Smoking Advice

[unkoricky]

Dear non Canadians,

I bought an offset smoker and this will be my first time ever smoking some meat. Probably gonna wake up early in the morning around 6 to try and get some meat done by the Cowboys game at Noon.

i'll probably do some ribs and chicken(quarters/beer can)..

Soo all the advice, tips , recipes, youtube links, etc etc. will help.



Love, Ricky

[bcoop]

Keep the ribs wet with a spray. Apple juice, whiskey, bourbon, etc. Make sure to peel the silverskin on the ribs. On the chicken quarters, peel the skin back and season underneath. Then rub a little butter on and put the skin back. My best results have been with injections for the chicken. Possibilities are endless.

[unkoricky]

Keep the ribs wet with a spray. Apple juice, whiskey, bourbon, etc. Make sure to peel the silverskin on the ribs. On the chicken quarters, peel the skin back and season underneath. Then rub a little butter on and put the skin back. My best results have been with injections for the chicken. Possibilities are endless.

what kind of wood do you like using? where can i get some for a good value?

i'm gonna hit up the stores after my football game today.

[Jose]

what kind of wood do you like using? where can i get some for a good value?

i'm gonna hit up the stores after my football game today.

Experiment with some differents ones. Hickory, pecan, apple, cherry, etc. can all give different tastes to the meat. Walmart usually has chips of different woods. Lowes and Home Depot usually have bigger pieces in Hickory and Mesquite.

[bcoop]

A little late, wasn't on much over the weekend. I use a mixture of pecan/mesquite, or pecan/hickory. My smokes go for a long time, and using only mesquite or only hickory would ruin the meat, because it's such a strong flavor. So that's why I use a lighter wood like pecan, and it's probably a 60/40 ratio of pecan to mesquite.


I get all my wood at some place in Irving. Can't remember the name of it though. It's on the NW corner of Beltline and Rock Island. I think I pay $12 for a 30lb bag of logs. They also have cherry, apple, etc, but that shit is pricey as hell.

[Rreemo]

The best thing I learned by trial and error....put the ribs on rib racks for the first 2-hours, then pull them off and paint them in the sauce (I make my own)...then wrap them in foil and put back on for the remaining ~2-hours....when you pull them off keep them wrapped in the foil and let them sit for at least 30-min before serving.

This method doesn't make them too smokey and also makes them extremely tender...falling off the bone tender.

[turbos66coupe]

Smoking meat is a slow process. Never get the smoker above 230 deg. Generally smoke meat past its "done" temperature. I like to go to 185-190 on most meats.
For ribs I use the 3-2-1 method . 3 hours on smoker with your choice of dry rub. Pull em off and very loosely wrap in foil make small tee-pee at the top and pour a little apple juice over the ribs. This allows them to sort of steam in the apple juice put back on for 2 hours. Then remove foil and place back on smoker for remaining hour. I don't mop them with sauce until the last 15-30 min.
I also like pecan/mesquite wood. To muc mesquite, hickory or fruit woods like apple and cherry can ruin meats (makes them bitter)

[mikeb]

Smoking meat is a slow process. Never get the smoker above 230 deg. Generally smoke meat past its "done" temperature. I like to go to 185-190 on most meats.
For ribs I use the 3-2-1 method . 3 hours on smoker with your choice of dry rub. Pull em off and very loosely wrap in foil make small tee-pee at the top and pour a little apple juice over the ribs. This allows them to sort of steam in the apple juice put back on for 2 hours. Then remove foil and place back on smoker for remaining hour. I don't mop them with sauce until the last 15-30 min.
I also like pecan/mesquite wood. To muc mesquite, hickory or fruit woods like apple and cherry can ruin meats (makes them bitter)

This is basically what i do, and it makes perfect ribs every time. I use kingsford hickory charcoal mixed with some apple wood chunks and it comes out nice. For the last hour baste with your mopping sauce mixed with your dry rub - it adds a nice taste. Cook until the ribs fall apart when you take them off the smoker.

[unkoricky]

This is basically what i do, and it makes perfect ribs every time. I use kingsford hickory charcoal mixed with some apple wood chunks and it comes out nice. For the last hour baste with your mopping sauce mixed with your dry rub - it adds a nice taste. Cook until the ribs fall apart when you take them off the smoker.

I used the same charcoal and some wood last sunday, i had trouble getting the smoker to get above 200 degrees for a while. Do you use dump the whole regular size bag in there at first? I used half a bag at first and it didnt give much heat.

[bcoop]

"fall off the bone" ribs are actually slightly overcooked. Just FYI.

I, too, take my briskets and butts to 195 or so. But with a rib, done is done IMO. 170-175 degrees internal tops. I also don't like the whole wrapping with foil thing. I'll do it with brisket and pork butt, for most of the smoke. But they start, and end, unwrapped. When you start wrapping with foil, it softens the bark, and I'm not a fan of soggy bark. Also, ribs are a fairly quick smoke in comparison to bigger cuts of meat. In my experience, I've never run in to the "too much smoke" problem on a rack of ribs.

[bcoop]

I used the same charcoal and some wood last sunday, i had trouble getting the smoker to get above 200 degrees for a while. Do you use dump the whole regular size bag in there at first? I used half a bag at first and it didnt give much heat.

Did you adjust your flue at all? I use a charcoal chimney to start my fire, then throw a log on it. The coals from the first log becomes the base heat for the next log, etc, etc. I don't use a whole bag to start, either. I'll fill up the chimney charcoal starter, and that's all the coal it ever sees. I used to add coals throughout the smoke, but now I just use long handled tongs to move around the wood coals and regulate heat with that and the flue.