New 008

first, sorry to hear about that trimming accident... for what it's worth, stay away from mandolin slicers (but that's another story)

On the smoke, yes, you don't need much wood for lots of smoke taste. 2 or 3 golf-ball size chunks of wood at the start will do it... no need for more during the cook. You may want to add some sauce after the first three hours, for the last one or two, however.

Let us know how it goes!

Mark H - 2 or 3 oz. should be plenty. It is better to undersmoke than oversmoke. If it is not smoked enough you will just have use more wood and to try again and again and again until you get the right amount. Even the mistakes are good eating

Good Luck

I will also agree to taking it easy on the amount of wood. I tend not to like too much hickory. It has a robust flavor and if over smoked, I find it bitter to my taste. Now I do use hickory but I usually blend it oak, cherry, or maybe some apple. Just keep good notes, before, during, and after to adjust your flavors for next time.

$175....what a deal!!!

Doc

Mark,

What a deal.

First, food safety! I highly recommend that if you do any cutting, go to a restaurant supply store and buy you a "butchers glove" it will help those problems with sharp knives

Enough saftey....now on to smoke.

Maybe you do like a lot of smoke, but be careful with the CS. It's not like any other smoker as it makes very good efficient use of the smoke it does produce. For the model you have I'd go with the recommendations and start slow, just a couple of ounces. After once or twice you'll know if it's "too" much. Smoke is just a very, subjective thing. What's too much for one may be not enough for another.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Smokin'

Ok. Here is the results: I put the babybacks in at 12 noon at 225 degrees, along with some doctored up baked beans and some baked potatoes (I lightly oiled them and sprinkled with an all purpose seasoning). I had two temp gauges going. The first was a new polder dual, which proceeded to go haywire and register oven temps of 400 or so degrees. Becoming alarmed I jumped on the forum, and, not to my surprise, I found all kinds of discussion on Polder problems. Since it was sprinkling outside, I just removed it and continued. I left the ribs in for approximately 6 hours (2-2.5#). My sons and I had a feast on ribs, beans and smoked loaded potatoes! It was great! I will say though, that even after six hours, the ribs were not falling off the bone (they were tendor though). Is there something I did wrong here? Most of the forum threads suggest 3.5 to 4 hours for this size. (I think I know the answer to this one - It's done when its done).

At midnight, I put in the 2 picnics at 225 degrees and went to bed. I removed them at 3PM the next day--15 hours. I was using the other meat thermometer (accuride), and it never had a meat temp more than 168 degrees, even after 15 hours. Something must be wrong, because I relied on feel, and I could easily pull the meat, so I removed it and pulled it. I haven't eaten it for a meal yet, but I sure picked at it a lot while pulling.

Thanks for all the help. You guys were right, there was plenty of smoke from just a couple of ounces of hickory.

Smokin: I will go get that butcher's glove. Thanks for the advice. Don't want to do that again. Ouch!

Howdy,Mark H.

Those gloves Smokin' recommended are real handy,but be aware that while protecting against slices-they don't protect against punctures.

Another handy item ,while you are there, is the thin cotton gloves that meat cutters wear under the disposable latex gloves for cold protection.

They are dandy,if you are pulling several hot pork butts.