Beef Short Ribs

dcrosby007 · Aug 23, 2017

This was my first attempt at smoking beef short ribs & while they looked good they did not turn out exactly like I wanted... After looking back I realized what my main 2 issues were & that was the Amazen pellet smoker & not cooking them to 200 degrees... I trimmed the bulk of the fatty parts off & removed the silver lining then flavored them with salt & pepper... I let them sit until smoker reached 250 degrees then placed them bone down on the middle rack... While the smoker was heating & ribs were chilling in fridge I filled the Amazen pellet tray with a combo of Hickory & Cherry... I then used my flame thrower to light the pellets & once they were burning per instructions I retrieved the ribs & let them sit outside to help get more to room temperature... Once everything was ready I placed ribs on middle rack & pellet tray on bottom left of my MBS40... My intentions were to cook for 5-6 hrs no wrapping but start saucing with 1 hour left to cook... Short story now the pellet smoker would never stay lit so I was constantly battling that which left me constantly opening the door trying to relight it & after my 6hrs of smoking I only hit an internal temp of 158 degrees... Which for beef is no big deal but to break down the proteins so the ribs are not like rubber I failed... I will go search for tips to eliminate this pellet issue before I throw it in the trash & go back to using my chip tray & will be sure to never short cook again... I even tried baking them the next day & break them down but still no justice so my ribs ended up as fish food!!!

IMG_2019.jpg

dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Chips & Tray startup

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Just removed from package

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Trimmed fat & silver liner

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Coated with Salt & Pepper

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Last hour the BBQ sauce glaze begins

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Another rib shot of BBQ glaze

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

This is after 5hrs of cooking right before I began the BBQ glaze

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

1 more BBQ glaze pic

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dcrosby007
Aug 23, 2017

Final product

griz400 · Aug 23, 2017

look nice from my house ...

Rings Я Us · Aug 23, 2017

Dam that's to bad. Well, could always finish in the oven I guess. Put a bit of water in the pan covered in foil. They would steam finish. Then remove foil

Bearcarver · Aug 23, 2017

Dcrosby007 said:
This was my first attempt at smoking beef short ribs & while they looked good they did not turn out exactly like I wanted... After looking back I realized what my main 2 issues were & that was the Amazen pellet smoker & not cooking them to 200 degrees... I trimmed the bulk of the fatty parts off & removed the silver lining then flavored them with salt & pepper... I let them sit until smoker reached 250 degrees then placed them bone down on the middle rack... While the smoker was heating & ribs were chilling in fridge I filled the Amazen pellet tray with a combo of Hickory & Cherry... I then used my flame thrower to light the pellets & once they were burning per instructions I retrieved the ribs & let them sit outside to help get more to room temperature... Once everything was ready I placed ribs on middle rack & pellet tray on bottom left of my MBS40... My intentions were to cook for 5-6 hrs no wrapping but start saucing with 1 hour left to cook... Short story now the pellet smoker would never stay lit so I was constantly battling that which left me constantly opening the door trying to relight it & after my 6hrs of smoking I only hit an internal temp of 158 degrees... Which for beef is no big deal but to break down the proteins so the ribs are not like rubber I failed... I will go search for tips to eliminate this pellet issue before I throw it in the trash & go back to using my chip tray & will be sure to never short cook again... I even tried baking them the next day & break them down but still no justice so my ribs ended up as fish food!!!

IMG_2019.jpg

dcrosby007

Aug 23, 2017

For starters, the AMNPS in this pic is not filled high enough.

There are many other things you need to know to get an AMNPS to keep burning. Once you know them, it's usually easy.

The main thing is lighting it properly. After that it's about 75% Good Air Flow.

Here's a good Thread for lighting an AMNPS:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140859/how-i-light-my-amnps-w-video-link

Bear

griz400 · Aug 23, 2017

Rings R Us said:
Dam that's to bad. Well, could always finish in the oven I guess. Put a bit of water in the pan covered in foil. They would steam finish. Then remove foil

guess I didnt read it all, I agree with you, after 158, could have finished in oven, they sure looked real nice ... lol..

SmokinAl · Aug 24, 2017

Those are some great looking ribs!

Nicely done!

Point!

Al

dcrosby007 · Aug 24, 2017

griz400 said:
look nice from my house ...

Yeah they looked good from mine too but luckily you couldn't taste them... Hahaha!!!

dcrosby007 · Aug 24, 2017

Thanks for the tips Bear... I actually have watched that video dozens of times before & I can get the cherry & smoke going it just dies after placing in my MES40... I normally fill the tray up but the prior 3 attempts sucked too so I thought maybe if I only fill it up less than maybe it will help so that is why it looks like that... I think I read where you mentioned pulling the chip try dumper out 1/4 so I tried that too... Bottom line is I can get it too smoke but after putting it in the MES it last 15-20 minutes then burns out so I am all ears on figuring this thing out...

dcrosby007 · Aug 24, 2017

Thanks ya'll they did look great I agree just like the plastic fruit in furniture store displays... I tried to save them in the oven but that failed too... If you ate one with your eyes closed you would have thought those are some pretty tasty rubber bands... Hahaaa!!!

Bearcarver · Aug 24, 2017

Dcrosby007 said:
Thanks for the tips Bear... I actually have watched that video dozens of times before & I can get the cherry & smoke going it just dies after placing in my MES40... I normally fill the tray up but the prior 3 attempts sucked too so I thought maybe if I only fill it up less than maybe it will help so that is why it looks like that... I think I read where you mentioned pulling the chip try dumper out 1/4 so I tried that too... Bottom line is I can get it too smoke but after putting it in the MES it last 15-20 minutes then burns out so I am all ears on figuring this thing out...

Sounds like your biggest problem is air flow, but----

Just a quick check-list:

Top vent open 100%.

Don't put water in water pan, but keep water pan in place.

If it's a Gen #2.5, put AMNPS on bottom rack on right end, above chip dumper hole, and pull dumper out 2" to 3" & rotate 180°.

Be sure Pellets are Dry---Store in Airtight container.

Protect AMNPS from drippings from above.

Fill Tray to 1/4" to 3/8" from top of walls.

Don't use Cherry (pellets) by itself, or more than 50%. If you're having a problem keeping it going, it's best not to use any Cherry until you get it figured out.

That's good for a start.

Bear

dcrosby007 · Aug 24, 2017

Bearcarver said:
Sounds like your biggest problem is air flow, but----

Just a quick check-list:

Top vent open 100%.

Don't put water in water pan, but keep water pan in place.

If it's a Gen #2.5, put AMNPS on bottom rack on right end, above chip dumper hole, and pull dumper out 2" to 3" & rotate 180°.

Be sure Pellets are Dry---Store in Airtight container.

Protect AMNPS from drippings from above.

Fill Tray to 1/4" to 3/8" from top of walls.

Don't use Cherry (pellets) by itself, or more than 50%. If you're having a problem keeping it going, it's best not to use any Cherry until you get it figured out.

That's good for a start.

Bear

Hahaa sorry I should have not been trying to work & fix my smoking errors because I left a lot out in that last post that you covered here... So what I should have mentioned is:

I leave top vent wide open when smoker is turned on

Pan is covered with foil & lava rocks are still inside to help retain heat

I think I have the MES40 2nd gen (it has the Bluetooth front display) /Had so many now I have lost track (LOL)

I was using Hickory & Cherry probably a 50/50 split

I had the dumper pulled out a few times not sure on proper rotation though

Store pellets in a storage room which stays fairly dry but that moisture thing could be part of my problem still

So going forward I will:

Get airtight container for pellets

Put AMNPS on bottom right rack & protect from dripping

Fill pellets to the top

But I have a question on the 180 degree & should that be where the cavity is facing up or down when I pull tray out 2-3" & by pulling chip dumper out will it affect the heating element & cooking?

Bearcarver · Aug 24, 2017

Dcrosby007 said:
But I have a question on the 180 degree & should that be where the cavity is facing up or down when I pull tray out 2-3" & by pulling chip dumper out will it affect the heating element & cooking?

180° rotated from normal would be cavity pointing down. Should help with air flow.

Won't affect heating element or cooking.

If it ever gets smoking too much, push dumper back in.

Also, like I said, "You might want to avoid Cherry pellets completely until you get the AMNPS smoking nailed down. I can't even get Cherry to smoke---I believe due to their oil content.

BTW: If yours is Bluetooth, it should be a Gen #2.5, like mine.

Bear

dcrosby007 · Aug 24, 2017

Bearcarver said:
180° rotated from normal would be cavity pointing down. Should help with air flow.

Won't affect heating element or cooking.

If it ever gets smoking too much, push dumper back in.

Also, like I said, "You might want to avoid Cherry pellets completely until you get the AMNPS smoking nailed down. I can't even get Cherry to smoke---I believe due to their oil content.

BTW: If yours is Bluetooth, it should be a Gen #2.5, like mine.

Bear

Thanks a bunch I will take the advice & use it wisely!!!

whistech · Aug 24, 2017

You will save yourself a lot of aggravation by switching to the Amazen tube for smoking with pellets in your smoker. The expandable tube is really nice. I haven't been able to get the Amnps to burn pellets in my Masterbuilt but it will burn sawdust. The tube burns pellets flawlessly.

Bearcarver · Aug 24, 2017

whistech said:
You will save yourself a lot of aggravation by switching to the Amazen tube for smoking with pellets in your smoker. The expandable tube is really nice. I haven't been able to get the Amnps to burn pellets in my Masterbuilt but it will burn sawdust. The tube burns pellets flawlessly.

Yup---That is another option for those who can't get the AMNPS working no matter what they do (Last resort).

Those who have trouble with the AMNPS, no matter what they do can usually have good success with a Tube Smoker.

However those of us who don't have trouble with the AMNPS will usually get too much smoke from the Tube Smoker, no matter how they fill it (Halfway, third---Doesn't matter).

Bear

crazymoon · Aug 24, 2017

Dc007, Nice job on your short ribs, they look delicious!

dcrosby007 · Aug 30, 2017

CrazyMoon said:
Dc007, Nice job on your short ribs, they look delicious!

Thanks a bunch just wish they tasted as good as they looked... Hahaa!!!

dcrosby007 · Aug 30, 2017

whistech said:
You will save yourself a lot of aggravation by switching to the Amazen tube for smoking with pellets in your smoker. The expandable tube is really nice. I haven't been able to get the Amnps to burn pellets in my Masterbuilt but it will burn sawdust. The tube burns pellets flawlessly.

I almost bought a tube in the beginning but opted for the tray... Kinda wish I would have but I am going to try these techniques Bear mentioned 1 more time & if this doesn't work I may be buying the new Bradley smoker...

Bearcarver · Aug 30, 2017

Dcrosby007 said:
I almost bought a tube in the beginning but opted for the tray... Kinda wish I would have but I am going to try these techniques Bear mentioned 1 more time & if this doesn't work I may be buying the new Bradley smoker...

I would definitely get a Tube to go with your AMNPS Tray, before I would get a Bradley.

Bradley cost a fortune in Pucks every 20 minutes.

If you can't get the Tray to burn pellets for you, like Whistech said, Tube for Hot Smoking Pellets, and Tray (with Dust) for Cold & Warm Smoking. Best of two worlds.

Bear

dcrosby007 · Sep 5, 2017

Bearcarver said:
Sounds like your biggest problem is air flow, but----

Just a quick check-list:

Top vent open 100%.

Don't put water in water pan, but keep water pan in place.

If it's a Gen #2.5, put AMNPS on bottom rack on right end, above chip dumper hole, and pull dumper out 2" to 3" & rotate 180°.

Be sure Pellets are Dry---Store in Airtight container.

Protect AMNPS from drippings from above.

Fill Tray to 1/4" to 3/8" from top of walls.

Don't use Cherry (pellets) by itself, or more than 50%. If you're having a problem keeping it going, it's best not to use any Cherry until you get it figured out.

That's good for a start.

Bear

Well I followed your directions & I was able to get the pellets to burn & actually work correctly... Thanks so much for that!!! But now in doing so I ran into another issue with cooking temps... I have cooked baby backs religiously but yesterday I started a smoke base on the 2-2-1 method @ 225 degrees & never hit over 135-145 degrees on meat probes after 10hrs on the smoker... After I removed them from the foil I put them in aluminum pans to prevent the sauce from making a mess which i always have done that too just wanted to mention that since it's part of the cooking equation... I first thought my element was bad but I ran the temp up to 250 & it climbed correctly then I raised it to 275 & it followed & by 9:30PM I could see the heating element glowing red so I felt confident the element was working properly... The only thing I can think of was they were frozen ribs but had thawed in fridge for 2-3 days & felt thawed when I marinated them... So I am puzzled as to what happen but thinking by leaving the dumper pulled out 2-3"'s & cooking at 225 did that affect my cooking or is it possible they were still frozen in the bone??? Last question is I pulled the meat around 10PM because it was bedtime so I took them from the smoker & still showing 140 ish degrees & placed the aluminum pans in the fridge... Will it be safe to heat these up to correct temp in the oven or should I toss them???

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