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15 replies

AmeriQue First Smoke and Thanks to All!

S sravakaGood BBQ2U! ;-)
I want to thank everyone here that contributes to this forum for providing me with the info and guidance necessary to buy an incredible smoker and have my first pork butt come out completely amazing. I got the Costco "cryovac" of boneless pork shoulders and rubbed the heck outta one with almost half a cup of Dizzy Pig Swamp Venom and Coarse Dizzy Dust mixed 50/50. Then into the fridge for 2 days waiting for the AmeriQue to arrive. It got here in pretty good shape except the cover was missing, Charcoal Store's fault, and one of the casters was bent, CookShack is sending me a new one, so I had to take it out to the garage and "persuade" it to be flat enough to put on the smoker (ie hammer the $h!# outta it) When I finally powered it up the display lit up a beautiful bright green, except one LED segment was out on the timer, but I remembered from reading here that they just need to warm up a bit and then they will come on, and sure enough it did, so thanks for helping me not to get annoyed there. Got her seasoned up and after lining with foil, remembering to poke a hole for the drain and puttin the pan underneath (thanks again to Lessons For New Users), loaded the butt in with a big chunk of Pecan, a big chunk of Cherry, and a little peice of Hickory for a total of just over 6 ounces of wood. Put the probe in, latched the door, set the cook temp to 225* and the probe temp to 195* and let her rip. For the first couple of hours she chugged smoke and then everything settled down for a nice long smoke, about 13 hours total. The electronics on the AmeriQue did a great job regulating the temperature and right on cue at 195* it sounded the alarm and went into hold mode. It was hard but I did NOT open the door during the smoke despite the heavenly aroma comming out, my wife said she could smell it all the way out in the street over on the front side of the house! I slowly unlatched the door, a little nervous as to what I might find, and the door opened to reveal the most beautiful black meteorite from space that I have ever seen. I pulled it out and mopped it with Smokin's vinegar mop and double wrapped in foil and a towel and into a cooler for a couple of hours. When I pulled it the meat was moist and tender and smelled great, the bark came out better than I had hoped for. It tasted real, real, real good. The wife was so impressed, hard to do after 24 years, that she asked if I could do a salmon in that thing Big Grin. Served it up on toasted el cheapo burger buns with Smokin's baste and serving sauce, it was awesome. Cleanup was a snap: ditched the foil, wiped the grease off the bottom with paper towels, shook out the wood box, just white ash was all that was left, washed the drip pan and put the racks in the dishwasher. Done. Needless to say I am happy, happy, happy and thanks again to everyone here.

-Sravaka
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S sravakaGood BBQ2U! ;-)
Well I checked my log and it was closer to 14 hours, this deboned peice was about 6 #s and it was long and thin kinda rectangular, but I think what happened was when I set the probe I thought it was the thickest part of the butt but after I opened the door that side had shrunk more than the other. So I took the temp of the thicker side and it was about 188* so I decided to just take it out anyways. It probably could have gone a little longer but it pulled just fine. I'm glad I took it out when I did though because there was this thinner flap o meat where they had deboned it that turned into what I believe is called a burnt end . . . it was really dark and like a big solid chunk o bark but not crunchie yet. No need to say that this peice never made it into the bin with the rest of the pork . . YUMMMM!!! Wink Oh, you guys are right, it does taste better the next day Big Grin Thanks again!

-Sravaka
Last edited by sravaka
H heynowMember
I love reading fellow AmeriQue (and CookShack) owners success stories. I have had my AQ for over a year now and wonder how I lived with out one! It's great when the temp outside is below freezing and I'm watching my AQ puffin' that sweet smoke...knowing what benefits I'm about to receive in a few hours..

My wife demands that I smoke salmon a couple of times a month. I'm putting this bi-monthly salmon in brine tonight for a smoke tommorrow.

Good luck with your future cooks. Thanks for sharing your story.
S sravakaGood BBQ2U! ;-)
Dan CONGRATS on a great purchase you are going to love your AmeriQue! Big Grin Things to do now are:

1) Read "Lessons For New Users" at the top of the open forum, then read it again. Also read "Pork Butt 101".

2) To season your new smoker put in 6 to 8 ounces of wood, I would make it Hickory and if you have some Cherry or Pecan or Apple you can use some of that, but DO NOT use Mesquite, its too bitter. Remember when ur loading the woodbox to not cover the holes in the bottom of the wood box with wood. Then Set the temp to 250*F and the timer for 5-6 hours and let her rip.

3) Make ur first smoke, after the smoker is seasoned, a nice fat pork butt. Wash the butt off with water and dry with paper towels. Put down a nice big area of plastic wrap on ur counter about 3 sheets wide and 2 sheets thick and lay the butt on the plastic wrap. Then get a good rub and rub the heck outta it. I used about a 1/2 cup of rub on mine. Then roll/wrap up the butt in the plastic wrap tight, tape it closed and stuff it in a freezer bag if it will fit, and put it in the fridge to marinate overnight. I actually did mine 2 days before the smoker arrived so it was ready when the AQ got here. Then, after the seasoning of the smoker is done, line the bottom of the smoker and the top of the wood box with heavy duty aluminum foil, remember to poke a hole for the drain pan. Put the butt on the middle rack, put the probe in the thickest part, plug the probe into the AQ, turn on the AQ, set the probe temp for 195*F-205*F and the smoker temp to 215*F-225*F, you will have to experiment to see what exact temps you like but those ranges will get you started, shut the door and let er rip. Do not open the smoker door. I know its hard but dont do it. Remember: it's done when it's done. When the butt is done I mop it with the vinegar mop and then double wrap with foil and a towel and put in a small cooler to rest for a while.

You may want some bbq gloves I use these and they are awesome: http://www.texasbbqrub.com/tools.htm

You might also make some of Smokin's vinegar mop and baste/serving sauce in advance to have on hand as well.

These, of course, are general suggestions to help get you started. Add to them. Make the process yours. Remember to take good notes, create a log book, have some fun with it. I use the first and last pages of this log here: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/docs/cooklog.pdf

Good luck and let us know how it works out! Don't worry . . . be happy!!! Smiler

-Sravaka
Last edited by sravaka
FM Former Member
Quick question.
The wood chunks that CS sells or provides are like
2 x 2 x 3" +-
Is it safe to say and upon 1st seasoning that 2 to 3 chunks of these in the fire box are what i should seaon with at 1st.
Then after that would you say 1 to 2 pieces for the Butt
would do the trick?
Are these pieces typical of what i need & is the size ok? Reason being the book says 1 x 2" pieces. Is it a matter of how much smoke you want & taste? What do you guys do or recomend?
Advise & Thanks,
I wonder if i can bribe CS to move my order up the list.HAH!
Dan
S sravakaGood BBQ2U! ;-)
Yes it is definitely in homage and respect to the original author. I noticed no one was using it so I thought it would be ok, I'll take it down if you want. It is a phrase that is so true you cant see or say it enough around here. Just like another phrase I like for bbq, "Don't worry . . . be happy." this also seems to be intrinsicly true to "Q".

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