Hey Everyone,
I finally christened my smoker over Memorial Day weekend so I figured I'd share. Despite being nervous to test out my fire management skills on a VERY windy and hot day, I'd say it was an overall success! I was unable to source proper plate dino ribs, but found a 5.5 lb plate of beef chuck ribs that had a good amount of fat/marbling and they certainly did the trick. I kept things as simple as possible in true central Texas fashion.
I'm definitely looking forward to more cooks. One thing I would change is getting some kind of tool to cut my splits shorter, currently only have a log splitter for splitting logs vertically as thin as I can get them, any recommendations are much appreciated.
I'm also curious how everyone manages their ash throughout a cook. I have a grate at the bottom of my fire box, which helped a lot, but there was still quite a bit of ash at the end of this relatively short cook so I can't imagine how much there would be after a 16+ hour brisket smoke for example. Any insight is welcome and appreciated. Happy smoking!
I finally christened my smoker over Memorial Day weekend so I figured I'd share. Despite being nervous to test out my fire management skills on a VERY windy and hot day, I'd say it was an overall success! I was unable to source proper plate dino ribs, but found a 5.5 lb plate of beef chuck ribs that had a good amount of fat/marbling and they certainly did the trick. I kept things as simple as possible in true central Texas fashion.
- rub was 2 parts black pepper to 1 part kosher salt, no slather
- no water pans, spritzes, etc. just meat and a (mostly) clean fire, though the elements did pose an interesting yet fun challenge
- went relatively hot & fast, keeping temps in the 285-300 range, overall cook time was about 6.5 hours
- pulled when they probed like butter, internal temp in various parts of the rack ranging from 205-210
- let them rest down to about 160 and then popped them in the oven at its lowest setting for a few hours before slicing
I'm definitely looking forward to more cooks. One thing I would change is getting some kind of tool to cut my splits shorter, currently only have a log splitter for splitting logs vertically as thin as I can get them, any recommendations are much appreciated.I'm also curious how everyone manages their ash throughout a cook. I have a grate at the bottom of my fire box, which helped a lot, but there was still quite a bit of ash at the end of this relatively short cook so I can't imagine how much there would be after a 16+ hour brisket smoke for example. Any insight is welcome and appreciated. Happy smoking!
