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2000's SM150 Wouldn't Start

bigmikeinnjbigmikeinnjGrumpy Old Man
In between storms, we had 9 inches of snow Monday, during the early morning tomorrow we will be getting freezing rain MAYBE changing to rain.
Had an 8 pound Excel bone in pork butt thawed. Used 1/3 Cowboy Rub 1/3 Taco Seasoning, 1/3 light brown sugar combined as my rub.

Shoveled away all the snow, salted the deck and got my wood box setup, 2.5 oz crab apple wood shards, put the pork butt on the 2nd shelf of my SM150. But my smoker would not come on. I've read about this before and standing on two dry towels warmed the controller head unit with my wife's hair dryer. Still no go...

Then I unplugged the smoker, I have a dedicated 20 amp line for the smoker, the outlet has one of those trip switches as part of the outlet. I unplugged the smoker and tripped that switch. Turn on the unit and was rewarded by that lovely BEEP it makes when it powers up. YEAH Cookshack.

I am literally smoking between storms. Smoke should be completed about midnight. I figure about the time I wake to take my 1 am leak I'm golden... Winter never stops a person determined to do some smoking.

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bigmikeinnjbigmikeinnjGrumpy Old Man
Many times Luck is the deciding factor. I woke up exactly at midnight and brought in the carnitas, unplugged the smoker and slid on that lovely Cookshack cover. It was just starting to rain when I got out there !!

Covered the half hotel pan the carnitas went into with foil. Let it rest two hours and refrigerated. The carnitas had the cats all over the kitchen counter smelling !!
This morning I pulled it by hand. LOVELY stuff. Carnitas tacos and burritos baby !!

P pagsMember
Mike

When taking your 1:00 am leak, you'll be golden? Be careful with your aim. Big Grin

Glad to see snow can't stop a warrior. Your carnitas meat looks great. I often order carnitas at Mexican restaurants but never have thought about making it myself. I'm inspired and will have to give it a try.

I'll look up carnitas recipes on the internet and give it a go in my smoker. Do you use a light or heavy smoke?

It may take me a few days to get to this since I smoked 16+ lbs of pork butt yesterday.
bigmikeinnjbigmikeinnjGrumpy Old Man
Thanks Pags,

From you that is a real compliment. I hand pull the pork and give the bone with a bit of meat to the chickens. With all this lousy weather we've kept them in the coop, they're bored silly.

I used about 2.5 oz of crabapple wood, so I guess in a SM150 that is not too heavy, not too light. It's really tasty. Made a batch of fresh pinto beans today to use making tacos and burritos.
P pagsMember
Big Mike. Well. I followed your lead and made carnitas tonight.

I followed Padre's suggestion and threw the smoked pulled pork into a pan with Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil...very healthy and tasty. Let the pork sit in the pan without turning it. Crispy on one side, moist and soft on the other. Sea salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and oregano sprinkled onto the pork. Once it started to crisp on one side, I mixed in some bitter orange Goyo.

Turned out fantastic. Very flavorful, moist yet a nice crispy bite to it. Made carnitas tacos and also ate it as is. Family loved it. Very easy to do. It's now on our menu.

Thanks for the ideas and tips fellows.
bigmikeinnjbigmikeinnjGrumpy Old Man
These are what I know as real tacos, very small corn tortillas, grilled and stacked then add your beans, meat and condiments. A hearty tomato and corn relish is terrific.

Here's my recipe, back when I had the SM008, it's on BackyardChickens.Com - I think I tried posting some recipes here back when I first joined but got a rather cool reception.

http://www.backyardchickens.co...k-butt-mexican-style



B bigwheelMember
Never heard of carnitas until a few years back and I am an old S. Texas boy so dont think we ate it much in our area or I would heard of it sooner. A few years back an old hispanic pal tried to tell me how to make it. It seemed way too comlicated..labor intensive and did not involve bbq pits. Fried it in a skillet I think. Have tried it a few times in some of the local taco shoppes and it tastes like it was boiled. What is a mother to do?

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