Can't believe I didn't join earlier.....new member smoking today

nathan179

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Apr 27, 2014

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #1

I have a Charbroil horizontal offset smoker (I know cheap unit but it's got about 500 hours on it and still going strong)

Today I'm taking my first shot at brisket, I have a 4 lb flat that's been rubbed and stored overnight.  Also doing 2 racks of BB's with my standard sweet recipe and will be trying out the Johnny Trigg squeezy butter wrap method for the first time as well.  I've read a number of great pieces of advice here already and looking forward to learning more for the future.  Lets see how these come out!

 

nathan179

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Apr 27, 2014

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #2

Brisket start 11 am

20140427_110130.jpg

• nathan179
• Apr 27, 2014

 

nathan179

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #3

Rub:  Paprika, salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, white sugar and chili powder, dash of cayenne (my family doesn't like spicy)

Wood:  Cowboy chunk charcoal with apple and hickory wood chunks

Temp:  275 for who knows on the brisket, typical 3-2-1 on the ribs (they're nice and thick).

Spray:  Apple juice/apple cider vinegar mix hourly

 

mdboatbum

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #4

Sounds good!! Careful with your temps, 275˚ is at the upper end of the safe range for white sugar in a rub. It can "over caramelize" and make it look like a meteorite landed in your smoker.

 

nathan179

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Apr 27, 2014

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #5

20140427_132541.jpg

• nathan179
• Apr 27, 2014

Ribs on at 1 pm

Thanks for that advice thats good to know!

 

Rafter H BBQ

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #6

Lookin good ! Thumbs Up

 

nathan179

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Apr 27, 2014

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #7

Ribs are out of the wrap and have some great color, I didn't take a pic but the brisket is getting nice and dark as well.  Had to take one rack out because the guys at my house who were replacing my gutters finished early and had to take off so I told them to cook it tightly wrapped in the oven or grill for 30 minutes at 300 to finish them off.  Shame, hope they turn out ok. 

 

nathan179

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #8

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• nathan179
• Apr 27, 2014

About to come off. Little dark on top of the ribs but thats ok. Probably the sugar as mentioned before that I need to watch for next time. Brisket is getting tender but not quite there yet. Maybe another hour or two will do it.

 

nathan179

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Apr 27, 2014

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #9

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• nathan179
• Apr 27, 2014

Nice ring.

 

palladini

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #10

In that first Picture, I see you have rib rack, why not use it for your ribs?

And Like I have said on other posts, if it works for you, why fix it.

 

nathan179

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #11

I typically use it for more than two racks but today I was only doing two.

 

Rafter H BBQ

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• Apr 27, 2014

• #12

Ribs look good, great smoke !

 

nathan179

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• Apr 28, 2014

• #13

The ribs came out fantastic, my family loves the sweet recipe without too much spice, so the sweet on the pallet at first with a tiny bite at the end with the cayenne in the rub was perfect.  I've got it pretty dialed in with this smoker and recipe at this point, at least for what my family likes.  My gutter install guys all texted me later last night with varying degrees of "holy @*$(@ these are freaking amazing ribs"  so I'm satisfied with the results. 

The brisket needed more time, the flavor on the outside was absolutely fantastic, but it wasn't tender all the way through.  Another 1-2 hours probably would have done the job, but that's why I did it, to get the experience! 

I definitely need to get some felt gasket and some silicone to seal up some gaps I have, I think a ladder got dropped on my smoker over the winter or something and I'm leaking smoke out of the lid.  And because of you guys, now I know what to do, so thanks again!

 

nathan179

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• Apr 28, 2014

• #14

Palladini said:

 
In that first Picture, I see you have rib rack, why not use it for your ribs?

And Like I have said on other posts, if it works for you, why fix it.

Click to expand...

One thing I noticed with using a rib rack if I go bones up, I get more pull back of the meat in the initial 3 hour smoke than I do with them flat, is that just gravity at work?  I never really understood that but from an appearance perspective, it's a good thing.  People eating with their eyes first want to see the bone fingers exposed.