New 009 Owner..............

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase, you made a wise decision to go with a Cookshack! Be sure to read through the section for new users to assist you in getting that puppy seasoned and ready for that butt.

Don't worry about how the book says to season it. Burn a full load of wood on full blast for a few hours, probably will take at least 8 to burn it all. The racks and shelves need not be in, nor do you need to foil anything at that time.

Next, put a drip pan under, foil the inside floor, poke a drain hole, put 4 oz. wood in the woodbox, cover the top of the woodbox with foil, put your prepared butt in with a temp probe inserted, turn up full blast and do not open the door until the butt temp hits at least 195*F.

Experiment, take good notes, have fun !

Thanks Trucky........great advice. I've been reading this forum for a while now and have read a good many of the posts for newbies prior to even placing the order on Friday.

I was just trying to decide what size to get. I hope I get it Wednesday so that I can season it Wednesday night.

I am going to do my Thanksgiving turkey on my Ducane grill since I have a lot of people coming over and I don't want them to be the first to try it. My Ducane actually does a pretty good turkey.

On Friday I will start the butt going though......an 8 pounder.

BTW, a good time to map out your Smokette box temps would be while you are smokin it up during breakin/seasoning with wood only.

Tell me more about that. Do I hang a temp probe in the box and then take readings every 15 minutes? Where do I place the probe in the box.......middle of the box?

You can map out the temps for example...bottom shelf left rear, top shelf right front, etc. The box could have a different temp in different areas or hotter and cooler spots. This can be very helpful for placing different meats in different areas of the smoker.

Makes sense. Thanks for that tip. I can see how each smoker can have slightly different hot and cold spots due to the manufacturing process.

quote:

Originally posted by Chacahoula Tiger:
I can see how each smoker can have slightly different hot and cold spots due to the manufacturing process.

I wouldn't say that unless you meant to say design; its more airflow. How heat rises, so it's good to know which shelf is what temp.

Smokin'

Thanks for the clarification SmokinOkie. I guess I thought that the small size of the box on the 009 wouldn't create much temperature differences between shelfs. I guess that was a wrong assumption on my part.

When doing a Boston Butt for exampal, where do most people place the butt....lowest shelf, middle or top?

GLH - thanks for the advice. I can't wait to try this thing out.

The butt will go in right after I finish the break-in. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. 195 internal temp is what I will be looking for.

Do most people foil the butt and wrap a big towel around it and place it in a cooler for an hour? I read that somewhere.

It will hold in a cooler for a few hours and actually gain temp. I use double HD foil, then at least 1 towel, then into as small a cooler as possible.

It is not actually necessary to do so, unless you aren't ready to eat. Resting uncovered on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes works well when you are ready to pull and eat the pork.

Of course, it is always better to be a couple hours early than late !

According to UPS.........my 009 arrives today sometime! I am going to be breaking it in as soon as I get it.