First Cook

The ribs will be ok but if it were me I wouuld do something a little more fatty which seems to settle in the seasoning. A butt is usually ideal as a first smoke. Seeing as you already havve left-overs in the freezer I would go with a plump yardbird (chicken) or two, skin on.

Just my $0.02

I recommend the cheapest piece of pork you can find to season the pit.

You all are convincing me that I need to cook some pork. I'll find something fat and cheep and cook it a long time. Appriciate the replies.

Ribs would be okay, but butts would be better.

1. Ribs in a smokette take a little practice. Getting the timing down and figuring out how much smoke.

2. Butts are "almost" foolproof and give you good success on the first cook.

Start with Butts and build on that success and do ribs next.

Smokin'

SmokinOkie, what is the main difference in cooking ribs in this cooker and cooking them in a WSM or other charcoal cooker, i.e. the kind of cooker I'm familiar with. I understand I need to use very little wood; fortunately, that has been drilled into my brain. I'll use a probe thermometer between the bones to help determine when they are done. I'll plan on it taking between 4 and 5 hours for them to get done, and longer if it takes longer (I won't open the door to peek). I'll start with meat side up and turn them after about 3 hours. Can you think of anything else in particular I need to do to cook these puppies, ribs that is?

The biggest difference is the insulation which allows you way better control of temp. The next big difference is the moist cooking environment that goes along with that. The 2nd biggest thang folks have a problem with other than the small amount of wood is not opening the door.

I can do those things, i.e. not open the door, and not use too much wood. I have no idea what to expect in terms of quality comparison between the moist cooking environment of a Smokette and the dry environment of a WSM. Guess I will find out soon; hope the cooker comes by Wed or Thurs.

One thing you might miss on your ribs is "bark." If you like a good chewy bark on your ribs try spritzing them with a light coat of apple juice at about the three hour mark. Some do finish their ribs on a hot grill but I've found the apple juice to be just as good. Other than that, ribs come out moist & juicy. You'll need to play around a bit before you acheive perfection!

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by gc/tx:
[qb] SmokinOkie, what is the main difference in cooking ribs in this cooker and cooking them in a WSM or other charcoal cooker, i.e. the kind of cooker I'm familiar with. [/qb]

Great question.

I think you have the basic process down and it will go fine.

Don't know about the temp probe in ribs. I know people that say they have success with that, but I never use one for ribs.

Biggest single issue will be these are in a very humid environment. As such it will affect the bark and the ribs themselves. For the average cook, that's an advantage in getting great ribs. When I use a CS, I don't need to foil ribs.

Try ribs a couple of times following the methods of the forum.

Then if you need to adjust, do so.

Now, having cooked on them a few years, I can replicate "dry heat" ribs pretty well, but there's a catch. You HAVE to open the door and let moisture out. That's the easy part. The bad part is you'll let heat out and the cook will take longer. But you'll have a drier texture outside.

Oh, and try some lump in the firebox. Say one or two chunks. Helps with SR, for those that need one.

SmokinOkie, what does SR stand for? When you open the door to let out moisture, how many times during a rib-cook do you open it, and how long do you leave it open when you open it?

I could answer that,but then the thread would go on for days.

quote:

Originally posted by gc/tx:
[qb] SmokinOkie, what does SR stand for? When you open the door to let out moisture, how many times during a rib-cook do you open it, and how long do you leave it open when you open it? [/qb]

Well we don't talk about SR. (Smoke Ring). If you want more info, do a search and you'll see what Tom says.

As for opening the door I'm not gonna say, yet. Try it the normal method for the Cs and see what you think. Then we can discuss alternatives. Hard to know how the cooker works until you try it the normal method. You might actually prefer them that way.

Oh, gotcha. From what I've read, the absence of a smoke ring and bark is the primary objection to electric and gas smokers. I've seen pictures of butts and briskets cooked in a Smokette and they looked nice and brown, but I assume they didn't have the crusty bark of traditional barbecue. With a Smokette, I will get flavor from rub and also from wood smoke, much the save as when cooking traditional barbecue. Therefore, I assume the issue has more to do with texture (bark) than with flavor. Is that correct?

gc/tx

You will still get a bark with the CS, depends on what is in your rub - brown sugar, turbinado sugar in the rub will produce a bark. Too much sugar may result in too much bark or even a burned sugar appearance and taste. You will also get a nice bark on butts again with some sugar in the rubs.

The SR is an aesthetic sort of issue. Some folks absolutely want a SR for the appearance or because they think it indicates it has "really" been smoked. IMO, the SR adds nothing to flavor and that's what this is all about.

As for temp probe, I agree with Smokin, with ribs, don't bother, not enough meat between ribs to get a stable and reliable reading. Go by time, physical appearance, and rib bone pull/wiggle test.

But go back to earlier in this thread. Like Smokin suggests, best bet for a first smoke is a butt. It has a couple of advantages, first a butt will help improve the seasoning of your smoker and second a butt is one of the easiest, most forgiving pieces of meat to start with and will produce good results giving you that boost of confidence. Ribs are definitely trickier.

And whatever you do, read Smokin Okie's 101 guides for whatever you're doing and read or re-read the lessons for new users.

I hear you guys, a butt it will be. I plan to buy one tomorrow and have it in the frig available to cook as my first item. It will work well for seasoning the cooker and, as you said, a butt is very forgiving, unlike the tempermental briskets I often cook.

What you said about using brown sugar in the rub to help develop a bark is very interesting. I'll use some. I haven't had the luxury in the past to control the cooking temp with the turn of a knob. I've not used sugar for that reason, i.e. I didn't want to run the risk of it turning bark to concrete.

Every time one of you guys comment, it helps. Mucha Grachas.

If you aren't used to using sugar,you might wish to get a bag/box of turbinado sugar.

Most of your groceries,health food stores,wallyworld ,etc ,carry it.

It may be in a brown box,as Sugar in the Raw,or in bags.

It has a slightly different taste,doesn't clump,and will go up to about 270� without scorching.

You can add it in your rub,until the sweet balances the salt and heat.

I'm going to the store this morning, so will get some turbinado sugar. You mentined it just in time.

I posted the results of my first cook in the Open Forum under the topic: Question about Holding Pork Butt in Cooker. Thanks for all the help.