Hello All
As a competition q'uer for the last 25 years, old age and some medical problems finally made me give up the competitions, but I just couldn't give up the smoke. Finally got rid of my stick burner, and went with a AQ with a lot of trepidation. Just couldn't see how a smoker oven could give the same results.
Wow-was I wrong, seasoned the AQ and the next day put ribs, sausage, and smoked hamburgers on for a trial. Amazing results, even though the renowned "flashover" almost scared the S**t out of me. Used only about 1 oz of grape, and had smoke before it even reached 130...amazing.
The moisture retained in the AQ was also impressive.
Now all my wife is worried about are the woodpiles in the back yard that will take more than our lifetime to use up with the AQ (grin)
As a KCBS competitor and judge, I noticed a lot of comments on the forum about the lack of a smoke ring. For the reason that the smoke ring can be manipulated (see below), the size of, or lack of a smoke ring cannot be used during judging. It isn't that the cookshacks don't produce a smoke ring, as some have suggested, but rather that the small amound of wood used that turns into charcoal, and then to ash, doesn't produce enough nitrates to penetrate into the meat. If you want a nice smoke ring, just do what the KCBS rules were promulgated to prevent (lol.) Simple sprinkle a little Cure #1 on the surface of the meat and let sit for about 15 min. The rinse off and apply your rub. The additional nitrates will then penetrate and give you a nice pink ring.
Glad to have the AQ, and glad to be part of the forum.
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