Labor Day Smoke (w/ Q-view)

[smokin' hawkeye]

Well, I have just begun to embark on my biggest smoking challenge yet. To date, all of my prior efforts in smoking have been limited to Boston Butts and a turkey last Thanksgiving. Well, this Labor Day, I decided I was going to cook for my family, my parents and my in-laws. The main entrees are six full racks of baby back ribs and a beef brisket. I just fired up the chimney a few minutes ago (815pm local time) and will be stoking the fire shortly. the plan is to be ready to eat at about 1 pm on Monday. I will post updates and pics as the come in. Here are the preliminary pics of the glorious meat after I rubbed them.

The ribs are rubbed 1/2 in a seasoning I bought the last time I was at the famous Gates BBQ in Kansas City. The other 1/2 are rubbed in the Kansas City Sweet and smokey rub from the Barbecue Bible. The brisket is rubbed in the Lonestar Steak rub from the same Barbecue Bible. I am smoking everything with Hickory wood.

I have my mop ready for the brisket, my therms ready to go, my alarm clock set to keep me from accidentally going into a deep sleep and I can't wait for the thin blue line to begin.

 

[bmudd14474]

Looks like you have a great menu in place there. Cant wait to see it all cooked up.

 

[beer-b-q]

Hawkeye those look good, if you like Gates sauce I bet you would love Zarda BBQ Sauce. have you ever tried it, it is another locally made sauce...

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Ok, so it is 1am and I have mopped and turned my brisket twice now. Temp is sitting at 139. Had to quickly throw one last piece of hickory to ensure adequate smoke for my smoke ring. I have a pan underneath the grate below the brisket that I am contemplating moving the brisket into once I have passed the plateau. Then I will wrap in foil once I hit 165 or so. Then on to 185 degrees before I pull it and wrap it in towels to place into the cooler. Baby Back ribs will go on around 530 am or so. Planning on the 3-2-1 method. Lunch is gonna be gooooood!!

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Last Spring we dined at the original Gates and loved it. We tried Jack Stacks downtown at Country Club Plaza. It was very good BBQ, but different than Gates. they both have their appeal, but I think I prefer Gates.

Any other suggestions for the next time we are in the KC?

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Ok, 2:30 and I am beginning to wonder if I had hit the plateau when I posted before. I have kept the internal grill temp at 225-240 degrees, but the therm in the brisket dropped 7 degrees and is sitting there. I just mopped and flipped again. I will check i n1/2 hour to see where the temp is.

 

[beer-b-q]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss]My FAVORITES[/font]

1. Arthur Bryant's - 1727 Brooklyn Ave Kansas City, MO 64127-2590 (816) 231-1123
2. Zarda, 11931 W 87th St. Lenexa, KS Phone:913.492.2330
3. Quicks 7th Street BBQ, 709 Cheyenne Ave Kansas City, KS 66105-2009 - (913) 371-1599
4. Rosedale Barbeque. 600 southwest Blvd Kansas City, KS 66103 913-262-0343

If you know when you are coming let me know ahead of time and I will give you my phone # in case you get lost...

There are many many more probably around 100 total in the area...

Some of the newer locations of the old ones like Bryant's are not as good as the originals above...

If you go to Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn be sure to Bring a BIG Appetite... The guy filling the orders usually just grabs a handfull of brisket or pulled pork and slaps it on the order and his hands are big enough to pick up a basketball with one hand...

My opinion of Jack Stack and Gates is that both are over Rated... I do like Gates Sauce though.

It always bugged me at Gates that when you walk through the door they start hollaring "HI, May I Help You" and you are still 50 foot away from the menu board. I guess they think you have telescopic vision...

 

[yodelhawk]

Man... it can be frustrating, can't it . Just keep in mind that it will all be worth it in the end.

 

[mballi3011]

It sure looks like a gret smoke so far. You definetly have bitten off quite a big chunk but it's looking like you have a handle on everything. Keep up the good work and don't stop the Q.

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Ok, so my night was not without it's challenges. I believe that I ended up with two plateaus; one at about 139 degrees, then another at 159 degrees. It was hard, but I held my ground and was patient and did not increase the heat or anything else drastic. I really only got a cumulative of, maybe, 2 hours of sleep between 230 am and 7 am. Been up licking my chops since then.

At 615 am I put on the Baby Back ribs. They rose in temp quite quickly and I foiled them after 3 hours. It will be time to unwrap the ribs and put them back on the grate in about 1/2 hour.

My brisket is sitting right at 178 degrees after 12 1/2 hours of grill time. I think it will hit 185 degrees right at the time we need to pull the ribs off. Timing seems to be on my side with this smoke. This will give us just about the right amount of "rest" time for the brisket while we drive the 4 miles to my in-law's home and get the rest of the meal ready.

This is setting up to be an excellent meal. I just hope the meat is up to par. More pics to come later.

 

[nate_46]

I'm glad everything is working out for you. That is a whole mess of ribs. Cant wait to see the finished pics. Do you have any pics of the meat on the smoker?

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Yeah, I have some, just haven't uploaded them yet. They will be soon.

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Here 'ya go. Ribs were wrapped, so you can't really see much there, but the brisket looks great!!!









Enjoy. I will have more pics when we are serving lunch so you can get your drool on.

 

[nate_46]

The brisket does look great. I'm watching.......

 

[smokin' hawkeye]

Here are the pictures of the final results. The brisket, in my opinion, was a bit over done. But the flavor was still very good. The ribs were outstanding. The meat was definitely "fall off the bone" and very tender. I am extremely sleepy and need to get to bed. All in all, it was a very good Labor Day smoke.











'Till next time!!