Hi all, tried my forst smoke on the weekend, I got the SS smokette, seasoned 4 hours using wood that came with it, 200 degrees with 4 ounces and the wood blacked but is whole.

Anyway this weekd loaded two racks babyback ribs, dried with some/light coating cookshack rub - 3 onces wood that came with the unit at 225 for 3.5 hours. I noticed an hour in the smoke coming throug the top, not super heavy but quite noticable, at 3.5 hours opened, pulled ribs abd put cookshack sauce on and wrapped alum foil cooked another 45 min and turned off unit.

Meat was tender with slight tug but the smoke was not good, wood burned and some ash, acidy anbd leathery crust that just killed all the flavour!! We could not eat them.

Waht do you all think?? I did have another question, the wood box is different at each end, which end goes to the back of the smoker, the flat side or the one that the wood tray is indented a couple of inches?? and why??

I'd like to have some success before dropping in an expensive piece of meat.... :-)

#1 I think you used too much wood. I never go over 2oz for SPARES let alone BBs. It's ALWAYS better to error to the side of too little smoke. So I say next time go with 1oz to 1.5oz of wood.

#2 no need for foil with the moist environment of a cookshack

#3 The large opening goes to the back. As far as why, I can only tell you......it just does.


On a side note: I usually do ribs at 235-240.

I will add that ribs are not the easiest things to do when it come to bbq.

You can't go by time alone and you sure can't go by temp. It's all about feel when it comes to ribs. They need to either bend and almost break while being held in the center or let a toothpick pass easily through the meat.

My 2 cents.

Cooks that are 225 and above will definitely have your wood smolder until it turns to ash.

The fantabulous and brilliant, SmokinOakie, suggested something for lower temp cooks, such as 180º or 200º. Take your wood chunks, and chip them into small pieces. I used a hammer and a screwdriver! These small chips smolder like crazy during your lower temperature cooks. I also have noticed that the wood begins to smoke at a much lower temperature, as chips, rather than chunks.

I can't tell you how this technique has improved my Shrimp cooks, and also fish. Shrimps have been cooked in our AmeriQue at 180º, and fish has been cooked at 200º. Tonight I experimented, and did an almost 1 pound Salmon steak for 90 minutes at 180º----simply ummmazing. 180º will be the only temp that I use for fish and seafood, from here on in!

Cheers,
Jeff

You should have seasoned the smoker at full throttle for more like 8 hours. Next, you should have continued seasoning with a large fatty hunk of pork (butt or shoulder) and another 4 ounces wood. Next, your ribs cooked at too low temp and too much wood.

Throw the cookbook that came with it away. Always rely on this forum for cooking times and temps, etc.

...uh, get new wood...like apple or cherry.

Don't put so much in, like Crony sez. Figure about a 'golf ball-sized' piece of wood to be 2 ounces. Until you know whether you LIKE the taste of smoked foods, stay under that amount of wood.

...and 'maybe' you don't like the rub you put on the ribs? Lotsa variables. Good luck with your next try.

Oh, and, I cook ribs hotter, too...235-250 for most of the cook.

Oh, and and, put the small amount of wood toward the front of the wood box, nearest to the 'loop' of the heating element.

Oh, and and and...just in case, do NOT soak the wood. Put it in there dry, yes, for sure.

Smoke is 100% subjective and you'll need to determine how it tastes to you. If 3 oz (did you weigh?) seems too much, go less.

Remember, the wood in the CS isn't for heat, it's for flavor only, so you can do down to 1 or 2 chunks or even chips...all with what tastes good for you.

There 1,000 different ways to do ribs, we'll get you there.

Cut back on wood and see how that goes.

Sounds like my first smoke with ribs. Tasted awful! Cut back on the wood and all is well.

Best to go light on everything and work your way up to what suits you & the family. Be patient and get to know your smoker.

FWIW...

quote:

Originally posted by Wheelz:
Best to go light on everything and work your way up to what suits you & the family.

LOL! I just reread my post and realized I forgot to even MENTION to work their way to where they are happy.

People who prefer just a hint of smoke can use pellets, which are very small. Just use a few and work your way up, as others have suggested, to a flavor that you like. I think it's easier than chopping small pieces of wood into smaller pieces.

For cooks under 4 hrs, I use chips. Buy em by the bag in many BBQ places. I stock apple, maple, JD Oak, cherry, and of course hickory. My favorite all round is cherry. IMHO of course....

Bob

Great idea Bob,

I've gotten used to chipping away at the Cookshack chunks, and it's become a type of ritual. But for my lower temp cooks, when I want chips, I guess it would be easiest to just go out and buy the chips. I'll head over to a place here in Los Angeles, called Barbecues Galore. I'm betting they have all sorts of chips. Maple and JD Oak sound good to me.
Cheers,
Jeff

Wow, thanks everyone - too many to answer directly but here's some fodder

I weighed the piece, one small chunk was 3 oz. I did receive Apple and oak today, I'll try a SMALL piece of oak and turn the box around

Texture wise they were great, little tug, soft meat not quite falling off the bone - it was just the taste and I would not say it was a smoked taste we didn't like just the strength of it - overpowering and acid like.

I was having good results although uneven on my gas "Q" but graduated up to a smokette

I'll try some ribs again soon, no spices, little apple wood (toward the front) at 200 and see how she goes....

This is going to be fun...

You need to check your thermostat by putting a therm probe down the smoke hole. Turn up all the way and after a 30 min warm up, record temps every 15 minutes. You should average 250*F. Now you know if you are actually cooking at 200*F when you set the dial there. You might also want to heed advice from some experienced Smokette cookers and cook those ribs at about 235*F.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Q-Man-North:
I'll try some ribs again soon, no spices, little apple wood (toward the front) at 200 and see how she goes....

Ribs won't care about the temp. I do them from 180 to 275 and get great results, but I think the "standard" is 225.

Why no rub?

Me, I prefer rub over sauce any day. Rub them before you foil, and sauce them AFTER you pull from the F#$@ (it's a 4 letter word to me)

There are lots of rubs out there for ribs. The CS is an fine place to start, but that where the fun is for me on ribs, finding a great rub.

SmokinOkie said

quote:

Me, I prefer rub over sauce any day. Rub them before you foil, and sauce them AFTER you pull from the F#$@ (it's a 4 letter word to me)

It appears that "rubin" isn't just for racing any more (quote from Days of Thunder - "Son, Rubin is Racing")

A little end of day humour

quote:

I did have another question, the wood box is different at each end, which end goes to the back of the smoker, the flat side or the one that the wood tray is indented a couple of inches?? and why??

The indented side goes to the back of the smoker so that the box will fit over the bracket that goes around the heating element

First rib smoke today on my 55. Used a scale to measure out 1.5 oz of hickory. Ample smoke for our taste. Maybe bump it up a little, but not much. The ribs were very good. Look forward to some experimentation with other wood. Next, brisket. Thanks for the forum!

Their are some great resources on brisket in your CS.

Smokin'Okie's 101's

http://www.cookshack.com/brisket-101

The Brisket forum,and the search for all types of brisket.