Maiden voyage ....

[Paul Case Luca]

Disaster. Baby back ribs and a slab of spares on at 225 regulated with a PID from Auber.
Ran 5.5 hours as suggested without peeking.

They were burnt to a crisp. Had Miss Lilly flavor filled up for moisture and all that.
Wife staring at me wondering why I shelled out a thousand bucks.

Yikes. I am a little nervous to be honest these ribs were inedible. I have never made ribs worse.

I think next time I need to peek after 2 hours or something and wrap in foil or something. This was amazing how there was nothing left but charred gristle around the bones.

Unit seems to be working just fine... But the food was not 5.5 hours without looking. Not sure what went wrong.

Better luck next time and if not I might need a new place to sleep.

 

[DivotMaker]

Steve, sorry to hear that!!  All I can think is your PID ran a lot hotter than any SI smoker without one!  I use this fool-proof method a LOT in my #1, and have never had anything less than stellar ribs!  May want to dial-down that temp.  Maybe our PID users can help...

 

[Paul Case Luca]

What temp do you use? I did 225 like those in the forums. I checked Auber temps with two other separate probes and it ran at 225 + / - 3 deg F.

Nothing was left at all.  The Auber works just fine. It did it's job. Ribs were like nothing I ever saw before....

225 on the dial maybe in general runs lower ... And possibly the Auber holds it to a "truer" 225 which is maybe quite a bit more. But man these weren't even close or need tweaking just a bit ... I mean nothing left at all.

Hmm.

Better yet the Browns lost after dominating the game today. Hopefully my luck changes.

 

[Paul Case Luca]

... And I used two dowels ... Is that too much?

I'm used to a stick burner and the 3-2-1 method...

Still trying to think what went wrong.

Next time I must check hourly...

 

[DivotMaker]

Steve, I've NEVER heard of a first smoke going like yours!  We'll figure this out, somehow.  On the wood, btw, 2 dowels is probably too much (unless really short).  I weighed a dowel, and found it was .64 oz per inch, so 3" would have been enough for ribs (2 oz).  On my #1, I dial to 225, and never have a problem.  I have never done just one rack of baby backs before, though.  But, the additional rack of spares should have helped.

Questions: 

What were the ribs like (full, meaty racks, fat trimmed, big/small, etc)?

What rack were they on?  How close to the element?

Any other details??  The more we know, the more we'll all figure this out!  Lots of people on here use the no peek method with success!  It may be because of the very consistent temp, so it may be a matter of cooking at a lower temp, or just not as long. 

Of course, I may be wrong...

 

[old sarge]

Polish Q,

Sorry to hear about your rough beginning. I have an older digital cookshack and one thing I have noticed is that the temperature is very steady. And on ribs, cooking times were quicker than expected. I have also ruined my share of food with too much wood (yielding too much smoke and a very thick coating of black bitter creosote). I have also over cooked a few times since the element powers down for only a few seconds (I can hear the clicking from the controller) during a smoke. I would guess that the steady state of the set temperature would require less time for smoking than with the stock controller which does cycle on and off but not as frequently, thereby introducing some lower temps as well as higher. 

I would try again with the stock controller, no PID, and use the same amount of wood, same moisture, and same style ribs. Replicate what you did up to and including the 5.5 hour smoke.  Trial, error and experiment and keep good notes.

These are good solid units.  My brother has the #3 and has not yet experienced any problems with food or function.

I wish you luck, and as Tony said, we will all figure this out.

Dave

 

[johnnytex]

I done that: 225 using the 3-2-1 method with my PID in a #3 and they came out great.

What shelf were they on?
did you use a internal drip pan?
Where was your temp probe?

 

[DivotMaker]

I done that: 225 using the 3-2-1 method with my PID in a #3 and they came out great.

What shelf were they on?
did you use a internal drip pan?
Where was your temp probe?

Hey Tex, have you done any with the "neckid" method with the PID?  Seems like the same principal would apply by either reducing the cooking temp, or reducing the time (depending on desired result - moist, less bark or moist with more bark).  What do you think?

 

[johnnytex]

Not familiar with that?

Where can I learn more?

 

[DivotMaker]

Not familiar with that?

Where can I learn more?

lol!  Sorry...trying to be funny...I guess not so funny. ???  I meant naked (the ribs, that is), as is no foil-wrapping (like the 3-2-1). 

 

[Paul Case Luca]

Ribs on middle shelf. Filled one whole rack. I guess these weren't the meatiest ribs either. Also seems I had twice the amount of wood needed. I need a device to weigh ounces. Temp probe was near second rack ... And I'm guessing that possibly near the bottom it was hotter yet.

No worries will try again and feel a combination of rookie mistakes for this device snake bit me


Next time. Less wood. More meat. Lower temp and put probe near meat.

Over and out.

 

[rickne]

I would go with less wood, but much of that is personal preference.  I have found that things can get a fair amount of smoke flavor with little wood.  I'm new to this electric world too, but not bbqing.  I have found that 2 hickory dowels is way too much for my taste.  Hickory is strong and the dowels seem very strong.  Personally, I've cut back the Hickory alot.  I've also mixed it with a piece of oak or apple.  I really like oak and apple together.  I've also found that using a single kingsford briquette with a piece of oak or apple gives it a flavor that I'm accustomed to.

Not sure why you ran so hot.  It may have something to do with WHERE your Auber temp probe was.  If it was above the meat and you had the middle rack pretty full of ribs, It may be that it was 300 degrees under the ribs and 200 degrees over the ribs.  In that case, the Auber may have kept the element on more. BUT unless you bypassed the internal controller, I would have thought it would have over ridden the Auber on the max temp. 

Let us know how the next cook goes.  The "No peek" method works well once you have confidence in your cooker and know how it performs.  Until then, a little peek now and then may not be a bad idea.

 

[Paul Case Luca]

What do you mean bypass?

I just plugged one into the other from a poer cord perspective...

 

[rickne]

What do you mean bypass?

I just plugged one into the other from a poer cord perspective...

Did you get your question answered in the other thread?  I have not done it but will be next weekend.