First smoke

[ron50]

Ok well here we go. I seasoned my spanking brand new Camp Chef's 24 propane smoker (thanks Debi!) and last night sprinkled some rub on a rack of baby backs. Threw some chunks of hickory and apple on the wood tray and some water in the pan, heated it to 225 and put the ribs in. The've been going for about 30 mins now and the temp is pretty much a constant 225, maybe sliding up to 235 as the wind blows by.
I smell a great hickkory scent but I don't see any smoke coming out of the smoker. Anything I should be doing different? I'm using big chunks, fist sized and they were soaked for several hours.

 

[wvsmokeman]

Looks good! I always get my smoker up to 225 degrees and wait for the smoke before I place the meat on the grates. How long is determined on how soaked the wood is....mine usually takes 30-45 minutes. I'm thinking about getting that same smoker my self. We'll be waiting for the results!

 

[hhersh]

Hey Ron....if you're smellin' hickory smoke its working. Have patience and hang in there............

 

[ron50]

Ok thanks, I was just impatient I'm seeing the smoke now, it's very faint and light, I tried to take a picture of it but I don't see it on the image. Thanks.

Time to get back to making those baked beans.

 

[deejaydebi]

Ron -

Looks good so far. When it's thin and blue it's hard to see unless you have a dark background. If your smelling it so are there ribs!

If you want to see more smoke crank it up to med-high for a few minutes with the door open and watch. Don't worry it'll come back up to temps in about a minute after you close the door. Just`want to make sure the wood doesn't catch fire.

 

[ron50]

The smoke is just about invisible I can;t really say it's thin or blue but it's certainly not black and billowy which I guess is good. I'm having a hard time maintaining 225. Even on low it creeps up to 245 and the fact that to get it lower I have to go past high to the warm setting doesn;t make much sense in layout design, lol.

Am I right in thinking that closing down the side dampers gives it less oxygen and therefore lowers the temp and opening the top damper wider lowers the temp?

Ron

 

[ron50]

Ok now I'm very psyched , the smoke is blue!

Sorry that I'm babbling like a little kid with his new toy.

 

[skinnerc06]

HA.. i felt the same way the other day when i smoked my first bird.. its fun as hell and everyone needs to know it haha

 

[tonto1117]

Sounds like you got her perfect Ron...Congrat's!!!!!!

 

[ron50]

Ok, its done. My first successful smoke! I have to say it was a lot of fun and paying attention here, listening and absorbing all your collective knowledge made you guys all responsible for the success. i wish I could share the food with you all but you'll have to settle for the Q view.

Thanks to Dutch for his great Wicked Beans recipe and to BubbaBBQ for the cole slaw recipe. Both were yummy and went well with the ribs, corn on the cob and cornbread.

Thanks again.

 

[billyq]

ROn, are those BBs or St. Louis spares? They look good. I bought the same smoker thanks to Debi. She had alot of good things to say about it. So, did the ribs get that good smokey flavor?

 

[ron50]

Billy:

Those are baby back ribs. They were very smoky, I used a mix of Hickory and Apple wood. Falling off the bone.

oh, I forgot to thank Debi again, I used the Kansas City #5 sauce from her book of sauces with a little extra ketchup and brown sugar. Very yumm.

I would recommend the smoker highly. A little tweaking getting jsut the right temp but otherwise it performed real well.

 

[hillbillysmoker]

Thanks for the Q View Ron. Look awesome. Drool control is now fully engaged.

 

[deejaydebi]

Wow Ron you did it man! Looks fantastic! WOOHOO! That Kansas city sauce is one of my favorites too. I love a tomatoe based sauce! I feel like my son just graduated again! WooHoo!

I leave my vents almost all the way open and my temps stay right on.

My guess is the reason you go from high to low is because the knob starts the fire and you always start on high first then tuen it down on gas stoves.

 

[beerivore]

wow....drool.......they look great. I haven't tried sauce yet on my ribs. I just have used Jeff's rub, with great results.

Good job on the smoke

 

[wvsmokeman]

Now thats some good lookin' grub! Congrats on the good smoke!