Questions from my first time smoking


 
D

Dan Bon

New member
So i don't own a WSM but a cheaper smoker that's the same idea (http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...13P/Master+Chef+Vertical+Smoker.jsp?locale=en) and i'm hoping you guys will still help me out.

Smoked ribs the first time this weekend and have a few questions..
1) after 5 hours my babyback ribs were cooked but not exactly fall off the bond. Not dry but not perfectly moist. Should i have cooked them longer or shorter?
2) i used hickory chips soaked for a good hour. when i put them on, i'd get a lot of smoke but found the chips would burn up pretty quickly (15-20 min) and i'd lost smoke so i kept adding more, eventually putting them in an aluminum pouch which lasted a ittle while longer. Are the chips supposed to die that quickly? Do i need to keep adding chips throughout the cooking time or just the first few hours since most of the smoke is absorbed early on?
3) my smoker doesn't have vents at the bottom but does have an access door. I was trying to bring up the heat by opening the door but it seemed like when i did that the temperature dropped instead of rose...any thoughts?

thanks everyone
 
Morning don. I looked at that link and your smoker looks like a brinkmann clone. I had a similar one for years and temp control was the big problem (which I solved by getting a WSM)
ok , I'm not an expert but I'll venture some thoughts. Not quite fall off the bone tender is what I shoot for in ribs , so I'd say you got that right. If you want the bones to slide right out of the meat you might want to foil them for an hour in the middle of the cook. (look into the 2-1-1 method) If they were a tad dry after 5 hours maybe they were done at 4.5 ...that's one of those "hard to determine after the fact" type of things. If you use the bend test or try checking them with a toothpick next time....maybe check them a bit sooner.
chips are a pain. They do burn up quickly....get yourself some wood chunks....much better. But like you said , early smoke is good .it depends on you. Could you taste smoke?
you didn't mention what temp your smoker was running at , but I gather it was dropping as you went along....can't help you with that. I will leave it to more experienced users of that type of smoker.
Well , it sounds like your ribs were not too bad so just keep trying and hopefully you can improve your results. Good luck , man.
 
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yeah i cheaped out and went with the knockoff for now...
i definitely didn't use enough charcoal so my heat was low (190-200) for the first hour, then got it up to 220-240 for the next few after adding some more charcoal. i'm still unsure about weather or not i should keep adding wood...some people i talk to say you dont need to see smoke the whole time, some people say you do. i definitely tasted smoke but keep in mind thats with me constantly adding wood. if anyone else wants to weigh in....
 
Put your chips in pouches after soaking them and poke a couple holes in the pouch. Depending on how big a pouch you make you may need 2-3 throughout the cook. Your ribs weren't cooked long enough if you want fall off the bone. Like Frank I like a little tug to my ribs.

I'm assuming the bottom of that smoker is wide open so the only way to adjust your temps is by adding coals and adjusting the top vent. I know WSMs are expensive so why not look into a weber kettle. You can smoke on it and grill and it will use a lot less fuel than the smoker you have.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/weber-225-in-one-touch-silver/909219

Wood smoke is not absorbed by the meat it simple sticks to the outside of it which is known as adsorbed. The more smoke it takes the smokier it tastes but your taste buds do reach a saturation point. If your hanging with the smoker all day inhaling smoke you may not think the meat tastes very smokey but other people will think it is quite smokey.

Good luck on your new adventure. Always lots of guys around to help.
 
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Keep in mind that if your b.b. are of the "extra meaty" kind, the meatier parts will be dry(er) than the thinner parts. I did some last weekend (Sobey's on sale). Reminded me that "bigger" is not always better. It all depends on what you're looking for.

Not much "fat" in the loin itself and that's what you're getting more of when you get the "extra meaty" kind--more meat, less fat and therefore somewhat less "juicy" (juicy here meaning liquified fat).

Make sure you get "normal" ones next time and you may find that 4 1/2 hr to 5 hours at 225-250o is just perfect for what you think you want.
 
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