Just when you think everything is ok.....

[russell swift]

I think I should win a Darwin Award for what I did on Sunday. Cooked 3 slabs of baby backs using lump for the 1st time. Temperatures were steady and the meat looked beautiful. I used the 3-2-1 method, and foiled for 1 hr, 45 min. Man those ribs were ultra-tender and I had to be very careful when basting with BBQ sauce. I continued to cook on the top grate without foil for the last hour.....just to keep the meat warm and heat up the sauce. 10 minutes (10 MINUTES!) before I took the ribs off I decided to breakdown the smoker and lay the top grate over the fire.....I wanted to produce a few char marks and really thicken the sauce. I was also cooking corn and making slaw inside, so after lowering the rack, I went back inside to finish dinner. Lost track of time, 10 minutes later......BAM MY RIBS ARE ON FIRE!! Completely charred the entire slabs, not edible, very little meat left. Note to self:

Has anyone had an embarassing moment like this while smoking/grilling? Thank God I wasn't cooking for a crowd, but I felt depressed because 5 hrs, 50 min. of cooking was destroyed by 10 min. of idiocy.

 

[Wesley S]

Wow that stinks man.

Haven't had that luxury yet but I'm sure I will one day. As long as no one was hurt (including the smoker)

All is well. Lesson learned.

 

[Randy P.]

I will also be brave enough to admit my faults as well.

I had a kettle full of Pork chops one time, just checked everything, opened the vents just a bit and planned on checking in about 20 minutes or so. Got tied up with my youngest child and also lost track of time,,,,,an hour later I had little chunks of coal black charred pork chops, looked kinda like lump charcoal,,,,supper ruined and we ate ham sandwiches!!!!

We have all done it or will do it, and its a matter of how many will confess.

 

[Josh Z.]

Nope, I'm perfect

\


Ok there might have been one time (christmas dinner) that I propped open my door to boost the temp on the WSM and then didn't shut it securely when i was done and it fell off! When i came back outside the flames were licking up aroudn the water pan and all the skin was super charred.

Thankfuly the bird still tasted really good, and having brined it probably saved the day. It was a very close call.

 

[Al Silverman]

I tried to cook a duck on my Weber Gasser with a rotisserie attachment and no drip pan. About 30 minutes into the cook my wife yelled to me " Hey there's alot of smoke coming from the grill!"

Well, it took quite a while to get the flames out. The char-duck was, needless to say, inedible. Next time I used a drip pan and all was good.

Al

 

[Gary R Miller]

My biggest blunder was learning about enhanced ribs. Was ready to impress my relatives so I purchased $60 worth of Baby Backs. Did everything by the 3-2-1 method. They looked like something outta of the finest cook books around. Proudly I layed them out on table for all to enjoy. Much to my dismay my first bite took me to place I have never been before. This sudden taste of salt block came over me. I could have cried. They was so bad the neighbors dog wouldn't clean my racks for me. It wasn't til a week later I was educated on enhanced meats. I can still taste the salt when I think about it lol. Thats the only blunder I will let yas know about.

 

[Joe P]

Before I got my WSM, I borrowed my neighbor's cheapo Brinkmann smoker to see if I wanted to get into smoking. I smoked 1/2 turkey breast on the Brinkman. Half way through the smoke, I checked on it and turned the turkey a bit. The rack fell off its thingies and the turkey breast dropped right into the water pan (pretty full no less). I retrieved the wet turkey, rinsed it off and added a bit more rub, put it back on the smoker and it turned out pretty good. Next weekend I went and bought the WSM and have been happy ever since!

 

[Craig Castille]

Dropped a pork tenderloin into some really hot lump. Was sliding my racks over on my offset, and hit a beautiful pork tenderloin with the tongs.

Gritty. Threw that half out.

 

[Bill S.]

Had my first disaster this weekend. Was cooking about an 8 pound, butt. Put it on about 11pm. Temp was holding good at 250 (lid). So at 1:30am I decide to hit the sack. I wake up at 6:30 walk out into the back porch, even before I opened the outside door I knew I was in trouble, just by the smell. I run over to the smoker, it was running at 320 degrees! The butt was kinda shriveled looking, never got a chance to baste or put sauce on it (I sauce halfway through). Was reading 200 degrees internal. Pulled it off and pulled it apart, no juice, kinda dry. Made a couple sandwiches today, was just so-so. I'm going to freeze the rest and use it for chili.....I have no idea why the temp shot up like that, never had that problem before. The only thing that I can think of, is that I used more unlit in than usual....Any ideas?

 

[Steve Cleveland]

Sunday I went to check on my ribs , and missed the end of the Nascar race. I guess thats not quite the same, the ribs were really good though.

 

[JimT]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by russell swift:
Has anyone had an embarassing moment like this while smoking/grilling? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

More than I care to admit. But I keep telling myself "Beer and 'Q go good together!"

 

[Tom L.]

Does running out of propane while cooking for a dinner party count? :^)

The pizaa from Papa Johns was pretty good though...

 

[Joe. P]

Hi all,
I was on my last bag of old Kingsford doing 2 8lb Butts MM. I was watching the temp go up via the ET73 .(from the couch) They were going up a little too slow so I decided to check it out. When I lifted the lid I found the grate probe was touching the meat!! Then I find the whole charcoal ring was fully lit !! Bright red… temps were over 300. Took a while to get the temps down. The Butts came out great though.
-Joe

 

[Jo Rhi]

I'm done just about the same thing on a Weber Smokey Joe years ago. I was indirectly cooking a beautiful pork crown roast. Indirect cooking time was around 1.5 hours so after an hour or so I went outside to check. Some how the lid had come off and the crown roast was on fire (and probably had been for some time). Had pizza for dinner.

 

[Pat Barnes]

Almost but not as bad. Had ribs on also. Was loosing temp so I thought I'd leave the access dooor off to get a little extra air.

Didn't know ny thermometer would read 500 Deg.
Saved the ribs though with only a little charring.