Virgin run with pics

[mdwaterfowler]

Alright well I fired up my new masterbuilt xl smoker on Sunday for the game and figured I post a little about the things that went well and the things I learned. 

First off I am a newbie to smoking any type of meat and this was my first attempt.

I did season my smoker and make some minor modifications prior.  I sealed the door leak issue with 3/8" nylon wood stove cord, I replaced the original chip pan with a 12" cast iron pan and added a larger water pan and two thermometers inside the unit to verify the temp. 

I decided to smoke two whole chickens and two racks of ribs.

The day before I made a brine consisting of one cup sugar, one cup salt, one gallon water and added some watcher sauce and a clementine peal.  I let the chicken soak in the brine over night.  I also prepared the ribs rubbed them with billbos rub and let them sit over night. 

The next day I fired up the smoker around 11:30AM filled the water pan with water and some apple juice and let it get up to temp.  I did my best to maintain a temp of about 220 degree.  about 4 1/2 hours later the chicken was showing a internal temp of 163 and the rib meat was easy to pull away from the bone.  I smoked both with a mixture about 30% hickory and 70% apple wood.

The chicken was awesome It was very moist, smokey and tender.  I had many left overs and today made myself a smoked chicken quesadilla for lunch which was great with sour cream and onion. 

I had some friends over for the game and one who does not eat red meat.  ( I know, I shouldn't have let her in the house, but she is the wife of a good friend so I didn't really have a choice).   Anyways she told me the chicken was some of the best shes ever had and really seemed to enjoy it.  All in all I was very happy about the chicken.  

The ribs were good, but didn't hold a flame to the chicken.  I think I may have over smoked them or left them in two long.  They were edible however the smoke flavor was over powering and they didn't seem as tender as they should of been.  

I did run smoke for about 3/4 of the cooking time which I think was just to much for the ribs.

Everything said in done I had a great time tinkering with it and look forward to trying some different rubs and cuts of meat. 

 

[big andy a]

Looks like a good start for your maiden voyage.

Did you do the 3-2-1 for spares or 2-2-1 for baby backs technique? These are suggested times but are a good guide and you should get tasty results. Look here for the basics of this method; http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/64974/3-2-1-2-2-1-2-1-1.

Curt.

 

[adiochiro3]

Nice first run!  

 

[SmokinAl]

Everything looks awesome, nice job!

 

[roller]

Looks just great...Very nice..I like that smoker wish they made them in Electric...I like how wide it is...I have trouble with my briskets being to large for mine.

 

[scarbelly]

What a great first run. Man the chicken looks awesome 

 

[sunman76]

 looks like a great run.. 

 

[graystratcat]

Definitely looks like a great first smoke, mdwaterfowler!  Hard to beat the combo of smoked chicken and ribs!

As for your ribs, IMVHO, they may have been a bit on the tough side because you didn't cook them long enough... not too long.  Pork needs to hit a temp and stay there for a while for the meat to break down and get tender.  You can pull ribs when they hit an appropriate IT, and they'll be safe to eat... but they can be tough.  If you let them go a bit longer the muscle begins to breakdown and become much more tender.  Similar to the difference of making pulled pork Q or slicing Q.  Pulled pork needs to smoke much longer to break down.

Back to the ribs, lot of folks like the 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 method for ribs, depending if they're spare ribs or baby backs....if my math is right, you only smoke those ribs for 4 1/2 hours (without foil).  I'm guessing from your picture those are spare ribs... which you can cook for at least 5 if not 6 hours at the temp you list above.  Again, this is all in my very humble opinion but next time you may want to smoke your ribs longer (without foiling) and see if they come out a bit more tender or try the 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 method.

One other thing I'll offer as humble advice, when I do chicken and ribs together, I like to put the ribs above the chicken.  That way the early juices from the chicken don't end up on my ribs.  I imagine the heat of the smoker ends up killing all the bacteria from the early chicken juice but I just don't like chicken drippings on my ribs....plus I think some of the pork fat dripping on the chicken helps the chicken brown and adds to the taste....Just my preference and thought I'd mention it.

Happy smokin' and keep on keepin' on!

-Salt

 

[chef jimmyj]

Salt's Info is Spot On!...4 1/2 hours for those Ribs will get them cooked but not really enough time to break down the connective tissue to make them tender. Nice job on the Birds!...JJ

 

[mdwaterfowler]

I just cooked them straight on the rack and was actually surfing this site some while they cooked and came across the 321 method.  I will be giving that method a try on my next run.

 

[mdwaterfowler]

GrayStratcat - yup, your dead on with all your observations.  After reading your post I think your correct about cooking the ribs they needed a few hours more.  As for the chicken dripping onto the ribs your dead on as well.  I noticed when taking them out that they had been dripping right onto the ribs.  I didn't really notice much of a taste to them because of it however I am sure it affected them.  The only reason I put the chicken above the ribs is because the temp. at the top of the smoker is less.  I guess I should of placed the ribs closer to the sides of the smoker making room for the chicken to drip down to the bottom pan.  Thanks for the insight I will put it to good use. 

 

[graystratcat]

Glad to help mdwaterfowler... that's what this site is all about.. we all try and help each other out to be the best smokers/cooks we can.  Collectively...there is a TON of knowledge here.. that's what's so cool about the forum.  We're all in this together!

Keep on smokin'!

-Salt

 

[johnnie walker]

Nice looking chicken and ribs.

 

[psycho-smoker]

For what it's worth, I tried the 3-2-1 method during my first attempt at ribs (babybacks) and they came out very tender BUT next time I will modify that by reducing the cooking time in foil to 1 or 1.5 hours, which has been suggested by others on this forum. I like tender but I prefer the more Kansas City style ribs that have more texture to them.

 

[pellet]

I had problems with my first 2 tries at ribs but did the 3-2-1 method and they turned out as good as any rib joint where I m comcerned. As for brisket, I did one 3 weeks aga and it turned out well and will let you know the verdict on the one in the smoker right now.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Did I see Chicken over the other meat

 Dude, you're chancing cross contamination there ; always Chicken on the bottom .Even when cleaned well

Take care and ...

 

[goose835]

That looks great! Those ribs are makin my mouth water. I wonder if a sheet of foil under the birds could have stopped the drip problem? or maybe a cookie sheet? I know you wouldnt want to stop the airflow. All in all I would say it was a success. Congrats!

 

[sprky]

Nice job. I too have make the chick over other meat mistake, so don't feel bad. 

 

[scarbelly]

One other thing I'll offer as humble advice, when I do chicken and ribs together, I like to put the ribs above the chicken.  That way the early juices from the chicken don't end up on my ribs.  I imagine the heat of the smoker ends up killing all the bacteria from the early chicken juice but I just don't like chicken drippings on my ribs....plus I think some of the pork fat dripping on the chicken helps the chicken brown and adds to the taste....Just my preference and thought I'd mention it.

Happy smokin' and keep on keepin' on!

-Salt

Man I missed it - good catch  this is really a possible danger