Attempting 2nd smoke tomorrow; First one was a disaster!

[lth80]

I just bought the Brinkman smoke king deluxe last weekend and was very anxious to try out some ribs ,....like the title says it did not go well.  I had a really hard time getting the heat up in the vertical smoke chamber - I couldn't get it past 150 F.  At that point I was pretty disappointed in my purchase.  Later I tested the thermo in boiling water and I think it is about 18 deg F short ....but that still isn't hot enough.  I have a couple meat thermo's I'm going to use from now on, one to monitor the smoke chamber temp and one for the meat.

I'm trying again tomorrow and I built a charcoal box, bought some decent charcoal, found some better meat and I'm pumped to get smoking! 

I have a couple questions .....well first off I'm not sure if I should attempt the 2-2-1 method (2 hrs on grate, 2 hrs in foil w/ apple juice and 1 more hr on grate). 

Will they still turn out good if I just leave them on the grate the whole time and spray apple juice every hour?

Also is it good to flip the ribs around at all or should I just leave them in the same spot?

What temperature should I bring the meat up to (180 F?) and do I take them out as soon as they reach that temp?

Regarding my temperature problems....  will I be able to get more heat if I leave out the water pan or will that affect how the ribs cook also?  I'm thinking there would be less or no moisture in the chamber without it.

anyways, any advice would be great!

Cheers

Edit :  One more question! haha  How long do you put in the wood in there to smoke?  Is it for the whole session or only the first couple hrs ?  or some at the start and some at the end?  thx

 

[SmokinAl]

I have a couple questions .....well first off I'm not sure if I should attempt the 2-2-1 method (2 hrs on grate, 2 hrs in foil w/ apple juice and 1 more hr on grate). You didn't say if you have spares or bb's. If spares then 3-2-1, bb's 2-2-1. Yes I would use this method, it turns out very tender juicy ribs.

Will they still turn out good if I just leave them on the grate the whole time and spray apple juice every hour? Yes, but they will not be fall off the bone tender. Some people like their ribs a little chewy & don't foil. This is a personal preference, but I would do the foiling this time to see what you think. Next time try them unfoiled.

Also is it good to flip the ribs around at all or should I just leave them in the same spot? Normally you don't have to move them around, unless your smoker has some real hot spots in it and you notice part of the rack is getting done to quickly.

What temperature should I bring the meat up to (180 F?) and do I take them out as soon as they reach that temp? Ribs are the only meat we cook by time instead of temp. It's very hard to get an accurate temp reading in ribs. They are done when you can grab 2 bones & pull them apart easily. If you go by the 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 you should be fine.

Regarding my temperature problems....  will I be able to get more heat if I leave out the water pan or will that affect how the ribs cook also?  I'm thinking there would be less or no moisture in the chamber without it. I always leave the water pan in with water in it. It acts as a heat sink & does keep moisture in the chamber. I think your temp problems are either one of two things. Your fire is not big enough, or you don't have enough air flow. I'm not familiar with your smoker, but if it has bottom vents, open them all the way to get the fire hotter and always keep the top vent wide open. Hope this helps & let us know how the ribs turn out.

anyways, any advice would be great!

Cheers

Edit :  One more question! haha  How long do you put in the wood in there to smoke?  Is it for the whole session or only the first couple hrs ?  or some at the start and some at the end? The whole time, except when the ribs are in the foil.  thx

 

[lth80]

k thx for the help. 

I started my session and i'm still having problems getting the temp up.  IT's better now with the charcoal box and better quality charcoal  but I only got it up to 216F ....right now it's sitting around 205-210 with the intake and exhaust about 1/2 open. 

The thing is I've probably used AT LEAST 10lbs of charcoal.  I used the minion method at first, filling my box about half way (it's about 14x14x 6 high).  Within 10 minutes all that charcoal was ON FIRE!   ...that's why I closed the intake vent some lol

anyways, if i can keep the temp around 205 will the 2-2-1 method for back ribs still be enough time ?  I guess I'll have to judge it by  pulling it apart.*?*

 

[alelover]

Keep the exhaust wide open like Al said. Adjust using only the intake.

 

[werdwolf]

can't reply about your smoker, but if your having problems get the smoke on them and foil them in the oven.  you can always throw them back on the smoker to"firm them up".  I know oven is a 4 letter word, but we want to get you some good tasting ribs that are plenty tender. 

 

[best smoker man]

Keep at it. Try some other meats also. Anything with skin on it turns out awesome. When it's done, peel off the skin and enjoy. Pork roast is also a easy thing to smoke. Coat the top liberally with salt, most will "melt" off. Other things like potatoes, baked beans, corn, stuffed pepers, etc. Soak the corn in water with the husks still on for a few hours, then just toss them in. Ribs are extremely hard to perfect. Try using brine. That works very well. It is very hard to get ribs to come out "falling off the bone" tender. There are ways to "cheat", as in the apple juice method, etc. but I think, if they turn out well, it's not cheating, It's good food. Keep at it, you WILL get something that turns out great!