Received new AQ a few weeks ago and this weekend was the first free time to break it in. I have been researching CS smokers for several years and finally decided on the AQ after much thought. These forums have been a tremendous help and the users comments actually convinced me that the CS design was my best bet.
After reading some of the horror stories of badly delivered units, I must say that although the box looked like it had been delivered around the globe twice, the AQ was in flawless condition. I did immediately note that this AQ now has two door latches instead of the one latch that is shown on the website pictures. Casters were easy to mount and all machine work and welds were cosmetically perfect.
For the break in, I put in three blocks of hickory for 5 hours at 200. Wood was placed in the center, not covering the holes and I had ash and a small amount of charcoal left.
Prepared the ribs by removing the membrane (always), rinsed in water and dried. Moistened with worcestshire sauce and dusted with Bill Cannon's TexasBBQrub. Put in fridge overnight. I have used this combination many times with ribs and butts on woodburners.
Setup today for smoking 6 slabs (2 cryo packages)of babybacks from Sam's. Foiled the smoker as recommended, set at 230 for 5 hours, 2 pieces of hickory. Loaded the top three racks with 2 slabs each. Closed the door and kept it closed. Came back at 6:30 this evening and ...PERFECT FALL OFF THE BONE RIBS !
Items noticed during this process.
1/ At one hour of cook time, temp had only risen to 142. Took 1 hour 32 minutes to reach 230. I was worried at first but saw a good result. I assume that you guys figure the warm up cycle into your recipes that are posted and rarely see folks pre-warm their smokers.
2/ Although I had the temp set to 230, I observed the sensor go as high as 259 during a cycle late in the smoke.
3/ As I mentioned above, I have used Bill Cannon's TexasBBQrub with great success in the past. I usually spray apple juice on the meat several times during a smoke on the woodsmokers. I DID NOT spray apple juice on this CS smoke as I kept the door closed the entire time. I now assume that spraying may have washed some of the rub off of the meat since my ribs today were spicy HOT. I will use less rub the next time to tame it down a notch. (this was from the kids input). Does the CS Rib Rub have a lot of heat ?
I have taken my wood burning smokers to our hunt camp where I have lots of time to babysit a smoker. The AQ was made for my regular life. Set it and forget it. Comment that I have lerned the most from on the forum..."KEEP THE DOOR CLOSED".
Thanks for all of the helpful posts !
Thanks for all the help from the forum participants.
Original Post
