My First smoke... I need to try, try again

[TheBoz]

I just bought a OBS and I have a few issues to overcome.  First problem, it would not heat above 170deg with a 25' extension cord.  After 2.5 hours of waiting for it to pre heat, I ditched the cord and moved it next to the house.  It immediately climbed to 225deg.  Life was good and I added my pork ribs directly from the fridge.  I smoked for 5 hours at 200-225deg, basting ~1-1.5 hours.  They looked great but they were tough and not too tasty.  I'm thinking they were under cooked.  There was still a lot of fat in the middle, we just ate the edges.  I threw the second half of the ribs in to the oven an baked at 300deg, I was out of the house when the 1 hour buzzer went off and forgot about them...  I came back between 1.5-2hrs.  They were a little back but they tasted pretty good and there was a lot of grease in the cookie sheet.

So...  any ideas, suggestions, or observations on what I did wrong?

[KevinG]

First thing I would let them warm up about 1/2 hour before placing in the pre-heated smoker. Not sure how many racks you went with, but I found that running a full load takes longer than one rack. Baby backs and spares also will take different times. Spares take a little longer.

[Tenpoint5]

You could always give this a try to get you started on your ribs.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10182.0

I see you already figured out the extension cord thing.

[squirtthecat]

I run mine on an extension cord, but it is one of those heavy 12 gauge 'contractor grade' jobbies.  Works fine.

[watchdog56]

I have tried the foil method and they turn out good but I also have done it with rub on the ribs and cook at 225 for about 3-4 hours until meat starts pulling back from bone then about another 30 minutes with sauce on them until the sauce starts to stiffen up and they come out good also. Just remember to cook low and slow and let the meat tell you when it is done.

[TheBoz]

Thanks for the feedback!  I can't wait to try again, I'll be attempting the suggested Bradley Ribs Recipe.