Diagnosis of my 1s attempt welcome! Wasn't bad, but I think I missed something

[Mongo Johnson]

All in all, I think we did OK. I shared a bit with neighbors as the Independence Day fountains sputtered and got some good comments on the tritip. Ribs were a bit dry etc.

I'd welcome any insight. My thoughts are we went too hot, too short and maybe should have added water.

We deboxed, ran a couple hours to season new unit.

Then we loaded with hickory and did three racks with a variety of rubs we'd had in the cupboard.

Bottom rack 1. Thicker stuff, 3 lb tri tip. A couple thick county style pork ribs.

2. Couple more country style ribs and a couple chicken breasts

3. Some babyback ribs

Brought it up to 200 and let go for 3 hours. Am wondering if we should have gone five hours at 150? (Will read throught the forum.)

The thicker stuff did OK and the ribs improved if soaked with a bit of sauce. But, they were more 'cowboy style' needing nawing, rather than 'fall of the bone.'

Feedback is welcome. My guess is, lower temp, longer time?

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Hi Mongo and welcome.

Sounds to me like you need both a higher temp plus more time. I like to preheat my smoker to at least 260 before loading the meat in. Try not to peek to much while cooking as that slows done the cooking time a lot. Then try to maintain about 220 with 2 hours of smoke for the ribs. Then boat in foil with a splash of apple juice and I have been finishing in the oven. Here is link to the tutorial that 10.5 put together.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=581
I've been using that on spares and have been taking about 6 hours total time. Baby backs would get done some quicker I'm sure. I just make to to allow plenty of time.
Not much help on the tri-tip as I have not done that one but I'm sure others will be on about that.

Good luck, keep trying and post pictures. Everyone here loves those pics.

[Mongo Johnson]

Hmmm. I found it pretty easy to set the temp of the smoker. Do you set the box for the temp you want the final meat or a bit higher ad then don't open the box? Say, 145 for a tri-tip or do you go higher and guestimate hours?

If I'm cooking in a patio's open shade on an 80 degree summer afternoon . . . I'm pondering what experienced common sense there is out there . . . I guess I'm looking to add a couple columns to this table that would be guaged for med-rare and fall of the bone . . . Say a column for smoker box temp and meat weight . . .  and time cooking.

http://www.susanminor.org/users/Hab/Misc_Files/Other/When%20Is%20Meat%20Done.pdf

[Mr Walleye]

Hi Mongo

I think Hawkeye has ya on the right path.

When I do ribs I remove the membrane and rub them down, preheat the Bradley to about 260 degrees. Once I load the ribs I adjust the temp to 220 and I begin applying about 3hours of smoke for my taste. I usually have the vent at least 1/2 open. You will probably want to do a rack rotation about halfway through. Once the 3 hours of smoke is complete I let them continue for 1 more hour without smoke. Then I put them into a foil roaster, add a splash of AJ, cover with foil and throw them back into the smoker at 220 for another 2 to 3 hours. After this I will put them on the grill just long enough to sauce them. They turn out very tasty and tender every time.

10.5 did a nice write up on ribs over on the recipe site. Here is the link.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=920#post920

Mike

[FLBentRider]

Set the box temp to 200-220F or so, and monitor the internal temp of the meat with a meat thermometer.

When you rotate the racks, make sure you do back to front as well, the back of the box is hotter than the front.

[Mongo Johnson]

What happens if you go lower on temp, say 160 - 180? Good or bad idea?

Thanks for that link to that illustrated rib recipie.

[Mr Walleye]

What happens if you go lower on temp, say 160 - 180? Good or bad idea?

Thanks for that link to that illustrated rib recipie.

I've never tried it but I would suspect it would take a very long time at that low of a temp. It could also dry them out, kinda like the way you do jerky.

Just my 2 cents

Mike

[HawkeyeSmokes]

What happens if you go lower on temp, say 160 - 180? Good or bad idea?

Thanks for that link to that illustrated rib recipie.

I've never tried it but I would suspect it would take a very long time at that low of a temp. It could also dry them out, kinda like the way you do jerky.

Just my 2 cents

Mike

I would agree with Mike about taking to long and drying the meat out. The ribs might never even reach a high enough temperature to become tender. They have a built in thermometer to tell when they are done. The meat will start to pull back from the end of the bones and should be at least a 1/4" Even more doesn't hurt. Here's a pic of the last ones I did and they were falling of the bone tender and very juciy.



Trust that tutorial. I ruined my first batch because I didn't find this forum first. Every thing has been great since following their instructions. The more experienced members than me are a wealth of knowledge and more than willing to help.