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PS Let us know how they came out!

262 is fine. This isn't rocket science - a few degrees either way is no big deal. Anyway a lot of people prefer to do ribs at 275. There's no reason to look at the temperature of the ribs. It's not helpful. To tell if they're done you need to test the texture. There are several methods but...

Just want to +1 Greg - I've used both and you do get the wind protection but it's still open enough that it doesn't cause any problems getting oxygen to the coals. It's a nice system. And yes, it's definitely convenient just dumping the ash can out now and again. I use lump which doesn't...

For most things you're better off banking the coals (I use fire bricks to make it easier), searing whatever it is on the hot side, then moving it over to the indirect side. You'll get a nice brown exterior but more even cooking inside - including for burgers. I normally run my kettle vents full...

You'll also find that as you use it, a lot of the air gaps get filled with crud.

I'm with DaveB.

Looks great!

I leave mine out on a cooling rack for a while before sticking them in the fridge. I would only do some kind of a cool down soak if I somehow badly overshot my temps and then I'd take them out of the bags after. I don't know that it's critical to go so far as the "at least twenty-four hours"...

I'm glad it worked out! I usually see one stall in the 160s and another in the 180s. It definitely can be maddening. I don't bother testing until 190 (the test being poking it with something and seeing how it feels) and then after that I basically test every few degrees to see if it's done.

I do mine around 170, maybe going to 180 or 190 at the end. I pull the bacon at 145ish, usually takes 4-5 hours. Normally it's OK if the charcoal burns hot because it's all about the oxygen flow anyway - it doesn't matter in a smoker. But trying to hold at 170 mostly it's about making sure...

I'd just use the recipe in the first post... you can get the pink salt at any of the butcher places and the maple stuff from Amazon. but another option is just to take your cure and add enough grade B maple syrup to make a slush (1/2 cup or so?). If you find the flavor's much better that...

Whew! I got it from Butcher Packer but it sounds/looks the same. The AK one says "Composed of salt, brown sugar, maple flavor and sodium nitrite (.75%)." Notice - maple flavor not maple sugar. The Butcher Packer one doesn't list ingredients on the website and I'm too lazy to find the package...

As I recall it spent some absurd amount of time at 186 degrees, just doing whatever it does in the plateau (breaking stuff down). I have a temperature control unit so I don't think there were any weird overnight low periods or anything like that.

Are you saying you rinse them *after* smoking? That can't possibly be a good idea. Also I've tried the commercial maple cure and it's not nearly as good as either the Charcuterie recipe or just taking some tenderquick and adding some maple syrup to it. No question it wasn't nearly as good.

This is one of these things where it's better to overshoot and remove it later than undershoot and who knows what's going to happen.

Just keep plugging. Remember that the flavor will change after smoking, you're just checking the salt levels.

Sounds good. My standard setup is coals on one side, drip pan on the other. I only swap out the drip pan when it looks nasty - some things just drip a tiny bit. Definitely keeps the gunk to a minimum and reduces the risk of a grease fire.

Either just keep rinsing it or soak it for a bit and then try another test piece. You can repeat as necessary so smaller soaks are better than longer soaks. Also keep in mind the edge piece can be saltier, so you might try cutting 2-3 slices instead of just one for that first test.

How'd they come out? Just as a side note I made pork butts a couple of times in a row and very consistently they were coming out in 13-14 hours. I felt very clever and started to count on them being done at a particular time. Then the next time, no changes, same size butt, and it took 17...

It looks a lot nicer than the last one I rescued on Craigslist!