My first disaster!

[tamster123]

Well,  I have officially had my first disaster yesterday.  I had invited alot of people over for a birthday party and to watch the Huskers play at night.  I was planning on having pulled pork at noon and then when that was done I was going to throw a few racks of ribs on for the evening crowd. 

Well it came noon and my pulled pork was only at 165 so I knew that wasn't going to get done anytime soon.  I had put it in the night before at 9:45pm and it wasn't quite thawed out in the center.  So, that is my fault and maybe that is why it took so long.  So, now with that not being done I didn't want to put the ribs in the smoker because that would just delay the shoulder that much longer. 

I ended up putting the ribs in a crockpot on high so they would be done at supper time.  I ended up going to the store and getting a bunch of hotdogs!  So everyone had hotdogs....I had made some cream cheese stuffed anahiem peppers wrapped in bacon.  Those were a hit.....so that made me feel good!

I have never been so embarrassed!  Everyone was gone by the time the shoulder reached 200.   It was so dry and it turned out horrible!  I am kinda realieved that nobody was here to try it!  I think the only thing that made it eatable was jeffs BBQ sauce!   I think my internal thermometer was not reading right or something.  Or was it because it wasn't thawed out all the way....I have never put in anything that wasn't completely thawed out.  I was rushing the process and I know that you cannot rush the smoking process!

I hope my next party goes a little smoother!

I just had to vent to you guys because I know you guys understand!  Thanks!

 

[s2k9k]

Sorry it didn't turn out right and yes we understand, it's happened to most of us!

Being still a little frozen in the middle would make it take a bit longer but shouldn't have anything to do with the dryness. Sounds like it was over cooked. How big was it? What kind of therm were you using? And have you checked it's accuracy? What temp were you cooking at? And do you know the accuracy of that? Sorry for all the questions but it will help everyone to try and figure out what went wrong so the next time it will be a hit! Here's a link to a method I have done a couple of times and the butts turned out Awesome, really juicy with great bark on them:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...t-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-method#post_830635

You could have thrown the ribs in the smoker, as long as the smoker temp stayed up it might have slowed things for a short bit but it should have kept chugging along.

 

[smokingmymeat]

Sorry for your loss. Did you wrap you're butt at 165* in foil. Also at that point you could have
moved the butt to the oven and got the ribs on the smoker.
Better luck next time.


Happy smoking,
Big AL. :grilling_smilie:

 

[tamster123]

The shoulder was about 9lbs.  I was using a MES smoker and had the built in therm in it.   Usually that therm works good.  I had it at 225 for about 10hours and it was only at 165 when the party started so I bumped it up to 240 so maybe it would get done faster.  But that wan't the case.  I have never checked the true reading on they built in therm.  I have another external therm that I have also put in the meat and they both read about the same. 

I have cooked lots of these and they have all turned out awesome except this one!  The only thing that was different with this one is that it was not thawed out all the way.

 

[jarjarchef]

Sorry to hear about the rough day.

I use an MES at work and the built in therm leaves a lot to be desired on accuracy. Based on my cooks and the way things go at home i would say mine at work is about 20 degrees off. I find to get even close i have to set it for 260. I have also noticed it has some very strange temp variances in the high/low thermostat. I would say if the budget would allow for it to get a Maverick Et-732 to get a better grasp on what the temps are doing.

 

[roller]

I hate to smoke under pressure...

 

[scarbelly]

Sorry to hear about the rough day.

I use an MES at work and the built in therm leaves a lot to be desired on accuracy. Based on my cooks and the way things go at home i would say mine at work is about 20 degrees off. I find to get even close i have to set it for 260. I have also noticed it has some very strange temp variances in the high/low thermostat. I would say if the budget would allow for it to get a Maverick Et-732 to get a better grasp on what the temps are doing.

I totally agree on he ET 732 

 

[s2k9k]

I totally agree on the ET 732 

I'm in on that one too! And Todd has them on sale right now with free shipping!

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAVET-732

 

[ronrude]

I will smoke them most of the way and then refrigerate. Then put it in a 200 degree roaster when I go to bed the night before. when I get up, i start breaking it up with it being easily ready by noon. By finishing in the roaster, it keeps a bunch more juice to keep it from drying out. It takes all the pressure off.

 

[kwats4]

This was from the help of DaveOmak. I had a big difference in mine also but I put 2 aluminum trays in, hefty brand, 1 on the bottom to cover the smoking chamber and rack on bottom left, this is where I put my AMNPS. The second one I cut a 2.5-3" hole in the middle of it and wedged it in the top about 1" from top of smoker so there is room for the smoke to make it out. My temps were less than 2* off from the inside temp, probe was in a potato, and the t-732 was on the second rack. curred my temp problems for about $2 maybe 3. check out my post on this pic and everything.

 

[cooknhogz]

You could of wrapped in aluminum foil with apple juice and some apple cider vinegar then cranked temp up to speed up the process. I have had very good success even with large 10 to 12 lb butts 2 hrs smoke, 3 hrs wrapped in foil to IT, then rest in a 5 day cooler for at least 2 hrs. They fall apart almost on there own. Usually cook this way when doing large amounts of meat for a event.