Anxious to get in another smoke, especially after my prime rib smoke which cast doubt on whether everything was working right because of long cook time and wood never burned. This will be fourth smoke. Baby backs first (which were pretty good but a bit dry as I smoked them too long), pork tenderloin which was perfect, and then a prime rib for Christmas which was very tasty, but no wood burn and no smoke flavor (http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=5840.0). Saved by a very good rub!
This time thought I would try spare ribs. Had done them on the gas grill before, and foiled them in that cooking process. They came out very juicy and tender, but fat not cooked enough. For the smoker try, I had two pretty large racks of spare ribs. Removed the membrane, applied mustard and rub, and then left overnight in the fridge. At noon today, started the smoke with 3 ounces of mixed hickory and cherry. This time split the wood into 1/2 inch thick pieces (easy to do with a chisel). Squared the wood box over the burner, which made it slightly off-center but the element aligned with the holes. Put a foil pan of heated apple juice next to the wood box. Foiled lined wood box and bottom, poked hole in bottom, and a foil "boat" in the drip pan to make cleanup easy. Two slabs of ribs layed out with larger end to the back (which is hottest side in my smoker, judging from the wood burn.) With the depth of the 3D, did not have to cut the slabs. That was sweet! All of this went into the smoker at noon, and used the standard P2 cook program of 235 deg F.
Got good smoke for a few hours. At 5:15 pm, I checked them. The thinner slab was done; the thicker one close. Quickly sauced them with hickory maple barbeque sauce, and closed the door. Thirty minutes later, removed the thinner slab. At 6 pm, removed the other one. Perfect timing as wife had Brussel sprouts roasting in the oven that were done at 6:05 pm. Potato salad and sliced cantaloupe were the other sides.
Here are some pics of the smoker with the meat, and the finished product. I went rib side down according to instructions, but put the fatter rack on the bottom. Is that right? Was thinking it might be better close to the wood box and element. The four wood blocks (3 oz total), were completely turned to ash.
Also, this time I heated the apple juice in the microwave, prior to the smoke. Just to get it up to temp. Used the 13 oz bottle. But same as with the other pork smokes I've done, seemed like there was very little liquid removed. Although this is hard to measure accurately as there was some fat dripped into the foil pan. Is this the experience of others as well - not much liquid used?
They were very tasty. Pretty much competition consistency - firm, tender, but not fall-off-the-bone. The fatter rack was cut in half and put in the freezer. Got high approval marks from my wife. That's pretty much the important thing.
This time thought I would try spare ribs. Had done them on the gas grill before, and foiled them in that cooking process. They came out very juicy and tender, but fat not cooked enough. For the smoker try, I had two pretty large racks of spare ribs. Removed the membrane, applied mustard and rub, and then left overnight in the fridge. At noon today, started the smoke with 3 ounces of mixed hickory and cherry. This time split the wood into 1/2 inch thick pieces (easy to do with a chisel). Squared the wood box over the burner, which made it slightly off-center but the element aligned with the holes. Put a foil pan of heated apple juice next to the wood box. Foiled lined wood box and bottom, poked hole in bottom, and a foil "boat" in the drip pan to make cleanup easy. Two slabs of ribs layed out with larger end to the back (which is hottest side in my smoker, judging from the wood burn.) With the depth of the 3D, did not have to cut the slabs. That was sweet! All of this went into the smoker at noon, and used the standard P2 cook program of 235 deg F.
Got good smoke for a few hours. At 5:15 pm, I checked them. The thinner slab was done; the thicker one close. Quickly sauced them with hickory maple barbeque sauce, and closed the door. Thirty minutes later, removed the thinner slab. At 6 pm, removed the other one. Perfect timing as wife had Brussel sprouts roasting in the oven that were done at 6:05 pm. Potato salad and sliced cantaloupe were the other sides.
Here are some pics of the smoker with the meat, and the finished product. I went rib side down according to instructions, but put the fatter rack on the bottom. Is that right? Was thinking it might be better close to the wood box and element. The four wood blocks (3 oz total), were completely turned to ash.
Also, this time I heated the apple juice in the microwave, prior to the smoke. Just to get it up to temp. Used the 13 oz bottle. But same as with the other pork smokes I've done, seemed like there was very little liquid removed. Although this is hard to measure accurately as there was some fat dripped into the foil pan. Is this the experience of others as well - not much liquid used?
They were very tasty. Pretty much competition consistency - firm, tender, but not fall-off-the-bone. The fatter rack was cut in half and put in the freezer. Got high approval marks from my wife. That's pretty much the important thing.
