Smokin in the boyz room!!

[guaves13]

Well not in the boyz room but in the driveway. Hi...just wanted to introduce myself. You can call me guaves13 and I am a greenhorn smoker.

I borrowed an electric smoker for my family's first annual rib cookoff this weekend. My sister cheated and got hers from a friend who is a restaraunt owner in KC and is renouned for his great ribs. I want to crush her!!!

So far my plan is to use jeffs rub recipe on my last slab of baby back ribs from our 1/2 hog we get each year. I am planning to use the 3/2/1 technique I have been reading about. I will serve them Memphis style with Jeff's sauce on the side. I think the smoker is a Brinkman Gourmet bullet style. The cookoff is on Memorial day so I still have some time to experiment. I will start tonight with some butterfly chops smoked over maple chunks that have seasoned about 6 months. It sounds like I will try to reach 200-225 for at least an hour.

For small cuts like my baby backs and chops should I cook them on the top rack or the bottom rack? Also there isn't a vent on the top of the smoker. Should I crack the lid some so some of the smoke can escape?

I would like to buy my own smoker but I am not sure which kind I want. I probably won't spend more than $100. I have my eye on an offset Charbroil at Walmart. I like the sounds of the charcoal/wood models with a propane starter but I think they cost more than I want to spend.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Guaves13

 

[Dutch]

Guaves13, With baby back ribs, we use a modified 3-2-1 Method. Check out the different rib threads in the Pork Forum.

As to the lack of vents with the Brinkmann Electric-don't worry about it! They are so leaky around the lid and the door seal you'll wonder if any smoke is getting to the meat. I have the Charcoal Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker and for general smoking I just use the top rack. One word of caution though-don't rely on the thermomerter that is on the lid. It is very un-reliable! Get an oven themometer that you can place on the rack.

As for the type of smoker you should get? First off, do an internet search on smokers and see what is out there- charcoal, electric, gas (natural and propane) and wood. You may want to increase your budget at bit and check out your local Lowes and Home Depot. Then end of the summer season will soon be on us and they will want to get rid of their summer stock. You can get some great deals on smokers.

 

[meowey]

guaves13,

Make sure you take a look at the Smokey Mountain Series of smokers by Great Outdoors. I got mine at a Gander Mountain store for less than $150.

Have fun. I hope you do crush your sister's ribs.

Meowey

 

[up in smoke]

Donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t worry about the smoke…there is a sufficient gap where the lid sets, it will come out just like my avatar does (haha) Also it really doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t matter which rack you use on that smoker, they cook about the same. Donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t forget to put some apple juice or wine (or some other liquid in your pan) to keep that meat moist! Good luck, and be confident!

 

[smokemack]

Welcome to the forum. Be careful with that less than $100 Char-Broil at Wally. I looked at it as well when I was buying. I listened to Dutch and went one size up (to the Char-Broil Silver Smoker). The one at Walmart is the Silver Smokers baby sister (smaller). I got my Char-Broil SS at Home Depot for $150. Well worth it for me. Check out the differences between the two at Char-Broils web site before you buy. Have a great holiday weekend! Welcome!

 

[guaves13]

Thanks for all your help everyone! Well, I didn't crush my sisters ringer ribs but mine were a distant second. Jeff's rub recipe is awesome but it is a little spicy and I think that turned some people off. I love spicy and thought they were the best by far. Mine were the only ones that had a smoky flavor and didn't even need the sauce I made.

I was practicing with chops and chicken on the days leading up to the contest. I struggled keeping the temp down with my borrowed electric. It shot up from 225 to 280 in only a minute or two.

I was outside at 5:30 am in the rain on the morning of the contest. It was pretty cool outside and once I got the smoker up to 225 it pretty much stayed around there. I don't know if it was the air temp or what but it worked great! They were my best attempt so far so I have no problem coming in second.

As for my smoker I don't know if I want the electric, propane, or charcoal. If I got an electric it would have to have a temp control built in. The one I was using had nothing. No temp control and no therm. Bad combo. I used my wifes fancy pampered chef digital probe therm and that worked pretty well.

I know the electric is probably cheating but I did like it because I was able to slide it just inside my attatched garage to get out of the rain. I don't know if I would do that with propane or charcoal.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. I will report back soon once I get my new smoker.

Guaves

 

[up in smoke]

Guaves,
There are several bullet style electric smokers out there with variable controls, just take your time and do your homework.
As far as putting your smoker in the garage, please leave the door wide open because I think as long as you are burning wood to make smoke, albiet blocks or chips, you are still creating carbon monoxide,“mind you I could be wrong†(someone please feel free to correct me). Plus youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be amazed how that “smoke†smell will permeate/stink up your house (your bedroom will probably smell like smoked jerky!) for weeks…
Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m glad you liked your ribs! Did you use the 3-2-1-method?

Practice makes perfect! Enjoy!

 

[guaves13]

Yeah my wife is starting to bitch that the garage is smelling like a campfire. I was just barely under the overhang with the overhead door open. But the wind always seems to blow in. I even had the walk door open and a window open! At least I got smart and moved her car out this time!

I actually used the 2/2/1 method. I only had 1 baby back left so it cooked in about 4:45.

Thanks for your help!
Guaves

 

[buzzard]

i use the charbroil silver smoker, i agree with smokemack get the bigger one. its easy to out grow one, i have mine, matter of fact if you want to drive to TX i will give you mine. the only negitive thing i can tell you about it is it dont retain heat well. i seem to work the fire quite a bit to maintain temp. i have it worked out now pertty well, but it was getting on my nerves for a little while.

electic are nice and am strongly concidering one o add to my collection.

 

[guaves13]

Thanks for the reply. I just bought a Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain propane smoker this weekend. It is one of the vertical ones that looks like a safe. I paid about $150 for it. I cooked some ribs this weekend and everything seemed to work great except the ribs were tough. I used the 3/2/1 method just like last time cooked between 225 and 250. May have been the meat though. I bought them at my local grocery store and they didn't have spare ribs like I wanted. I bought some pork ribs they called "loin back". I don't know if that is another way to say "baby back" or what but I was not impressed. Next time I will go to a small town locker as I used the last of our hog.

Guaves

 

[bigwilly'swickedque]

I own a SS as well. It's too bad that the gauge of steel used is so thin. As the temps get a lot cooler now, I'm actually using an old sleeping bag (opened up cloth side down!) to cover the smoking chamber to aid in retaining heat. You don't want to use nylon or anything that will melt though!