The spares came out good she said, but she would try the baby backs. So, I did and they were over cooked. I can see now that I must now smoke poultry and ribs in this smoker at the same time because of higher temps. Planning my smokes is now a priority because of the limitations I have with the smokers I own. All of the ribs wouldn't fit on the Little Cajun Cookin' smoker so I put the baby backs on the Brinkmann with the bird and fattys. Perhaps changing the 3-2-1 method to account for time at that temp 300° plus would have helped, but I didn't do that. It may not work, thus the planning. I won't risk it again.
Normally, I would brown the meat for My Favorite Casserole. I'm doing the ground beef fatty in place of browning.
The recipe is as follows:
1 lb. Ground Beef (I use ground chuck)
1 - 8 oz. package of large elbow macaroni
8 ounces, or more, of shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
one cup - V-8 juice (sometimes I use a bit more, buy a 12 ounce can and drink what's left)
1 - medium onion diced
1 - green bell pepper (color doesn't matter)
1 - can of whole kernel sweet yellow corn (wished I had smoke a couple of ears, or so, for this just to try it)
1 or more cloves of garlic (again, I wished I had smoked it)
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Brown or smoke the ground beef and drain fat, set aside. In the same skillet brown onion and bell pepper (for this amount I usually use half of the bell pepper and onion) in some of the grease from the beef or add oil for browning, then close to the translucent stage add the garlic (or add it when want to). After that, in a large bowl mix the beef and the remaining ingredients together minus the cheddar cheese. Then layer the mixture and cheddar cheese in a loaf pan(s) or casserole dish(s), starting with the mixture. then layer of cheese, then layer of mixture,then cheese, eventually topped with cheddar. Bake in a 400° oven for 45 minutes to and hour covered with a lid or foil (watch the cheese of top, maybe tent it a bit). You should be able to smell it pretty good while it's cooking, before removing it. If it's under cooked it won't taste right. I cover mine with foil to keep it from drying out. Some kids love it. It's an excellent after school snack that can be heated in the microwave, one that you control what's in it. Hamburger Helper® is high in sodium and preservatives, etc. I usually double the recipe.
Tell the kids to watch out for hot cheese in the roof of their mouths. We usually reheat at 40% power for a couple of minutes instead of using the reheat button which is half power. I'll sometimes drop it on down to 30% and extend the time.
