New Amerique Plans

My first would be with # 5 - heck,aim high, it'll come out great!
My second would be: Don't let your wife read your emails!

Sounds pretty close (you've been reading the forum I can tell)

Not sure about rubbing the PB overnight. Some rubs, with too much salt, you may not like the taste. I do mine no more than 2 hours ahead and it works for us.

Go with the pecan. You didn't say how much wood, but you might only do 2 or 3 chunks. Even three could be too much but it's a personal preference. When in doubt, use less.

quote:

5. Finally, I will eat the port butt without too high of expectations. I will recognize that the smoker is new and I am new to it and the seasoning has just begun.

If you follow your plan, don't think you'll have to feed it to the dogs.

Good luck, look forward to the report.

Smokin'

I don't want to over do it with the smoke or the salt. Therefore, I will definately take your advice on the wood and the 2 hours of rub.

I am surrounded by pecan orchards. Pecan limbs are brittle and break in storms so there is always ample wood.

Do you think hickory would be best for the seasoning step?

I just received my Amerique a couple weeks ago so my experience is VERY limited. Although I have smoked several butts in my previous smoker, I tried my first pork butt (10 lbs.) in the Amerique last weekend. I had set the smoker temp to 225 degrees. I used 5 1/2 oz. of hickory which gave the meat a very nice flavor without being overpowering. It took 18 1/2 hours to get to an internal temp of 198. I had to take it out at that point because everyone wanted to eat. It was pretty tender and had a very nice bark but it was way too dry for me.

I used my wireless thermometer to measure both the smoker and the internal temps and they were both right on so I believe the smoker is working perfectly.

From your post, I'm not sure what you planned to set the smoker temp to but I plan on trying to bump it up to at least 235 next time.

I'd appreciate knowing how yours turns out.

5.5 ounces of wood sounds like alot but I realize your smoker isn't seasoned like mine yet.

Make sure the wood you use is very dry before using.

The pork butt should be very edible, even on the first try. Much more forgiving than first time ribs or first time brisket.

BBQTom,

I will let you know how my first smoke goes. It will be a butt as mentioned. I am really eager to smoke some Brisket. 18.5 hours sounds about right from what I am reading on the forum. I am pretty much going to follow the 101 techniques and temp on my first smoke.

Thanks all for the info.

I have never heard of a dry butt, I don't think. I have an AmeriQue and I have never had one. I cook at 225 or 250 and they go from 13 to 26 hours. Go figure and good luck.

Well, I had never had a dry butt on my Bradley before I moved up to the Amerique. This one was a disappointment. I did smoke chicken wings this past weekend and they turned out PERFECT - VERY moist and the skin was a beautiful brown and crisp. I plan to do southern style ribs this weekend. If they turn out dry, I'm going to have to dig deeper to figure out what's wrong. I still have very high expectations for my Amerique.

Well, the smoker is designed to work as advertised, so we need to figure out why your results might be different.

First and foremost, check the temp of the smoker. If it's set at 225 and it's average temp is there, then the internal temp is right.

Then you can focus on the results (too tender, not tender enough, etc).

Heat/temp control is first, others will come.

As for "dry" that to me isn't the smoker it's either the actual cut of pork or it's overcooked.

The Amerique 66 arrived on Monday (yesterday) about 9:30 AM. Here is a little info on my first experience and cook.

1. Immediatly unpacked and setup. Very impressed with the quality, packaging, etc.

2. Seasoned with 3 chuncks of wood for 8 hours.

3. While seasoning, read manual and tasted the sample sauce and seasonings. I have the smoker at my business shop (www.Easy-Haul.com) so it is easy for me to fiddle with it when I have time.

4. First Cook: Eager to get something in it, I went to local grocery store and got 3 small butts (didn't have anything large). Seasoned 2 with CS rub and one with Stubb's rub. Set cook temp to 225, probe temp to 200, 2.5 chunks of hickory and started at 6:00 PM. 16 hours later the meat temp was 191 and I decided to open. The butts were small and I got to worrying they might get too done. The butts were wonderful; virtually perfect. Little dry on the outer 1/2 inch of the meat but perfectly moist and tender inside and smoke flavor was mild and perfect. Everyone at the office and home went crazy. Next time I will use a larger butt, other than that it was just right. Could not tell a difference in the rubs.

5. Second Cook: Within 3 hours of removing the butts, I was on to my second cook which was 5 large chickens. Pulled skin back and did mild seasoning. Smothered each with butter. Set cook temp to 275, probe temp to 170, 2 chunks of hickory and started at 1:00 PM. 3 hours later the meat temp was 170 and I opened the cooker. The chickens looked perfect, like something in a magazine. The color was nice and brown / golden. Took 2 home and distributed others to friends. The meat was perfect and very moist. The things I would like to improve upon are a)little less smoke flavor, the chicken really absorbed the smoke and b)better grease drainage as a lot of grease was floating in the carcus.

6. Summary: After years of tending to a regular wood smoker and having inconsistent results, I was looking for a smoker of high quality, easy to use, restaurant quality and consistent results. The Amerique 66 is the perfect solution. I found the controls to be very easy to use and perfectly reliable. I have no doubt I can produce consistent results and look forward to developing my skills with it.

Thanks to all for suggestions and will continue to read forum for tips and others experiences.

PS: Sorry for such a long post but I figure others might benefit from the details of my experience.