Hey Everyone,
I'm completely new to smoking. I bought an offset smoker, Brinkmann Trailmaster LE, just a few weeks ago. I have two cooks on it so far. My first attempt was at some baby back ribs that did not come out as planned. They weren't fall off the bone or pull off the bone tender at all. They were actually tough. I attribute this failure to lack of research on my part. I relied on the stock thermometer which is a big mistake. I also did not take into account that there would be a hot and cold zone in the cooking chamber.
For my second try at baby back ribs I equipped myself with the iGrill2 to monitor temperature at the grate level and a baffle plate to try and have a more even cooking surface. This time around the ribs were as tender as I wanted them to be.
I did have an issue with maintaining the desired heat temperature, 250 degrees, in the cooking chamber. I found myself constantly adding charcoal and wood chunks to keep the temperate steady maybe every 30 minutes or so. Is this normal? I burned through an 18 lb bag of Kingsford Charcoal for this cook. I found a lot of youtube videos where a fire is started with charcoal and maintained using wood. Is this a better way to go?
Where does a guy like me living near downtown Chicago get decent size wood logs? Local stores like Home Depot carry wood chips and small chunks but nothing close to the the logs I have seen used on some youtube videos. I have seen gas stations that sell wood logs for a fire pits but not sure if that is "safe" to use. Anyone have any links on what wood is used best for smoking? What might be safe and what may give the meat bad flavor.
I appreciate any feedback. As I stated at the beginning, I'm new to smoking.
-J
I'm completely new to smoking. I bought an offset smoker, Brinkmann Trailmaster LE, just a few weeks ago. I have two cooks on it so far. My first attempt was at some baby back ribs that did not come out as planned. They weren't fall off the bone or pull off the bone tender at all. They were actually tough. I attribute this failure to lack of research on my part. I relied on the stock thermometer which is a big mistake. I also did not take into account that there would be a hot and cold zone in the cooking chamber.
For my second try at baby back ribs I equipped myself with the iGrill2 to monitor temperature at the grate level and a baffle plate to try and have a more even cooking surface. This time around the ribs were as tender as I wanted them to be.
I did have an issue with maintaining the desired heat temperature, 250 degrees, in the cooking chamber. I found myself constantly adding charcoal and wood chunks to keep the temperate steady maybe every 30 minutes or so. Is this normal? I burned through an 18 lb bag of Kingsford Charcoal for this cook. I found a lot of youtube videos where a fire is started with charcoal and maintained using wood. Is this a better way to go?
Where does a guy like me living near downtown Chicago get decent size wood logs? Local stores like Home Depot carry wood chips and small chunks but nothing close to the the logs I have seen used on some youtube videos. I have seen gas stations that sell wood logs for a fire pits but not sure if that is "safe" to use. Anyone have any links on what wood is used best for smoking? What might be safe and what may give the meat bad flavor.
I appreciate any feedback. As I stated at the beginning, I'm new to smoking.
-J