If you’re looking for a great way to smoke meat, the Pillar drum smoker is a great option. This barrel smoker is easy to use and produces fantastic results. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to smoke meat on the Pillar drum smoker for the first time. We’ll go over the basics of using this smoker, and give you some tips for getting great results. So, if you’re ready to start smoking meat like a pro, keep reading!

What you’ll need to get started cooking on your Barrel Smoker

To start smoking meat on the Pillar drum smoker, you’ll need to gather some supplies. You’ll need a good quality lump or briquette-style charcoal, and a water pan is a great option for some pitmasters. You’ll also need your meat of choice, and any seasonings or rubs you want to use. Once you have all of your supplies, it’s time to get started!

To begin, you’ll need to set up your drum smoker. Start by filling the firebox with charcoal. You’ll want to use enough charcoal to fill the firebox all the way for a roughly 6-hour cook. the great part about The Pillar is you have an access door to always add more if you need to.

after loading your charcoal, pull the ashpan out halfway and light a fire starter or “tumbleweed” in the ashpan, this will allow the fire to climb and light the charcoal. Once you have a good bed of coals and you have a nice clean blue smoke, it’s time to add your water pan. The water pan goes on a lower level of the smoker or beside the meat depending on the pitmaster’s preference and helps to create a moist cooking environment. Humid heat also transfers heat more evenly and helps the meat you are smoking retain moisture throughout the cook.

How to prepare food for smoking in a Drum Smoker

Now that your smoker is set up and running, it’s time to prepare your food. For this cook, we’ll be smoking a pork shoulder. Start by trimming any loose fat from the pork shoulder, think of anything that’s small enough to burn or dry out, another good tip for great bark is to score the fat cap (side with the thick layer of fat) in a criss-cross pattern, this helps hold more seasonings and creates a great bark. After picking your barbecue seasoning, slather the whole pork shoulder with regular yellow mustard, this is only a meat seasoning binder, it doesn’t add any flavor so if you don’t like mustard you don’t have to worry, it won’t taste like mustard at all. then season it liberally with your favorite rub, there are so many to choose from including stuff from Kosmo’s Q and Killer Hogs Barbecue. Once the pork shoulder is seasoned, it’s time to check the drum smoker temperature.

Smoking times and temperatures for different types of food

You’ll want to maintain a temperature of around 250-300 degrees Fahrenheit for the duration of the cook. To check the temperature, use the thermometer located in the center of the lid. keep in mind that 250-300 degrees are a guideline and as you gain pitmaster experience you will find your comfort zone and it will become part of your secrets that you can pass on to your family someday. Once you’ve checked the temperature, it’s time to add your pork shoulder to the smoker. Place the pork shoulder fat side down on the grate, we do this because we are cooking vertical and we are trying to protect the meat we are smoking from any direct heat. don’t worry about those fat juices, those will slowly drip into the fire and become moisture and extremely aromatic!

Now that your pork shoulder is in the smoker, it’s time to let it do its thing so close the lid and wait for the aroma. For this cook, we’ll be smoking the pork shoulder for approximately six hours. During this time, you’ll need to check the temperature of the smoker every hour or so. You should also check the water pan and add more water as needed. After two hours, it’s time to check the internal temperature of the pork shoulder. we are looking for an internal temp of 165. 165 degrees Fahrenheit is when it’s time to wrap with aluminum foil.

Wrapping a pork shoulder for Smoked Meat success!!!!

Once the pork shoulder reaches 165 degrees, it’s time to wrap it in aluminum foil. This process is called the Texas crutch and helps the pork shoulder cook faster and retain moisture. To wrap the pork shoulder, place it on a large piece of aluminum foil and add your favorite BBQ sauce, brown sugar, honey, and/or this might be a good time to add some more barbecue seasoning for that extra pop of flavor. this is the fun part of bbq, You season to your liking and your taste buds. Then, seal the aluminum foil tightly around the pork shoulder and place it back on the smoker. At this point, you’ll want to maintain the temperature of the smoker a little closer to 300 degrees if you have been closer to 250 degrees. raising the temp a bit will help it not stall out and at a lower temp. Continue cooking the pork shoulder until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 – 205 degrees. at this time u want to start testing for tenderness. we test for tenderness by probing the meat with a toothpick and seeing if the meat has any resistance as we pull the toothpick out of the meat, you can also do this with an instant-read thermometer like a themo-pen.

IT’s a Drum Smoker Masterpiece!!!!!

Once the pork shoulder reaches 200 – 205 degrees, remove it from the smoker and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting! this is critical! If you are done early and would like it to stay warm till the barbecue party or catering event, place it in a cooler with towels wrapped around it, this will let all those juices draw back into the meat and it won’t dry out. Oh and back to the cutting portion, lol, you won’t need a knife! just stick some tongs in there and it will fall apart.

That’s it! Your pork shoulder is finished and now you are the king/queen of the cul-de-sac. Thanks for purchasing The Pillar Drum Smoker, we hope you enjoyed your first cookout with friends and family. Be sure to tag us on social media so we can see how your smoked masterpiece turned out!