first time and failed

[johno]

yep very first attempt and slow cooking in our old old weber kettle (which i have never used ) and failed big time . the ribs were about 2 inchs thick i just bought the side from the butcher and trimmed the skin off, i had the kettle sitting on around 250 to 22o on the therm in the lid , gave them 5 hours and took them out cos it was to late in the day to eat , and we heated them tonight for our evening meal and they were not good at all, not cooked all the way through , bit chewy , the rub was way to hot ( one i found on another forum while this one was ( i thought ) out of action the rub i think was called magic dust , the sauce was hot enough to start a bush fire , and i like hotish food . well i'm thinking can only get better from here. i am wondering how good it is to have the thermometer in the lid which would be the hottest spot inside the kettle , and i think i need to get another and place it on the shelf to see how they compare

 

[gypc]

Hey johno, don't be discouraged. My first rib smoke was a complete disaster. One lesson I've learned is start your smoke as early as possible. That way if there are any problems you'll have time to fix'm before dinner. Also, 5 hrs is half the time I usally smoke ribs. Usally I'll smoke anywhere from 9 to 12 hrs at 220 to 250, depending on the conditions. I have my thermometer in the lid. It seems to work best for me.

I remember my wife asking me "is this what smoked meat is like" and I remember telling her......"no, I just really sucked at it my first time". The more you smoke, you'll find exactly what works for ya and the family will think your cookin is the best.

Hang in there..........it's worth it all!!!

 

[tonto1117]

Hi Johno, sorry to hear that your ribs were less than fantastic, but like gypc said don't get discouraged, my first attempt was a disiaster of charred meat with creosote flavor that I could'nt even serve.

You mentioned that the thermo is in the lid, alot of the time the thermo that comes with your grill is way off, you should get a thermometer and put it at grate level so you really know what temp your cooking at. Did you try the 3-2-1 method? I have had good results with it, if you don't know what that is, look under the pork section for the info.

Remember the old saying if at first you don't succeed, try, try again

Johno> here is the link for the 3-2-1 method

http://www.wyntk.us/food/3-2-1-rib-method.shtml

 

[meowey]

Hang in there johno!

Do a search here in the pork forum for topics related to the 3-2-1 method for smoking ribs. Once I started using that method for ribs, my family and guests can't get enough. Please let us know how you make out. BTW we love food pron pics.


Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

edit: Looks like tonto beat me to the 3-2-1 suggestion

 

[2nd hand smoker]

Johno, Don't worry, If it's really cold out it can take forever to cook on these smokers. You really need a meat themometer, either the electronic or poke-in Dial kind. After 4 hours, check it every 30 min. If it's really windy too, then after 5 hours I'd wrap it in foil and go inside to the oven and finish there. After 5 hrs in smoke it'll have plenty of taste, Plus your kitchen will smell wunderful. As far as the rub goes, spend about 30 minutes on the web searching recipies and make a basic one yourself. look for one that that uses roughly equal parts Salt & Sugar ie. (light or Dark), another part or less of Paprika, some Garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and a little Cayanne pepper. Let your rub marinate on the meat for a couple of hours, or overnite if you can. You will find that with a good rub, you don't need any Sauce. Put some apple juice in a squirt bottle and Squirt em every 30 min. for the last 2 hours and go win some Awards.

 

[smokeeater]

Check out this

thread about the Maverick Digital Thermometers. I did my first smoke on Saturday, and I think I would have been completely lost without it! I have some adjustments to make the next time I smoke a brisket, but knowing the cooking temperature and the meat temperature at all times made me very relaxed and confident that I wasn't screwing up.

 

[up in smoke]

When ever I try a new rub or brine I give it a taste, if it sucks…it sucks. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d rather have to blink my eyes a couple times and spit something out than wait all day hungry and waste all my time, fuel and good meat!

 

[deejaydebi]

Johno

Can you scrape some of the rub off and just continue cooking? Like when you were a kid and your Mama use to scrape the burnt toast?

I never throw out food unless it's green wit a coat bigger than mine or something...

Maybe throw them in a pot of spaggetti sause that help cut the heat.

 

[naplesroo]

Hey Johno, my first attempt was not good either. Make sure your temp guage is reading right. I checked mine in boiling water and found it was reading 30 degrees to low! The 3-2-1 works great also. I tried it about a month ago and the meat was literally falling off the bone. Follow the tips from the folks in the know on this site and you will succeed soon

 

[johno]

i now know why my rub was so #%$@&^ hot , cos the recipe called for 1/4 cup of chilli powder and the only one i had was master foods chilli powder HOT so i thought ahh wont be much different so in went 1/4 cup of that . now i realise it is a lot different.also needed 1/4 cup of cinnamon which i never had but i did have a jar of cinnamon sugar ( as used on toast ) so in went that . must stock my spices up if i am going to do any good.
and i think i need to retire the old weber kettle , i think i will build first up a thing very much like the WSM looks to be no much to it .