On February 5, 2018 at 03:17, amirm said...
Not for me. I start smoking at around 9:00pm so that it is ready by lunch the next day. No way I am waking up in the middle of the night every two hours to mess with the thing.
I can agree with not wanting to wake up in the middle of the night, but what about basting and mopping and tenting and taking care of the food itself? checking the smoker is not just about tending the flames.
Wakes me up if the fire goes out. Otherwise, I wake up with the thing almost done. The fun is eating and enjoying the final product.
Like I said there is no question that the final product is the reason to smoke (and nothing beats wood logs for taste).
But the way I see it (and maybe I am missing something) smoking ribs or salmon or other small thin piece is good for a family meal but it does not take many hours (i.e. like the over night yoou are discussing). In this case we are talking Turkey, pork butt/shoulder, brisket, whole piglet.... these take a long time but you are also cooking for some extra guests.
Personally in that second scenario I would rather tell people we are eating at 8PM (and they can show up any time in the afternoon) then rush to set-up the tables and chairs and cooking side dishes in the morning and have them over to eat at 12:00pm.
