Not long ago in my intro post I shared some pictures of the RF smoker I built for an upcoming event by using the shared experience(s) from this forum. That event was Wednesday.
I never counted the number of racks, but the Baby Backs came in cases that varied from 12 - 15 racks each. I got 5 cases figuring I'd end up with 65 - 70.
The meal was at 6:15 so I started prepping (removing the membrane, trimming the fat that I didn't think would render, seasoning) at 8AM and had fires in by 11. The plan was to let the initial fire flare up and burn to a bed of coals by noon and then just feed wood and adjust intake air afterwards. The image is about half of what was there, laid out for seasoning. The pot is about 3 gal of sauce. The lady is my wife.
The smoker was loaded and lid closed by noon. (aka: Locked and Loaded)
Obviously due to the mass of meat, I had to double-stack. I threw a piece of firewood on the back of each grate to stand the first rack on it's edge and then leaned each next rack against the previous leaving a gap for the smoke to flow between. Other than the initial test run in my driveway with a rack about a week before, this would be my first cook... so I was concerned.
I also had to keep in mind how long the door would be open while I sauced at the last hour (If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'.) so I went the "no-wrap" method I also read about on this forum. I would have liked to rotate the ones on the top to the bottom just because of the temperature differential but this being a One Man Show I didn't take the time. I pulled each rack, gave it a dunk in the sauce pot, and brushed off the extra. Coverage and speed were my only concerns.
And you know I had to do some Shotgun Shells! (also a 1st run.) I had no idea where I was going to put them and even had them on the side of the grate behind the right-hand thermometer under the stack. Where there's a will...
I could live off those things! No joke.
5 lbs ground beef
2 lbs sausage
1 lb sharp chedder
Diced Green Chiles, Jalepenos, Seasoning (Salt, Paprika, Garlic, Onion)
did 61 shells.
I filled and wrapped them the day before and threw them in the fridge. No need to part boil and even the exposed edges of the pasta was soft.
Man! they were good... and a hit!
Sides were furnished by the rest of the group. Pot Luck Style!
Yes. Me under the arrow having a wonderful time slicing and serving.
Fortunately we had extra and were able to wrap and send some out with young drivers who were willing to deliver.
Again, I am exceedingly thankful this forum exists. You were instrumental in this success.
I never counted the number of racks, but the Baby Backs came in cases that varied from 12 - 15 racks each. I got 5 cases figuring I'd end up with 65 - 70.
The meal was at 6:15 so I started prepping (removing the membrane, trimming the fat that I didn't think would render, seasoning) at 8AM and had fires in by 11. The plan was to let the initial fire flare up and burn to a bed of coals by noon and then just feed wood and adjust intake air afterwards. The image is about half of what was there, laid out for seasoning. The pot is about 3 gal of sauce. The lady is my wife.
The smoker was loaded and lid closed by noon. (aka: Locked and Loaded)
Obviously due to the mass of meat, I had to double-stack. I threw a piece of firewood on the back of each grate to stand the first rack on it's edge and then leaned each next rack against the previous leaving a gap for the smoke to flow between. Other than the initial test run in my driveway with a rack about a week before, this would be my first cook... so I was concerned.
I also had to keep in mind how long the door would be open while I sauced at the last hour (If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'.) so I went the "no-wrap" method I also read about on this forum. I would have liked to rotate the ones on the top to the bottom just because of the temperature differential but this being a One Man Show I didn't take the time. I pulled each rack, gave it a dunk in the sauce pot, and brushed off the extra. Coverage and speed were my only concerns.
And you know I had to do some Shotgun Shells! (also a 1st run.) I had no idea where I was going to put them and even had them on the side of the grate behind the right-hand thermometer under the stack. Where there's a will...
I could live off those things! No joke.
5 lbs ground beef
2 lbs sausage
1 lb sharp chedder
Diced Green Chiles, Jalepenos, Seasoning (Salt, Paprika, Garlic, Onion)
did 61 shells.
I filled and wrapped them the day before and threw them in the fridge. No need to part boil and even the exposed edges of the pasta was soft.
Man! they were good... and a hit!
Sides were furnished by the rest of the group. Pot Luck Style!
Yes. Me under the arrow having a wonderful time slicing and serving.
Fortunately we had extra and were able to wrap and send some out with young drivers who were willing to deliver.
Again, I am exceedingly thankful this forum exists. You were instrumental in this success.
Looks like everybody had a great meal!
