On my first smoke, last Tuesday, I didn't foil the meat. I was so paranoid about maintaining a workable temperature I refused to open the smoker until the 5th hour.
Today I did my 2nd smoke, the 3-2-1 way. WOW, what a difference! Love at first bite!
I think the ABTs are done right here. First time making them. Read a thread about them and I knew I had to make 'em!
Didn't have the preferable thin type bacon, and used the giganto-thick type. They were great, but it was too much bacon (I can't believe I just typed those words). More accurately, the bacon sort of overpowered the delicious chipolte-adobo flavored cheese center. Jalapenos can be all over the place heat wise. These were hot enough to make me sweat. That's the way I like it!
Sorry these next pix aren't better. I was using a borrowed camera, etc.
Tried to get the smoke ring here, but the lighting is totally bogus. The last pictures below show the ring a little better.
As an experiment, during the last hour I applied some BBQ sauce on the end I was planning on serving tonight. That's the opposite, non-sauced, end in the foreground above.
I added more sauce before serving, but I think I'd skip adding it during the smoke and wait until after pulling them off next time.
Do you see that gnarly hunk of meat hanging off the end of that rack? It was like a quarter pound of meat hanging by some membrane. I could've trimmed it off to make the rack pretty, but I figured it would cook best connected to the rack. It shrivelled up like some delicious burnt end type thing. Yum!
Now, here is the key to my success: the smoker modifcation I concocted to overcome the defective lid to my smoker.
Those hunks of wood are just enough to seal the smoke chamber and then everything goes according to plan
The door was rolled crooked. There is a gap on the right edge that made temperature control impossible (for a rookie like me, anyway).
.
Today I did my 2nd smoke, the 3-2-1 way. WOW, what a difference! Love at first bite!
I think the ABTs are done right here. First time making them. Read a thread about them and I knew I had to make 'em!
Didn't have the preferable thin type bacon, and used the giganto-thick type. They were great, but it was too much bacon (I can't believe I just typed those words). More accurately, the bacon sort of overpowered the delicious chipolte-adobo flavored cheese center. Jalapenos can be all over the place heat wise. These were hot enough to make me sweat. That's the way I like it!
Sorry these next pix aren't better. I was using a borrowed camera, etc.
Tried to get the smoke ring here, but the lighting is totally bogus. The last pictures below show the ring a little better.
As an experiment, during the last hour I applied some BBQ sauce on the end I was planning on serving tonight. That's the opposite, non-sauced, end in the foreground above.
I added more sauce before serving, but I think I'd skip adding it during the smoke and wait until after pulling them off next time.
Do you see that gnarly hunk of meat hanging off the end of that rack? It was like a quarter pound of meat hanging by some membrane. I could've trimmed it off to make the rack pretty, but I figured it would cook best connected to the rack. It shrivelled up like some delicious burnt end type thing. Yum!
Now, here is the key to my success: the smoker modifcation I concocted to overcome the defective lid to my smoker.
Those hunks of wood are just enough to seal the smoke chamber and then everything goes according to plan
The door was rolled crooked. There is a gap on the right edge that made temperature control impossible (for a rookie like me, anyway).
.
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