What's in your smoker?

[forgop]

Originally Posted by OLS

For me, and whatever I am doing, it's right, lol, I think that temp is at the low end of HIGH, Duane.
I tend to smoke mine for two hours and cook alone for another hour. My temps never get over 220.
That is a mighty small matter of 10-15 degrees, and might not be the issue at all, but I never have
tough ribs and they are inherently juicy, almost ****ographically so. It might also be the cuts,
I bought some cheap ones at the Super Mercado and they were ALL tough. The rack was almost 3 feet long, lol.
Y'all get a lot of good pork up your way, so that's probably fine, too. I never foil ribs, and nowadays I slap on
sauce after the smoke for that last hour. It might be the cooker, maybe you need to use a much lower temp for
the same time. Your temp might be too concentrated in that small space, great for smoke, bad for heat.

I leave my ribs on a LOT longer than you do. The method I pulled off of the virtual weber bullet site was calling more for 4-5 hours of cooking time and that said for 2 lb slabs. I was cooking 3.25 - 3.5# slabs and they were on at 5.5 hours. Granted, I didn't turn them as they were in a rack and in my opinion, that's not overcooking them. The center is nice and juicy, but it just seems like the outermost/thickest part gets a little on the dry side.

As far as sauce goes, is 30 minutes prior to pulling them about the right time?

[nofeardiver]

i do sauce 30-45 minutes prior to pulling...i usually cook my ribs 4-5 hours as well...

[Chainsaw13]

All this talk of ribs has me salivating for some. God I can't wait to get home and fire up the grill/smoker.

[357]

Got a new charcoal grill so I was thinking about using my old kettly style grill for a smoker. Good tips here that I'm going to try:

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_...ill_setup.html

I'll get some pics when I actually give it a shot.

[Chainsaw13]

Herf and rib tasting at Mikes!

Hey, this was post 1k for me. Im somebody now.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by 357

Got a new charcoal grill so I was thinking about using my old kettly style grill for a smoker. Good tips here that I'm going to try:

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_...ill_setup.html

I'll get some pics when I actually give it a shot.

It'll work. I'm doing something similar but using firebricks rather than water pans. Fuel capacity is a bit less than ideal for long cooks (8+hr), but that's more a function of the way I cut the firebricks and how much room they take up than it is anything else.

[Chainsaw13]

Adam, where did you get your firebricks? I want some for my Bradley to help maintain a more consistent heat, plus some for my over to bake on.

[357]

I'm new to all this. Firebricks?

[Chainsaw13]

Firebricks are the type of brick used generally in lining a fireplace. They can withstand a lot of heat without cracking/exploding. They also make a great baking stone because of their thickness and thermal capacity.

[357]

So in this situation firebricks would be used to absorb heat in order to help regulate it (in place of the water pan) ?

[OLS]

Originally Posted by T.G

At the risk of embarrasment in comparason to what you've got going in your pit...

ooooh, baby this picture is the one that gets me HOAR-neee.
I always wondered if you chopped up the chicken skin and liberally dispersed it through the meat.

[ucla695]

^ ^ Great pic of how to set-up fire bricks in a kettle smoker too.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

Adam, where did you get your firebricks? I want some for my Bradley to help maintain a more consistent heat, plus some for my over to bake on.

I bought them at my local ACE hardware's rock, concrete and gravel yard. They only had the 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" x 9", but I suspect that is a local demand issue. There is also a 1-1/2" x 4-1/2" x 9" tile that is fairly common (just not here).

The 1-1/2" wouldn't have really worked well for me, since they would have been tipping over constantly, but laid flat or wedged upright they work fine (see the photos of Mark's old gas grill that was turned into a gas smoker).

There are other sizes, but you have to look around to find them.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by 357

So in this situation firebricks would be used to absorb heat in order to help regulate it (in place of the water pan) ?

Yes - although they work differently than the water. The water is more of just a heatsink to reduce temps a bit. The firebricks are more of a buffer to regulate changes.

I found that with the firebricks and the intake vents closed on the 22.5 OTG, (exhaust 100% open) I can maintain right around 220F cook chamber temp, so I had no need for the water, which really does nothing most of the time anyway (except make a mess when you need to move it to add coals or wood).

[T.G]

Originally Posted by OLS

ooooh, baby this picture is the one that gets me HOAR-neee.
I always wondered if you chopped up the chicken skin and liberally dispersed it through the meat.

Awh schucks, thanks. :blushing smiley:

I don't remember how I finished them or what I did with the skin. I do remember that I did look back and feel that had I overloaded the pit a bit. should have done a dozen, 15 was too much I felt.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by ucla695

^ ^ Great pic of how to set-up fire bricks in a kettle smoker too.

I think I have some better photos in this thread, let me see if I can find them...

--EDIT: These show it a bit better --





I used an angle grinder with a masonary disc to round the edges/corners to fit the curve of the kettle, it's by no means necessary, but since I had the tools and disc already, I did it. If you do something similar, make sure you wear goggles and a dust mask, firebrick is very soft and it flies everywhere when you cut or grind it.

[357]

That's awesome. Seems like a better solution than the water pan. Anything I specific I should look for if I wanted to pick some up (beside the right size to fit)? Are they easy to shape to fit that rounded bottom?

[LostAbbott]

Originally Posted by OLS

Well, there is something to be said for being early, especially on a holiday weekend. BUT it is not good for the food in this case.
I smoked some bacon this evening, and on the bad side, I needed this ready for a friend tomorrow, so I pulled it a day or even
two early from the salting container, and I even pulled it early off the smoker. I smoked my last batch for 6 hours+ and it was
phenomenal. This won't be terrible, but it is a little flabby in terms of shrinkage that you like to see. It was cured with only
kosher salt and brown sugar for 2 days. It looked great when I cut it, and smelled as good, but again, flabby. Couple that with
the fact that the way I get this belly meat for now is cut into these sections you see here. NOT a full belly, which will tend to
make it a bit salty, since there are so many sides in contact with the salt...I DO like how it makes up in the pan, though, the half
slices or even third-slice size, makes it very easy to cook well.

BLABLABLA, and I also cooked a dozen chicken legs that I needed to finish in the oven, as the bacon needs to cook just below
actual cooking temps to smoke and not cook. AND NOW, pics............

Nice looking Bacon, How much a pound are you paying for belly out there in TN? I have so far only found it for about $4.50 a pound and that is a little ridiculous to me...

[T.G]

Originally Posted by 357

That's awesome. Seems like a better solution than the water pan. Anything I specific I should look for if I wanted to pick some up (beside the right size to fit)? Are they easy to shape to fit that rounded bottom?

Nope - just the size. All you need is basic fire bricks, any decent masonry supply should have them.

Very easy to shape, the bricks are very soft. I did it by eye with a 4" angle grinder and a masonry disc because I had them, but you could do it just as easily with a metal grinding disc, a belt sander or a rasp. Just go slow, wear goggles and a mask, the compound turns to powder very quickly and flies everywhere.

Oh and I've since added a "seal" of crushed down foil between the edge of the foiled coal grate area and the side of the kettle to better control & regulate the air flow.

[OLS]

Mychal, I paid 2.49 lb for the pieces, but again, these butter dish sized pieces are 'basically' unacceptable to me,
even though this will make ten lbs total I have smoked and cured, lol. I have some on now, but when I went out to
check on it, the coals were still kicking too well, so I left em on for at least another 30 mins. Pics in about that time.