Recently took delivery of a Model 2 and hauled it up to my condo in Toronto. Yes - I live in one of the few condos where BBQs (electric or gas line) are permitted. That being said, I don't need to draw any undue attention, so picked the Smokin-it smoker specifically due to the small amount of wood needed, the great reviews and the lack of smoke it emits compared with other brands. Additionally I am a few floors up so there is always a slight breeze to take the smoke away. In fact, after my first smoke, it probably emits less smoke than when I cedar plank smoke salmon on my electric weber BBQ grill (all things considered - the weber is actually pretty awesome).
Anyway - on to my first smoke. I wanted to go for supreme laziness and I have never cooked ribs before so thought I would give those a go. Got some 'back' ribs from Costco, rubbed them with some of that Kirkland Organic No Salt rub and stuck in some Paprika for good measure, whacked them in, cranked it to 225, 2oz of Hickory and let it rip. It was -2'c outside on day, plus a bit of windchill - that's about 25ish F for US folks. After 5 hours it was dark outside but even with a flashlight they looked like they needed a bit more. 30 mins later and they looked good - breaking a bit in the middle with the edge bend test. Took em out, chopped them up - probably second best ribs I ever had. The best still goes to some I had at a ribfest a couple of years ago. That being said, I have no doubt I can best those in time.
Lessons learnt:
1. Don't take the ribs out of the packet until you have your prep area sorted and the spices/rub ready to go. I got into a bit of a mess and there was a lot of hand washing and kitchen roll involved.
2. Remove the rib membrane or whatever it is, before cutting the rack in half to fit in the smoker. With two full racks I basically just doubled my workload by chopping them in half first...
3. Trim a bit of the fat - I literally did nothing, but next time, I might trim some of the copious bits as the ribs were a little fatty - but that might also be the ribs I picked up.
4. More spice - I definitely didn't add enough, nor did I leave it to marinate/sink in - will try both next time
5. Let the ribs rest a bit after pulling from the smoker - so first half rack I tried to chop up immediately from the smoker - bad idea. I waited 10 mins for the rest and the chopped up nicely/cleanly.
Anyway - overall, pretty pleased with how things went. The smoker is a nice compliment to the grill and will allow me to keep BBQing over the long winter up here.
Anyway - on to my first smoke. I wanted to go for supreme laziness and I have never cooked ribs before so thought I would give those a go. Got some 'back' ribs from Costco, rubbed them with some of that Kirkland Organic No Salt rub and stuck in some Paprika for good measure, whacked them in, cranked it to 225, 2oz of Hickory and let it rip. It was -2'c outside on day, plus a bit of windchill - that's about 25ish F for US folks. After 5 hours it was dark outside but even with a flashlight they looked like they needed a bit more. 30 mins later and they looked good - breaking a bit in the middle with the edge bend test. Took em out, chopped them up - probably second best ribs I ever had. The best still goes to some I had at a ribfest a couple of years ago. That being said, I have no doubt I can best those in time.
Lessons learnt:
1. Don't take the ribs out of the packet until you have your prep area sorted and the spices/rub ready to go. I got into a bit of a mess and there was a lot of hand washing and kitchen roll involved.
2. Remove the rib membrane or whatever it is, before cutting the rack in half to fit in the smoker. With two full racks I basically just doubled my workload by chopping them in half first...
3. Trim a bit of the fat - I literally did nothing, but next time, I might trim some of the copious bits as the ribs were a little fatty - but that might also be the ribs I picked up.
4. More spice - I definitely didn't add enough, nor did I leave it to marinate/sink in - will try both next time
5. Let the ribs rest a bit after pulling from the smoker - so first half rack I tried to chop up immediately from the smoker - bad idea. I waited 10 mins for the rest and the chopped up nicely/cleanly.
Anyway - overall, pretty pleased with how things went. The smoker is a nice compliment to the grill and will allow me to keep BBQing over the long winter up here.
