3-2-1 Techniques

[Orion]

Used my BDS for the first time yesterday.

I did a small rack of pork  back ribs using Jans Rub and a homemade sauce applied for the last hour. Two hours and 40 minutes hickory (8 pucks) at 210'F and then 2 hours at 230'F wrapped in tinfoil with a few ounces of apple juice. Finished them in the oven for 1 hour at 325'F and applied sauce a few times.

I think it all turned out well and tasted good. Perhaps a little too smoky for our liking. The process did raise a few questions:

I had to wrap the sections of ribs in tinfoil individually as the tinfoil is not that wide. Any reason a person couldn't put all the product in a glass casserole dish, add some fluid of choice and then cover that with tinfoil? I also had a little leakage of apple juice as the tinfoil tore on one corner.

Are many of you finishing the last hour in the oven? It was cold out and it just seemed so much easier and efficient to work the last hour and sauce application in the well lit, warm kitchen. Once I get a proper outdoor station set up I may find it just as easy in the smoker. Warmer weather in the spring will also make it easier I'm sure.

The rub I applied left a slight film of spices on the meat and you could feel the texture of it on your palate. Probably needed more sauce to dissolve it down and maybe higher or longer heat for that last hour??

As far as clean up, I washed my v pan, bowl and racks, cleaned puck element and guide tray, wiped interior door and seal and seal land area on the main frame.

I learned I should have started earlier, like put the product in smoker about 11 am rather than  1 pm ish.

All in all, very pleased with equipment and product results

[dave01]

Glad it turned out ok. Maybe you could feel the spices because the tin foil ripped. When you put it in the tin foil you should have the meat side down in whatever juice you added, without being in the juice who knows.
There should be nothing wrong with using a glass bowl if your doing it in the oven, I don't know about the smoker

[KyNola]

No reason you can't use a glass casserole covered in foil or even one of those disposable foil pans.

I know the folks who developed Jan's Rub.  It has 14 different herbs and spices in it.  After conferring with them they agree that you will most likely never dissolve it completely.  Most Rubs I have used do leave a film of spices and it is discernible on the palate.  Just as you indicated that perhaps the ribs were a little smokey for your liking meaning you applied excess smoke for your tastes, maybe you added more Rub than your palate prefers.

The Bradley pucks produce a much purer concentrated smoke than do charcoal and wood chunk burners or pellet burners.  You've just got a bit of a learning curve and you will dial it in to your liking soon enough.

All in all sounds like your first smoke was a good one.  Congratulations.

[Orion]

I didn't have the meat side down as I was under the impression the apple juice just provides a bit of humidity while slow cooking, next time I'll try that way. Thanks Dave01

Well , you confirmed my thoughts KyNola. I have never cooked with such a granular rub. The texture was not unpleasant, just new. Little less rub and smoke next time just to see.

[KyNola]

Ah!  The great debate of bone side up or down when the ribs are wrapped.  Myself, I go with the meat up.  The reason I go meat side up is I don't want to braise or potentially boil the meat.  Others go with the meat down.  A matter of personal preference both on texture of the meat and method of cooking.

As for the folks who developed Jan's Original Dry Rub, that would be my wife and me! ;)  Her name is Jan.

[Orion]

Forgive me... for I am not worthy.

I am a lowly beginner and have unwittingly stumbled into the deepest headwaters of rub origins known to man.

I kneel before you with thermocouple in hand and humbly thank you.