First time results - BRITU attempt


 
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Jim W.

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Okay, first cook is done.

Be aware that this was my first time using the WSM, my first time ever cooking "low and slow", and my first time ever cooking ribs.

I tried to follow the BRITU instructions but didn't quite make it.

1- Not enough rub. Really, the instructions made such a point of going easy that I think I went too easy. Eating a rib unsauced I tasted very little of the spices. When the ribs went on they didn't have the red glaze that is mentioned. Next time I'll use more.

2- Started out too hot. I don't know what I was thinking but I got the charcoal going in the lower section, set the middle on with the water pan, slapped the ribs in and put on the top. 330* at first. Closed the bottom vents all the way and temp quickly dropped to 300*, but it took an hour to drop to 250*. I ended up cooking 5 hours and they didn't seem overcooked.

3- Not much smoke flavor. I used two chunks of apple and two chunks of pecan but only the long bones seemed to have any smoke flavor. Coule the high initial temperature have seared the outside of the meat and blocked smoke penetration?

4- No rib racks. I didn't find rib racks at the local OSH so cooked with the ribs flat- two slabs on the top rack and one on the bottom. They seemed a bit greasier than I hoped for. Could the horizontal vs. vertical orientation have held the fat in more?

5- Used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Sauce instead of KC + honey.

All in all, delicious, but next time they'll be better.

Jim
 
I think this line says it all:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>All in all, delicious, but next time they'll be better. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>That's what we're all after-- for "next time" to be better than "this time"-- doesn't necessarily mean "this time" was bad-- just that "next time" will be better.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>They seemed a bit greasier than I hoped for. Could the horizontal vs. vertical orientation have held the fat in more? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I usually cook a little bit longer than that, and noticed less greasiness than prior, shorter cooks. Recent discussion here indicates some cook ribs as long as 8-9 hours. I don't think racking versus not would affect fat rendering significantly.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Started out too hot. I don't know what I was thinking but I got the charcoal going in the lower section, set the middle on with the water pan, slapped the ribs in and put on the top. 330* at first. Closed the bottom vents all the way and temp quickly dropped to 300*, but it took an hour to drop to 250*. I ended up cooking 5 hours and they didn't seem overcooked.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Jim,
Good point and something I hadn't thought of...
How do you know your at the right temp before you assemble the unit? Do you assemble without the meat and check the temp? Is waiting and hour or so to get the temp down detrimental to the final product?
Boy...I'm tellin you...my WSM hasn't even been shipped out yet and I'm learning so much, by the time it gets here (if I haven't died from anticipation first) I'm gonna be soooo good at this! Okay...maybe that's going a bit far...
sooo not horrible?? /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Randy Parr:
[qb]How do you know your at the right temp before you assemble the unit? Do you assemble without the meat and check the temp? Is waiting and hour or so to get the temp down detrimental to the final product?[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Example: Light a Weber chimney full of briquets. When going good, dump them in the charcoal ring. Fill the chimney again, and then dump and spread those unlit coals over the lit ones. Give it about 30 minutes for those coals to get going. Assemble the cooker, fill the water pan with cool water, and crack the bottom vents open each about one sixth. Leave the top vent fully open. Put your thermometer in place. The temp will immediately rise to about 450 but, within about 15-20 minutes, the temp will decline to around 325-350. It's at this point you can add your meat and smoke wood chunks. Opening the cooker to add the meat will lose a lot of heat, and the addition of the cooler meat will start absorbing heat energy. You will now be most likely at a point where you will be trying to get the temp up instead of down. Adjust your bottom vents accordingly, in small increments, and give the cooker 15 minutes to respond. On a hot day, this setup will probably require the bottom vents to be opened no more than one third each. Normally, from the time you light the first briquets until the time you put the meat on will be 60-90 minutes.

This is a generic example. You will experience variations depending on outside temperature, wind, amount of meat cooked, and how new your WSM is (soot buildup on the inside helps temp regulation). The more you use it, the more you will start to know your cooker. When you get to that point, you will really love it, because you can go about your business and not feel you have to eyeball the cooker throughout a 6-8 hour cook.
 
I can't even begin to imagine, how long it would take the average person to figure out this stuff on their own, through trial and error.
God...I love this site...
 
Gal....

I put everything into the WSM immediately after lighting the briqs. Like this......Once you have your 10-20 lit briqs(Minion Method), dump them on top of the unlit ones. Put your meat on and assemble the smoker...all at the same time.

By doing this, you will be controllling your fire from lower temps to higher temps...MUCH easier to control. It will take about 30-45 minutes for the temp to get up to 225?. Now, a lot of this depends on weather, wind, and meat load.

Example...I did 8 butts this weekend...4 on each smoker. I used a full Weber chimney and dumped half the load into each cooker. I needed that many lit briqs to overcome the large load of meat. Same in cooler weather...more lit briqs.

Now, IF your temps still run away once you have closed the bottom vents, then, you can close the top vent about half way, wait a half hour and check again. Closing the top vent, though NOT recommended will cause no harm in this case.

Hope all of this makes sense!
 
Stogie,

Thanks for the advice. I understand it in the abstract, but until I get that WSM in my hot little hands, I won't have a true understanding.
Chris's pics help a lot.
 
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