use my Brinkmann, but would have to baby sit it through the entire 17+ hours, adjusting the flame and adding water.

I always did my pork butts at an average temp of 230, so you can see where I got the 17 hours from. And you're right, the Brinkmann would do a pretty good job of holding the temperature fairly steady, with the exception of a cold windy day. That's where all the adjusting would come in.

Ya have to admit, this Cookshack is almost too easy. I love it !

SmoKen

SmoKen...

Thanks for reminding me about those cold/windy days when the Brinkmann would lose temperature and require lots of fine tuning. :-(

My normal Brinkmann routine would go something like this:

The day before BBQ, run down to the store and refill 20# propane tank (cha-ching!). Dump hickory chunks into bucket of water. About 9:00pm, I'd set up the unit in the back yard and light the flame. Next, I'd add a few soaked hickory chunks and fill the water pan with 50:50 water/cider vinegar. About 9:30pm, the unit was up to temperature and I'd add the butt(s). I'd have to sit up and babysit the thing until 11:00pm to make sure that the temperature was stable. Then, I'd fall asleep and wake every few hours to check on the temperature and make any necessary adjustments, add wood, water, etc. The butt was usually done by the the afternoon the following day and my propane tank was almost empty.

My first run with the Smokette went something like this: at 9:00pm, plugged in the unit, added one chunk of hickory, added the butt, set the temperature, and forgot about the thing until the next day.

Like you said... I almost feel guilty because it's so easy! :-)

Steve

We tend to over complicate butts and Smokin's approach of" its done when its done" is very appropriate.

When people ask about rough scheduling time to plan meals for company,I usually say at least two hours/lb-if you aren't fooling with the meat.

If it is done a little early,you can always wrap and cooler it.

Our own drbbq really likes to do butts around 225� and will recommend that large untrimmed butts,rendered properly, will be done about three hours after you think they will.

He will say that around 225� in his cooker may start as low as 180� and end up as high as 240�.

His pork not only scores very well,but it eats great.

The Smokette,with only one butt,set at 225� will often vary between about 210�-240�.

Almost magic.