NOOB with desire for great ribs and alot of ?'s

[beltfedmgs]

As for the brine, never did it but i actually looked that up this morning and planned on doin it. Sounds good.

 

[dewetha]

temp is probably preference and nothing more with chicken. it isn't as full of fat or muscle like ribs or brisket. so other than smoke time(1 hr of smoke is plenty for my tastes) it all about getting it done without drying it out. some cook high some cook low. 

if i cook just chicken, i cook higher and get it done faster. if i'm cooking multiple things i go low. it all winds up tasty anyway. 

no need to over think it with BBQ. unlike a 500 deg grill where a min is a huge difference in cooking. slow cooking gives you plenty of time to work the food. just cook it until the food is done.

 

[beltfedmgs]

You say no need to over think it....This is soooo much like shooting long range 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile. When you pick up a gun you been shooting for ever and try shooting these distances, you do great.

Find out theres a website that offers info on how to shoot that far and how temp, humidity, wind and elev effect your bullet and where it hits,,,,things you never thught of, you start thinkin how the heck did i ever hit anything before?

Same here with smokin, did just fine till i found out there was a website with info on it and all these new ways to improve on what i have been doin.

Same with shootin, i want to make the best shot i can be it out of a M24 or M2HB as it is with smokin, want to do the best i can, be it with chicken or ribs.

Maybe i am puttin too much thought into this stuff

 

[dewetha]

The problem is there is a little more magic than science in cooking. The number of variables for perfection is mind boggling. I told you what I like after 20 or so rib trials. But other guys here do it slightly different and have excellent results as well. that is because we develop our product over time with different experiences. Quality of food, equipment variables, family and friends input.

I have a vertical cabinet water smoker. I made many mods to it. I have cooked on it and know how much food is loaded and at what temps and which rack I need to run. It’s more about experience than text book knowledge. So log each smoke. What you did, the temp of the smoker. Where you placed the food in the smokers. Even the pros do it.

I started with a log where I read temps inside,outside,IT every 30 mins. Now that I know more and have become better I don’t go that detailed because managing my pit is less of an effort with experience.

I still am constantly learning every smoke but it’s just a process here or there. For instance, with whole chicken. I am learning that when I hit the target IT, I should leave it in for a while. The chicken can hit a stall where it can sit at a temperature for 5 -10 min.  last time it hit it, I pulled the chicken out right away. Next time i will let it sit 5 min longer. To see if I can get the meat juicy tender and a little better texture.

Will I keep playing around and leave it for 6 min? 7 min? or go up in IT by a degree? Nope that is just too much work for a laid back cooking style. Low and slow gives you bigger blocks of time where as high temp cooking is 1 min between great and disaster. Low and slow is more like 15 to 30 min before disaster because the internal tempos don’t rise as quick. And that is key in deciding what temp to cook at. 275-300 gives you less margin of time error.

So pluck a chicken down on the grate and see what happens.

 

[alexhortdog95]

Hey - take a shot of your smoker, let's see what modifications you have done to it first.

 

[pops6927]

Or if you want to get really into it, add a tablespoon of Cure #1 to a gallon of any brine for 12 hrs soaking and try a CURED and smoked chicken or turkey with a ham-like flavor... wowwww.. a delicacy for sure!

 

[dewetha]

For the heck of it I picked up Myron Mixon book and it is full of pretty good info on smoking all kinds of stuff with simple proven methods and simple recipes. seem like if you don;t have a set way of doing something, this book is a decent guide.