Lots of irons in the fire today!

[damon555]

I have a thread going in the gadgets section for the maiden voyage of my BBQ Guru NanoQ temp controller. In addition to that thread I'll give you guys and gals some info on what I'm smoking.

It's an all pork day today. 3 racks of ribs from Sams Club and an 8 # pork butt from Food Lion.

The pork butt was brined over night with a simple brine ratio of 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of sea salt and 1/4 cup of granulated garlic. The rub used for all the meat is something that I found online that is just fantastic. It's actually a BBQ sauce mix and seasoning that I bought from the Great American Spice Co.

Here are the ribs and butt ready to hit the smoke....

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

Nothing will get foiled until it's done and ready to sit in the cooler for a while to rest. The WSM has really spoiled me on the flavor and tenderness of just about anything that I put on there. Once it's on there is no need to touch it until it's time to start checking it to see if it's done.

Here are all the pieces ready to get the fire going. I don't use water in the pan....just play sand with a sheet of heavy duty foil on top to keep it from getting nasty.

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

Here is what my charcoal ring looks like when first I get the fire going. Simply put 1/3 of a chimney of lit coals in the middle. There are wood chunks mixed throughout the main load of charcoal. I'm using apple today....

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

Here we are all loaded up and ready to go. Like I said....there we be no peeking for the next 5 hours....then the ribs should be getting close.

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

I love the fact that I can load so much on just 1 rack of the WSM. I rarely use the bottom rack but have the extra space if I need it.

That's not all....Not only am I testing the BBQ Guru and smoking a bunch of meat for the freezer today I'm going to start a batch of sauerkraut too. Busy, busy today!

 

[austinl]

Question about the charcoal here.  I also use charcoal and a mixture of smaller pieces of wood in my smoker (although I have a side firebox so adding more fuel is extremely easy and as such, has never been a hassle).  I have never used this "minion" method because I didn't care for the odor of charcoal as it was heating up in the chimney and I always figured I would get a constant supply of this using the minion method.  Have you ever noticed this during your cooks?

 

[damon555]

To tell you the truth Austin I have never tried it any other way. Except for the initial white smoke when I first start the main batch of charcoal the only smoke that comes from the vent is that nice thin blue smoke that we strive for. It doesn't seem to create the off odor like when the chimney is getting going and 1 load of charcoal lasts a very long time.....I can't remember the last time that I had to add any charcoal while I was smoking.

 

[austinl]

That is very interesting; I wonder why it would be different in the chimney and in a smoker.  I guess the only way to see for myself is to try it out.  Like yourself I haven't tried it the other way either because it was so easy to add preheated charcoal once an hour or so because of the design of my smoker.  Maybe someone else will chime in here.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Austin,

I use the same smoker (on occasion) as Damon and I use basically the same charcoal method.  I have noticed what you called an odor of charcoal, which can relate to taste as well.

Mainly it's a bit of a chemical odor/taste within the food that can be amplified even further if you use lighter fluid to start your coals, like Mixon does.  A lot of people swear by Kingsford Blue, but I am not a fan because of that charcoal odor/taste.  Maybe my taste buds are just a little to sensitive to this flavor but when I use the KFB I taste it.

I started using either Royal Oak (RO) lump or Mr. Stubbs charcoal briquettes.  The RO for rib smokes (6 hours or less) and Stubbs for long smokes like butts or briskets.  I'm sure there are other charcoals out there that don't impart that "flavor" but I don't know them all.

I'm not bashing Kingsford...I just don't care for the chemical flavor from their adhesive additives.  Like I said, some people don't even notice.

Good Luck and Good Smokin'

Bill

 

[damon555]

5 hours in and the butt is up to 150 degrees and 1 rack of ribs is done....the other 2 will probably take at least another hour. They are a little thicker......

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

It almost fell apart when I was taking it out of the rib rack. It is oh so tasty!

Time to go back to my sauerkraut making....

 

[pgsmoker64]

Beautiful....

  need a drool bucket...

Are you gonna show a shot with them ribs cut up?

 

[damon555]

6.5 hours in and the butt is sitting @ 162 degrees...Right on schedule. I took the other 2 racks of ribs off too....barely got these bad boys out of the rib rack just like the other one. So one rack took 5 hours and the others 6.5 hours....about average.

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

I'll try to catch the wife before the other rack disappears to grab a pic....these 2 are getting frozen to give to my family and friends.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Okay...more drooling!!!!!  Show us some cut ribs!

I've had all I can stand and I can't stands no more!  Show me that smoke ring!!!!!

Bill

 

[damon555]

I've never really tried to get a smoke ring...heck I don't even pull the membrane off until after they are done....it's a lot less trouble that way.

Here's a couple of shots that don't do anything justice......

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

This is the first time I even cut my ribs...I normally just tear off chunks and serve them that way. They may not look like much but trust me...they are delicious!

The wife threw a couple of sides together and we had at it....I'm more proud of the home made sauerkraut than anything else on this plate....Man I love that stuff!

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• damon555
• Feb 9, 2013

The butt is still plugging away...I'll check that again in a few hours.

 

[smoking b]

That looks like some good eatin there! Nice job 

 

[damon555]

11.5 hours and the butt is finished. Just about 1.5 hours per pound. It is now resting comfortably in the cooler and will be pulled in a few hours.

This is the first time that I used garlic in the brine too...I can't wait to test it out!