Could I simply not have the knack for smoking?

[joe cossack]

Thank you everyone- I will be doing some beef ribs/short ribs this week. I’ll update

 

[LanceR]

Hey, Joe! Where do you live?

 

[joe cossack]

Long Island

 

[zwiller]

Glad to see some confirmations the MES is moist slower smoker in comparison to others, especially a stick burner. Butts take me 14-16hrs on the MES while guys get them done on a stick burner 10-12hrs at same temps (275F). To compensate, sticking wet meat in the MES is one of the last things you want to do. Be sure meat is dry (paper towels prior to rub) or do like me and form a pellicle.

I suggest you stick to one "style" or meat before trying others and ribs are a good first choice. You get better with repetition/practice. Load up when things are on sale. With some note taking (and posting here) you WILL get better. First order of business is an AMNPS. Pork butt was a life goal for me too but thanks to the guys here I nailed it. Follow Al's method for ribs. Temp over time and seared on a grill is the key.

 

[LanceR]

Ahh. Too far away to get together, Joe.

We used to spend our summers, and I mean every day of summer, at Wildwood State Park to escape NYC in the summer. I have a lot of good memories of surf casting Long Island Sound with my brothers as kids.

As others have said, forget the spritzing. I run my MES 40 at 225 for ribs and use a vertical rack (Weber, I think) and dry rub....no mustard or other stuff. The rub is a spinoff from Emeril Lagasse's Rustic Rub with a lot less salt and cayenne. If you want the recipe I can post it. I usually start with the vent wide open for an hour or so then close it about half way.

I don't foil ribs or do any of the other pogo stick and hula hoop stuff you might read about. Just 4-5 hours of straight heat and off to the table. After all, BBQ is pretty much aboriginal cooking. There's no need to complicate things. And if it's a charcoal burner or a stick burner I still don't foil. Or mess with sauces or glazes for ribs although I may serve sauce on the side for those few (misguided?) folks who feel the urge to use it.

I pull the membranes off but have done them with and without membranes side by side and folks have said they don't see any real difference. Personally, I just don't like to chew around the membrane and even though ribs are pretty thin I feel that the seasoning is more uniform without the membrane. The back edge of a dull table knife to get under a corner of the membrane and a bit of paper towel to grip the membrane are all you need to peel the rack in short order.

FWIW, if the meat pulls away from or falls off the bone when you bite into it it is overdone. It should be tender but with some chew and should leave a distinct bite mark when you take a bite.

And I would wait to clean the smoker until after eating. If you wrap the drip tray over the heat element and bottom drip pan in foil it will cut down on clean up time. Don't forget to poke through the foil at the lower drain hole.

After a while you'll get a better feel for what's going on. With ribs I might bump the heat up to 240 or down to as low as 190 based on my perception of how fast the ribs are cooking. Every day, every hunk of meat and every smoke is a bit different..... So, it is really worth your time to keep a journal and once you get close to where you want to be don't change more than one major thing at a time so you get a good feel for cause and effect relationships. After a while things will come naturally and you won't need to refer to your notes as much or at all but a journal can really cut down on how many times you re-learn the same lessons.


Lance

 

[joe cossack]

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement.