First smoke on #3

[mduplantis]

So for my first smoke i went with St. Louis style spare ribs.  Anything wrong with them was not the fault of the smoker for sure. I gave a little too much peppery heat. Otherwise they were amazing. Pleasently surprised with the no peek method and how tender and moist they were. Couple tweaks and they will be perfect. Loving this thing.

 

[old sarge]

Those look mighty tasty to me. Congrats!

 

[TX Gent]

Tasty looking mduplantis .... best part ... all fun!

 

[JustChillin]

They look mighty good! These smokers do a fantastic job on ribs. The results are always excellent and you get a lot of praise from family/friends. Little do they know how easy they are in an SI.

 

[drains]

Well done! The no peek method is how I cook my ribs. Now get in there and clean them bones!

 

[barelfly]

those look great! hope you enjoy the #3!

 

[swthorpe]

Well done, Mark!  Cheers

 

[mduplantis]

Ok so did a brisket on day two. Came out amazing and had great reviews.  I didn’t have 24 hours to work with, so I lightly dusted it with some Morton’s tenderizer, covered and left in the fridge for 7 hours. Took out, rinsed, coated in mustard and tried “Phil’s killer brisket rub” from the “Lazy Q” book.  Brisket was 13.75 lbs. before trimming so it was probably about 12.5 lbs. after the haircut. Put in my wood, inserted the probe, placed my mini loaf pan next to the heating element filled with apple juice and closed the door. Turned it on to 225 and went about my evening. I was planning on @ 19 hours.  Woke up at six yesterday morning and to my surprise it was at 191. I thought the probe may have been in the wrong spot but i didn’t want to chance opening the door. I let it go about another hour but decided to pull it when it hit 198 (had only been about 10.5 hours).  The probe looked like it was in the right spot, so I took my instant probe and poked in several places. They all registered at least above 192.  So I triple foiled it, wrapped in a huge towel and put in the cooler. It held and tasted fine.  I’m just wondering if I need to calibrate it?  When I did the spare ribs the day before, I checked it right at 5 hours and they were done. So it seems to be cooking a little higher than it’s set for.  Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[old sarge]

Mark, Just keep some notes regarding the temp you are setting, the weather, amount of wood and of course the meat and it's weight. If your results are good, easy to replicate, or change like dialing back or advancing the box temp a few degrees. I have briskets finish sooner than expected and some that took longer than expected. Same with butts. Enjoy!

 

[mduplantis]

Thanks David.  Good idea. Yeah, I’ve had things finish both sooner and later than expected. Did a pig last week that finished several hours early, but did it exactly the same way as a previous one. Sometimes it happens that way I guess. But I’ll keep notes for the next month or so and compare. Definitely not complaining as I love this smoker. But like every new piece of equipment, you have to learn its little nuances and that comes over time.

 

[SconnieQ]

Do you have an ambient probe to measure your box temp? It might be running high. Temps in an analog #3 can can swing from 30 degrees over or under your set temp, but average out to your set temp. That is normal. Having things done sooner rather than later is actually a big plus. Brisket, butts, ribs, can rest for 4-6 hours easily in a cooler, and just get better. Undercooked and rushed brisket, butts, ribs without a rest on the other hand are awful. Also, remember that meat comes from animals, an agricultural product, and all animals are genetically different, raised differently, eat differently, have different amounts of exercise, and are butchered by different companies at different times in their life cycles, and have different meat qualities. The best anyone can do is allow PLENTY of time for the worst case scenario of cooking time, and give any extra time, if it is done ahead of time, to a nice long nap/rest in the cooler!