Oregon newbie

[natedog37]

Hey everybody! I'm new to the forums and fairly new to smoking. I've got a Chargriller smoker that I am putting the finishing touches on, with the mods from deejaysmokepit.net. Hopefully this should dial it in real nice! I'm getting in to smoking quite a bit lately and have found the smokingmeatforums totally awesome. I also have a little chief that I bust out from time to time, to smoke fish.  My main interests so far have been Brisket and Ribs, I also have a Turkey or two under my belt. I am really liking the variety here though. The sky is the limit I guess, just saying hi. Cheers!

Natedog37

 

[matts]

Welcome aboard Natedog.  You right, the sky is the limit.  Some of the things I see folks smokin really makes the mind wonder.  Have fun and glad  your here.

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome Nate to SMF. You'll like it here cause there are alot of really good folks that would just love to help you with anything to do with smoking. Now we like having new folks here to give a new prospective on some of the ways we do things around here. Now if you are really new then I would suggest that you sign up fir the 5-day E-course it free and it will give you the basics on smoking and a few recipes too. Here's a link to it:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/list/127

then you will have a method to your newly found madness and believe me it will be a madness. Then when you start smoking things you will have to learn how to post the pictures / Qview 

here. So here's a link to a tutorial on how to post your Qview so we can see what your doing.

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf

Now the next thing you have to do is run out and get something to smoke. Then just smoke it and if you have any questions just post  them here and we will answer all your questions that you might have. Oh yea there's no stupid questions we were all there in the beginning and we just really like to help others enjoy the fabulous smoked foods that we do. So again

 

Welcome to Your New Addiction

 

[richoso1]

Well hello there, and welcome to the SMF. Keep reading around, you'll find plenty of great advise and tips from friendly folks who like to share. It's all good my friend.

 

[eman]

Howdy natedog,

 ( for some reason that name sound familiar)

 Glad to have ya here at SMF. This is the place to learn about smoking and pretty much anything else to do w/ meat. we have a few pro butchers and a few chefs that are members . so sometimes we may go off on a tangent that may not have anything to do w/ smoking.

 (like gumbo)

 

[etcher1]

Welcome to the SMF forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.

 

[meateater]

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

[oregonsmoker]

Welcome to the forum my fellow Oregonian!  Where about in Oregon are you located?  I am down in the Medford area.  You came to the right place for great helpful people that share the same passion for smoking meats.  I have become very proficient in the art of smoking thanks to folks on here.  Keep us posted on some of you upcoming smokes!

 

[realtorterry]

Welcome to the smoke train friend

 

[natedog37]

Oregonsmoker, hey man! I'm up in the Clackamas area. I can't wait to start posting some of my smokes. Some of the smokes that i have in the works are; two pork shoulders for the 4th of July, and I am looking for a good recipe for baconLet me know if you've come across any. I've never tried bacon before so it should be cool. Cheers!

 

[chefrc]

I will try and help you out my friend

Ribs ( The right Way )
OK let's get started. Buy a nice large rack of ribs ,first thing you want to do is flip them over and there is a piece of see through skin covering the bones on the back. get a knife and some paper towels start peeling the skin up with the knife ,grab it with the paper towel and pull it all off.
Rinse them off. Now you probably don't make your own dry rub so here's a little trick that no one knows of. Go to Kroger's and buy a pack of Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili Mix Place all the packages in a bowl and mix together bingo !!! Instant Dry Rub. And it works so good they taste BBQ'ed. Rub the ribs good with mustard and shake on the dry rub ( Both Sides )
Get your smoker between 230- 250 degrees, Now we have a few different options here. Once you put the ribs on heat ,,bone side down never flip them over.
3-2-1 Method
3 hours in the smoker naked
2 hours in the smoker wrapped in foil
1 hour in the smoker naked
4-2 Method
4 hours in the smoker naked
2 hours in the oven in foil at 225 degrees
3-3 Method
3 hours in the oven naked 225
3 hours in the oven wrapped in foil 225 Any way you cook it , you want to have a inside temp of 170 degrees
Did you notice I never mentioned BBQ Sauce? Never put BBQ Sauce on the ribs until they are done. BBQ Sauce is meant to be heated and served on the side. BBQ Sauces contain sugar and will burn or catch on fire on the smoker.When you get them off and they are not falling apart,, You missed something. Anyway enjoy. This is my recipe and comes from years of MAKING EM RIGHT!!!

The right way to cook Beef Brisket
Brisket in general is a low profile piece of meat. However done the right way it cannot be beat. There are 2 cuts of brisket Flat and Point.Flat has less fat and is a little more tender. Point is a tougher piece , and has more fat but by far has the better taste of both.
Get a nice sized Brisket, wash and pat dry. Now if you have a point, cut and discard at least half the fat off.The reason we cut off the fat is ,to much fat will make the meat taste a little rancid after cooking. If you don't plan on making it in the Smoker set it in a pan ,cover with water and a tablespoon of liquid smoke and leave it in the fridge for 3-8 hrs. Either way, Take it out pat dry and rub with mustard Get your smoker ready and maintain temp at 230 - 250 degrees or the oven at 225-250.Place the brisket on a rack fat side up. Brisket is meant to be cooked Slow and Low. Otherwise you can re-sole your shoes with it.You want a solid cook time of at least 5 hrs. I can smoke it for 12 - 14 if I am in the mood to play that long. Make sure you have a inside temp of 170 degrees. Bring it in and let it rest for 10 -15 mins. Slice and enjoy. If a brisket is done correctly on a smoker,not so much cooked in the oven. When you slice it you will see what is called a smoke ring.It will look from the edge of the slice,, red to dark brown to light brown to the center. That is something to be proud of!!! You did an excellent smoking job. Got questions?? Let me know

 

[orygunnative]

Welcome fom salem natedog.

 

[walle]

Welcome aboard, Nate!  Great place with lots of good people and information.

Brisky huh... I need to do another on of those..SOON!

Good to have ya, looking foward to some of your smokes.

 

[natedog37]

Chefrc, Thanks for all of the tip! I do have a question though, what is the purpose of wrapping the ribs in foil? What is the difference between doing this and not doing this? Thanks. 

I will try and help you out my friend

Ribs ( The right Way )
OK let's get started. Buy a nice large rack of ribs ,first thing you want to do is flip them over and there is a piece of see through skin covering the bones on the back. get a knife and some paper towels start peeling the skin up with the knife ,grab it with the paper towel and pull it all off.
Rinse them off. Now you probably don't make your own dry rub so here's a little trick that no one knows of. Go to Kroger's and buy a pack of Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili Mix Place all the packages in a bowl and mix together bingo !!! Instant Dry Rub. And it works so good they taste BBQ'ed. Rub the ribs good with mustard and shake on the dry rub ( Both Sides )
Get your smoker between 230- 250 degrees, Now we have a few different options here. Once you put the ribs on heat ,,bone side down never flip them over.
3-2-1 Method
3 hours in the smoker naked
2 hours in the smoker wrapped in foil
1 hour in the smoker naked
4-2 Method
4 hours in the smoker naked
2 hours in the oven in foil at 225 degrees
3-3 Method
3 hours in the oven naked 225
3 hours in the oven wrapped in foil 225 Any way you cook it , you want to have a inside temp of 170 degrees
Did you notice I never mentioned BBQ Sauce? Never put BBQ Sauce on the ribs until they are done. BBQ Sauce is meant to be heated and served on the side. BBQ Sauces contain sugar and will burn or catch on fire on the smoker.When you get them off and they are not falling apart,, You missed something. Anyway enjoy. This is my recipe and comes from years of MAKING EM RIGHT!!!

The right way to cook Beef Brisket
Brisket in general is a low profile piece of meat. However done the right way it cannot be beat. There are 2 cuts of brisket Flat and Point.Flat has less fat and is a little more tender. Point is a tougher piece , and has more fat but by far has the better taste of both.
Get a nice sized Brisket, wash and pat dry. Now if you have a point, cut and discard at least half the fat off.The reason we cut off the fat is ,to much fat will make the meat taste a little rancid after cooking. If you don't plan on making it in the Smoker set it in a pan ,cover with water and a tablespoon of liquid smoke and leave it in the fridge for 3-8 hrs. Either way, Take it out pat dry and rub with mustard Get your smoker ready and maintain temp at 230 - 250 degrees or the oven at 225-250.Place the brisket on a rack fat side up. Brisket is meant to be cooked Slow and Low. Otherwise you can re-sole your shoes with it.You want a solid cook time of at least 5 hrs. I can smoke it for 12 - 14 if I am in the mood to play that long. Make sure you have a inside temp of 170 degrees. Bring it in and let it rest for 10 -15 mins. Slice and enjoy. If a brisket is done correctly on a smoker,not so much cooked in the oven. When you slice it you will see what is called a smoke ring.It will look from the edge of the slice,, red to dark brown to light brown to the center. That is something to be proud of!!! You did an excellent smoking job. Got questions?? Let me know

 

[chefrc]

Holds in the good moisture in close to the end and protects the meat from over cooking. You don't want them to turn out dry. Sometimes mine get done in 5 - 51/2 hours. I keep a eye on them. When I get 170 degrees I take them off to rest. Like most of us old fellas on here ( OK Pro Smokies ) I can smoke a Badger and it would be so good , you would use it's claws for toothpicks. The hard part ain't smoking him, the hard part is wrestling him down and talking him into it.I been doing them the same way for 33 years. And never had a complaint yet. Good luck in your venture my friend. The fella that taught me used to say " If you want a sucessful hunt, sometimes you gotta listen to the wind" 

 

[jirodriguez]

Chefrc, Thanks for all of the tip! I do have a question though, what is the purpose of wrapping the ribs in foil? What is the difference between doing this and not doing this? Thanks. 

 

Welcome to the forum Natedog! I'm just west of you over in between I-5 and Multnomah Village.

The rib method Chefrc descibed is based on what is commonly called 3-2-1 (for spare ribs) or 2-2-1 (for baby back ribs). The first number refers to the number of hours you put the ribs in the smoker without foil, second number is number of hours with them foiled, third number is number of hours with out foil (again).

The premise is during the first three'ish hours the ribs cook up and start to form a nice bark, then you foil them and put them back in the smoker to cook some more and become tender, then you pull off the foil and and put them back on the smoker to firm up the bark again because it has gotten soft during the foiled time.

Be aware that these times are subjective to your preference of texture and tenderness. Most people end up reducing the amount of time in the foil, or skipping it all together. Me personally I like a bit of bark on the outside so I generally cook ribs without any foil, but then about 1/2 before they are done I apply a thin layer of sauce let them cook for 1/2 an hour then foil them and toss them into a cooler to rest for 1 hr. The rest time in the cooler softens the bark just a tad so it isn't crunchy, and gives the juices time to redistribute throughout the meat. If you fill the empty space in the cooler with old towels you can keep meat on hold that way for several hours.

If you do decide to foil the ribs check them about 1/2 hr. before the foiling time and what you are looking for is to see about 1/4" of pull back from the end of the bone, meaning the meat has pulled back and exposed approx. 1/4" of the cut end of the bone. That is your signal to foil. If you want super tender ribs leave them in the foil the full amount of time with a couple of good squirts of apple juice (or whatever liquid is handy) - but be warned they may be so tender that they just fall off the bone... lol. For less tender but still good reduce the foil time by 30-60 minutes.

Once you figure out how you like your ribs they are fairly simple to do, but remember each piece of meat is different and occasionally you will get a rack that behaves differently. Good luck, and we look forward to the Q-View!

 

[chefrc]

JIRodriguez  Thanks, I couldn't have said it better.