First Smoke for Newbie here in Nashville,TN!

[aalverson]

Very excited about my OBS early fathers day present, have got it seasoning right now and have 3 racks of Baby backs in the fridge marinating with rub overnight.
Questions:
        Going to use the 3-2-1 method. Should i wait until temp reaches 225 to put the ribs in?
         How far should I have the vent open?
        What is the differences in just powering up the smoker and advancing a bisquette onto the burner?  Does just the
            heating element in the back need to be on during preheat?

Thanks in advance for all the great help and can't wait until tomorrow, will post pics of the process. 

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum aalverson!

Pre-heat the OBS on MAX

Vent about 1/2 open

You will want to pre-heat the generator too, else the first puck just starts to smoke before it gets dumped.

[ArnieM]

Hi aalverson and welcome to the forum.  When you ask a question you'll probably get as many opinions as there are contributors  ;D

Preheat with the SG and cabinet at the same time.  220-225 should be good.  I usually keep my vent full open.  I guess it's a matter of choice but certainly at least half-open.

Add the ribs and then the pucks.  Advance three times and you should get some smoke.  The first advance resets the cycle for 20 minutes.

The 3-2-1 method is guideline, kind of like "cook until done".  Baby backs may take less time.   Maybe 3-1-1 or 2-2-1.  The goal is to see the meat pulling back from the bone.  You can check that after the ribs come out of the foil.

We look forward to your pics.

[TestRocket]

Welcome aalverson,

I hope you've stayed high and dry. You've found a great place to ask and learn. I haven't done baby backs yet...So good luck!

[ilwaldens]

Welcome aalverson.  I'm a newbie too and did my seasoning last weekend and first smoke.  Looking forward to smoking again this weekend if the weather will hold off some.  Good luck!!

[KevinG]

Welcome to the forum aalverson! Looking forward to some pics of that first smoke.

[aalverson]

Thank you all.  one more question: Do I need to plug the SG and the Tower in separately so that when I turn the SG off after 3 hours the tower stays on to heat or will the tower stay on as long as the temp slider is not on off?

[FLBentRider]

The tower will stay on as long as the slider is not all the way to the left.

I leave the SG on for additional heating.

[ArnieM]

The SG switch only controls the SG.  The cabinet will stay on.  Most probably leave the SG on for the extra bit of heat.  Just knock off the last burnt puck.

[DTAggie]

Welcome aalverson - sounds like they have you covered.  Always preheat the SG and leave vent at least half, if not fully open.

[classicrockgriller]

Looking forward to some pics of them Ribs.

Welcome to the Forum!

[aalverson]

3 Racks of Baby Backs on the OBS.

[aalverson]

In the Smoker

[TestRocket]

Looking good! Be glad you have PICS of that shinny inside. Because it won't look that way for very long, and that's a good thing!  ;D

[aalverson]

Out after 3 hours of Maple, getting ready for Apple Juice Spritz