Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[eflyguy]

I make a mean meat chili. No stinkin' beans. It takes three days, and after each day, it gets to spend the night back in the fridge, cooling down. It makes a HUGE difference to the taste as each day goes by. One day I'll try to figure out why....

 

[Knifemaker]

I make a mean meat chili. No stinkin' beans. It takes three days, and after each day, it gets to spend the night back in the fridge, cooling down. It makes a HUGE difference to the taste as each day goes by. One day I'll try to figure out why....

Part is do to "melding"... the various flavors combine more over time. Some combine and take on new flavor.Proteins may continue to break down and release amino acids such as glutamate that make food taste more savory, other amino acids react with sugar to produce new flavor molecules if browning occurs during the reheating of leftovers.

I would think however there's a point of no return. Eventually cooking again and again will break down some flavors and or make the dish "mushy". I know chili always tastes better the next day, but depending on how long and how hot you're cooking it, I'd think 3 days might be the limit.

Now if you are adding ingredients each day, not just reheating and reheating the same dish, this can make a big difference.

Speaking of chili ... I ended up taking that 3 pounds of venison I was given, browning it:

Then using it in a big pot of chili (with beans...I like the added health benefits. I use a combination of black, kidney, pinto, and white beans)

I like it with shredded Monterey Jack, oyster crackers, and a dollop of sour cream....

 

[BikerGeek99]

Well, my ribs came pretty decent for my first try. I'll add more detail when I decide if I'm gonna stick with PhotoBucket or move to something else for posting pictures.

Quick question for you guys: when it's time to reheat the leftovers, how do you reheat 'em? Thaw them first?

 

[Knifemaker]

Well, my ribs came pretty decent for my first try. I'll add more detail when I decide if I'm gonna stick with PhotoBucket or move to something else for posting pictures.
Quick question for you guys: when it's time to reheat the leftovers, how do you reheat 'em? Thaw them first?

I wrap mine in two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. I spritz them first with apple juice or water and cola or paint them with BBQ sauce first. (This just to add some moisture before freezing.)
To reheat I put them on a cookie sheet (leaving them wrapped in the foil) and put them in the oven at 225F for one hour, then bump

it up to 350F for about 30 minutes. Then pull them out, unwrap them, cut them up and eat them if they are heated well enough or if still a bit cool, put them back in uncovered for ten minutes. Unless they are really thick, the extra time isn't usually needed.

Remember, they are already cooked, so my thinking is it takes time to thaw them and if they are thawed and you put them in the oven to "reheat" them, you are in fact cooking them. I would guess there's a certain temperature and time one could use to avoid this, but the right from the freezer to the oven method I use is easy, quick, and works for me...they always come out juicy and tender

P.S. I've been using Postimage.org for a while now and been pretty happy with them. Loads quickly from

my phone, gives you a direct link. (Although I have to edit after I post to add the "img's")

 

[Bounce]

If mine aren't frozen, then I nuke them. If they are frozen, then I thaw them then nuke them.

 

[Knifemaker]

Speaking of..... Planning on doing my ribs this Saturday. Oddly the grocery stores around here are completely out of baby back ribs. So, not to be sidelined, ordered 6 racks from the local meat guy. These will be fresh from a farm about 10 miles away. More to come....

 

[BikerGeek99]

Trying Postimage for this...

So, the ribs.

I started with three racks of ribs.. Based upon the advice of a friend who has a smoker, I got 'em at Costco. Three racks for under $30 - not bad!

While the smoker was warming up (it was cold, gray, wet, and generally shitty on Sunday), I portioned out the ribs and hit 'em with some southwest rub that we got from a place up in Michigan. I'm gonna need more rub.

All rubbed up, into the smoker they went for three hours. I used hickory this time around, and my target cabinet temperature was 225.

After three hours, out they came.

I wrapped 'em in foil, and added 1/4 cup of apple juice / apple cider vinegar 50/50 mix into each pouch, then back to the smoker for two more hours.

Two hour later, they came off again. I took them outta the pouches, and just hit 'em with some Kroger-brand KC BBQ sauce, then back to the smoker for another hour.

I pulled 'em out after aboot 45 minutes.

Generally speaking, they came out pretty good for my first attempt with ribs. And with just the two of us, we'll have leftovers for weeks.

 

[Fred W]

Man... those are looking great Andy! Mouth watering for sure. That last photo s killer!

I've bought ribs at Walmart (we call it Satan's Azzhole) that were every bit as good as the ones from the high bucks meat market butcher store. Never be ashamed of your pork source, though Mr. Knifemaker's locally grown pork is likely going to be great.

I've cooked mine both with and without a foil crutch. For the baby backs I've come to the conclusion that the wrapping isn't really needed. With the crutch they come out so tender the "meat falls off the bone" which is impressive for some. But I like just a little "chew" left on my ribs. Maybe it comes down to personal preferences? For the other rib cuts (St Louis or Spare) that are less meaty and a bit more stringy meat those 2 hours in foil is probably a good bet.

I still prefer to not sauce them until they hit the table. For one thing, none of us can agree on what the perfect sauce is, and for another, my own preferences will vary from day to day. I guess as long as you use something on the mild side you can always amp it up, but once you lay some spice on them you can't go backwards.

Also, just an observation, but when you lay your meat n the smoker try to create as much space between pieces as you can for the smoke to circulate. But that is all just definitely picking nits. I bet those ribs were delicio-mundo. Great work!

 

[Knifemaker]

^ They look good. I see you used the 3-2-1 method. Are those St. Louis style ribs or baby backs? Am guessing the commercial rub had salt in it. Friend at work suggested going to Costco for my ribs, but the closest one is 24 miles away

I've done the STL ribs like that myself. I do baby backs now and skip the foil wrap. I dry brine overnight and use a saltless rub. I'm with Fred on the foil wrap. I rather put more smoke on them and think the "fall off the bone" point just makes the texture mushy.

Looking forward to trying the local pork ribs.

I do however think for STL ribs, a good spritz of apple juice or whatever does help with getting a good smoke taste throughout the meat. I've actually been considering building a set of "misters" into my smoker to spritz the meat without having to open up the smoker and doing it by hand.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Thanks, guys.

Yep - I (obviously) went with the 3-2-1 method. Ya gotta start somewhere, right?

Since I was going with cabinet temperature for a defined duration rather than the internal temperature of the meat, I didn't put a temperature probe into the meat. Instead, I put one probe at the top of the cabinet and the other one lower in the cabinet. That way I could see the temperature differential between the bottom of the cabinet (closer to the heat) vs. the top of the cabinet (away from the heat). It was kinda interesting - typically, right before I would add any chunks to the pan, the differential would be around 30 degrees or so. Once I added any chunks, when the chunks caught and started to burn / smoke, the differential would jump to 100+ degrees.

The result was the ribs in the lower section were more well-done than the ones above them. So, going forward, I may break up the sessions to two so that I can make sure the ribs are evenly cooked.

Also, on my smoker, the door doesn't seal for squat. And since I seem to only use the smoker when it's cold, windy and generally shitty, wind can really impact what's going on inside the cabinet. So, I wielded my Google-fu and found some door seal kits. I've got one on the coffee table, so if the weather ever gets non-shitty around here, I'll put that on to help seal that door.

 

[Bounce]

My first attempt at a smoker was one my wife got as a prize from her office. She got to pick something from one of those nick-nack catalogs. It was awful. The steel thickness was paper thin and the door seal sounds like yours. Mine hung on slide-on hinges that you could never get to square the door with the body of the smoker.

You have a tough road ahead learning your craft. Best of luck.

 

[BikerGeek99]

You have a tough road ahead learning your craft. Best of luck.

Before I bought my smoker, I read a lot of reviews and the poor-sealing door was a very common quip which led to me to the seal kits.

 

[eflyguy]

Read, read, read. Try kamodoguru.com and amazingribs.com then practice, practice, practice.

I don't know how long I've been smoking, but I'll be keeping my "fixed" Akorn until it falls apart because after addressing all of the inherent sealing issues, it works *really* well. That will be my "small" cooker going forward, as tomorrow I pick up "the last smoker I'll ever buy" (Big Joe) after four previous types and hundreds of (mostly gratifying) cooks. I don't *need* it but I'm getting it well below cost due to connections in the industry, so why not?

FWIW, the most popular sub-forums on kg forums are Akorn followed by Kamado Joe. For good reason - "value", and "overall design"..

 

[Bounce]

I've wanted a Joe or BGE but the cost always scared me away. Mass is one way to retain heat but it also makes it hard to roll into my shed when not in use. I'd jump on one if I could find a way to resolve those 2 issues.

 

[Knifemaker]

Wife picked up the ribs while I was a work. They look good Price was $6.29 a pound, which works out to roughly 12.6 pounds, or around 2.1 pounds a rack. They seem a tad bit shorter than the frozen ones (the sink they are in below is 16-1/2" wide) which likely means they were taken from a younger pig, which is a good thing.

Rain is expected tomorrow morning, but clearing up after noon, with a high of 46. I'll like start the smoke around 1. More to follow.

Can't help you with cost Bounce, but you could make a heavy duty cart to move that smoker. I got some heavy duty 6" casters and made a rolling platform for my large ceramic chiminea and heavy glass table on my deck.

 

[Fred W]

Yikes, $6.29 a lb is getting into beef prices. I hope that is not a sign of things to come. Pork ribs have always been somewhat more expensive than other parts of the pig, the percentage of bone and fat to meat being so high, but usually they can be got for mid $3 a lb. But damn they are too good to forgo. And those fresh racks do look quite promising. My son has friends raising pigs that Im going to try and get few racks of this spring.

Whats your plan for this cook? Sticking with your tried and true, or experimenting? For a long time I used nothing but applewood for smoke with all pork, but then began using hickory on the ribs and found I liked the spicier smoke flavor of that even better. Still Apple is my go-to wood for roasts and chops, and its not bad on ribs either.

Looking forward to seeing your results.

 

[Knifemaker]

I'm going to be mixing apple wood and mesquite. (Good cop bad cop ?LOL) Going to use the usual rub, but using "dark" brown suger instead of "light" brown suger. And...going to use ancho chile powder over "regular" chile powder in the rub.

I expected the price to be higher of course, but supporting local farms always has a price. If you did the math, it worked out to about $13 a slab, about $2.75-3.20 higher (for a 2 lb rack) than what most stores here charged for frozen. From what I have read, and seen, there is a shortage of pork ribs internationally. Smithfield is now owned by a Chinese company, which is now the biggest pork company in the world. Apparently there is a pork shortage in China, which makes me think a whole butt load of American pork ribs are being imported to China to fill that void. Which would explain the obvious shortage of Smithfield ribs here.

But I'm OK with this. 6 bucks for a half rack of baby backs is still 1/2 of what you'd pay at a local BBQ restaurant around here. Add drinks and your going to be way ahead.

Got a good cigar and a bottle of Oban14 year old for the cook, so all is well.

 

[Bounce]

Can't help you with cost Bounce, but you could make a heavy duty cart to move that smoker. I got some heavy duty 6" casters and made a rolling platform for my large ceramic chiminea and heavy glass table on my deck.

The original weight would sink into the grass. Adding more by building a HD rack would make it worse. There's a concrete ramp up to the front door of the shed but it would be unsightly to make a highway between the patio and the shed. Would filling it with helium help?

 

[Fred W]

Cover it and leave it out? Thats what I do in the summer months which is what you have all year long!

 

[TomInPA]

I'm hoping that I continue to see $3.49/lb on back ribs. Wow!