Butts, Ribs, and a Chicken

[wmarkw]

Hey All. Just wanted to share some pics of my last few smokes. I did a 7# butt from Costco, a rack of spare ribs, and chicken roaster with in the last 3 weeks. I haven't had time to figure out the photbucket deal but I think I got it working. First off thanks to everyone here. I haven't posted much but have been a devoted silent reader for the last month. I have an electric ECB smoker (yes a newbie!) but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I started keeping a diary of sorts for each smoke to detail my adventures and i think that has helped me tremendously.

First the Butt. This was fun.

• Butts were rubbed and rested in fridge overnight
• Used a rub that I found on the net but your basic paprika, brown sugar and spices, etc.

• The brinkman is set to Smoke @ 250*
• Spritzed with Apple juice & rum 3-1 mixture every hour and reloaded hickory chips in tin foil every hour or so
• Total 13.5 hours of Smoke
• Foiled at 165* with a splash of my mixture above (about 9 hours)
• Placed back on smoker foiled up and brought Butt to a temp of 195*
• Did not have a cooler to place Butt in and rest so I placed it in the oven (off and still foiled) and put the damp towels around for 2 hours
• Pulled like honey. Amazing!
• Can't wait to do another
• Used the finishing sauce pinned on this page and it will be used from now on. Very good!!

There are a few things I could do better I think. Would have liked a better smoke ring. I was getting some of that blue smoke but I think I needed to refil my chips every 40 minutes versus and hour or more. The flavor was amazing and the finishing sauce was unreal. A fun Smoke for sure.

I tried my 2nd attempt at Spare Ribs. The first I did w/o using the 3-2-1 method and it wasn't the best, edible but not the way I wanted them to turn out. This time they were better but I know I can do better. Practice. This time I trimed the ribs to KC style of cut. I removed the skirt and the bones up top. Clavicle I think?



Some notes from my journal with my suggestions for next attempt:

Spare Ribs Attempt #2 Using 3-2-1 Method and trimmed meat to KC Style of Cut.

• Ribs rubbed overnight (usual rub; might do a few hours before next time)
• Placed ribs on top rack of smoker at 11am (no warm up; will warm up next time)
• Spritzed ribs with a combination of Apple Juice & whiskey. Took a good 40 minutes to see smoke??
• After 1 hr (12pm) smoker temp was at 215* and spritzed ribs
• After 2 hr (1pm) temp was at 225* and spritzed ribs
• After 3 hr (2pm) temp was at 225* Removed ribs and placed in a good wrap of tinfoil and also spritzed moderately.
• After 5 hr the temp was at 240* Took ribs off smoker and removed foil. Brushed a light coat of bbq sauce and placed back on smoker for 1 hr.
• Removed ribs from smoker at the 6 hr mark. Rib meat pulled away from bones about ¼ inch. Not as caramelized as I would have liked.
• Overall, the ribs were tender and flavorful, but no pink smoke ring. ½ rack bones pulled free of ribs while the other have was a little tough but still tender, but not fall off bone tender.

I think I had the blue smoke going as it smelled really good. Also might consider doing the “1†on the grill to help caramelize and crisp up the ribs more?

They were good, and my wife and I ate them up so I forgot to take a pic of the finished product! Woops. When it comes to ribs, cooking at higher altitudes like here in Denver, should I modify this 3-2-1 at all? Maybe 3.5-2.5-1?

Anyways thanks for reading this long and bloated post but I'm excited about this new hobby. I did a chicken that I will post about in the poultry section and I think that might have been my best smoke to date.




I do have one obstacle that gets in my way of smoking but she's a good side kick.



Thanks.

Mark

 

[fuzzynavel]

great looking Q! if your sidekick is anything like mine she is a most welcome obstacle. mine loves "bar-buh-q" keep up the good work! nothing like a great post to make me want a midnight snack

 

[hawgheaven]

Great looking Q there Mark! Your sidekick is absolutely a cutie; I'm sure she'll be a big help someday!

 

[crewdawg52]

Godd lookin Q there Mark. The future pitmaster is somethin else!

About the smoke ring on the butt......I've never used an electric, so this is just my .02 cts worth......have you thought of using chunk wood? And on the ribs, while the smokers' heating up, light a few chunks in a chimney so they're smokin, then wrap in the foil pouch. I've done this a couple of times when my smoke is a short one (salmon on the gas grill). When you put the meat on, you already have smoke.

 

[t-bone tim]

Very good looking grub there Mark...love the size of your pics drool slurp wipe

 

[jts70]

Mark great looking Q! Made me very hungry this morning!

 

[watery eyes]

Fine looking butt!!

I have a side-kick myself and she is a big fan of Poppa's smoked chicken.

Definitely makes all the hard work worth while to see her enjoying herself.

 

[bbq bubba]

Looks great Mark, i've got the same smoker, use wet chunks, set em right on the lava rocks, will last well over an hour, keeps you from lifting the body off to refill all the time

Probably will shorten up your cookin time also.

 

[kueh]

Excellent post...great pictures and great notes......

The 3-2-1 is merely a guideline or a starting point. This represents a triple cooking method. Smoke/bbq, braising./steaming, then grilling. Change the times to suit your tastes.

In the "2" stage, you could add more liquid or add the sauce then.

 

[ron50]

Looks great. I would recommend chunks for the longer duration smokes like a butt.

Great look Q and an adorable sidekick.

 

[hillbillysmoker]

Great smoked food and family. That is as good as life gets.

 

[deejaydebi]

Looks great Mark! I especially like the tiny Q-muncher ya got there! A real cutie!

 

[wmarkw]

Thanks for the input and advice everyone. Excited to smoke this weekend. My little one is the best, she'll be one next month! I can't believe it. This is a great, friendly fourm. Thanks!!