Virgin Smoke...

gibson00 · October 09, 2010, 07:54:15 AM

Hi all, new here. Just bought my Bradley a few days ago, and trying it for the first time today, 3 racks of ribs.
Used a generic rub recipe (with a thin coat of mustard first), and similar mop recipe with water, cider vineagar, spices, etc.).
When I bought it, the only pucks the store had were the 60 count variety pack. So based on the choice in that, I decided to load it up with 4 hours of smoke (was thinking of doing a 2-1-2), the first hour and half using cherry wood, the remaining smoke hours using Hickory. I have no idea why. :)
I'll post pics of the result!

One question, I understand the two puck waste thing. But last night, when I 'seasoned' the machine, I put 5 pucks in as directed, so that 3 would be burned and 2 would be used to push the last of the three pucks. When it was done, those extra two pucks were in fine shape. So my question is, why not just keep using those same wood pucks to be 'pushers' instead of buying metal pucks??

Cheers

Slamdunk · October 09, 2010, 08:10:30 AM

I usually save those last two pucks for the next smoke.

GusRobin · October 09, 2010, 08:11:49 AM

Because the 2 pucks don't always come out unscathed. You probably can get by with 1 bubba puck followed by 2 wood pucks.

classicrockgriller · October 09, 2010, 08:33:19 AM

Like Gus and slam said, you don't have to buy Puck Savers.

If a puck gets charded, just make it the first puck on your next smoke.

Good Luck and post them Pics.

SouthernSmoked · October 09, 2010, 08:45:11 AM

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the forum...Enjoy!

http://www.susanminor.org

Remember we like pic's!!

ArnieM · October 09, 2010, 09:19:32 AM

Hi gibson00. I don't use puck savers. If one puck gets too charred, I chuck it. Otherwise I reuse it.

gibson00 · October 09, 2010, 05:01:05 PM

OK, so results.................good and bad...

I guess the good is that overall the ribs came out OK. I think I had two main problems that kept it from being as good as I had hoped:

1. The ribs I bought were cut very thick, more so than any I've bought before. And I think this caused them to cook a lot slower than they otherwise would have, and didn't have that fall off the bone result.
2. I used a generic rub recipe I found on the web, as well as a rub recipe (below), and they turned out way too spicy. Really hot, at least for our taste. Because of that, my wife really didn't enjoy them. Given the below recipe and the fact that they were too spicy, could you guys/gals recommend a different recipe for rub and mop that would result in a sweet/smokey result, not spicy?
Oh, and in the pics, the reason the finished ribs have a dark glaze on them is because I put bbq sauce on them to try to tone down the spicy taste..

Thanks!

Rub

* 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed).
* 1/4 cup coarse kosher or sea salt.
* 1/4 cup sweet paprika (vs the hot kind)
* 3 tblsp ground pepper (fresh peppercorns recently ground!)
* 1 tblsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
* 1 tblsp dried onion flakes (fresh will not work in this recipe)
* 1 tsp cayenne pepper (no, it will not be "hot")

Mop
* 1/2 cup vinegar (apple cider type, for our taste)
* 1/2 cup water
* 4 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
* 3 tbsp olive or peanut oil
* 1 tbsp garlic powder
* 1 tbsp chili powder
* 1 tsp cayenne

Pics:

SouthernSmoked · October 09, 2010, 05:15:50 PM

Heck Yeah that looks awesome!

Let's ear!!

Habanero Smoker · October 10, 2010, 02:22:57 AM

Your ribs look fanstastic.

If you liked the flavor of your rub, then reduce the black pepper to 1.5 tablespoons, and either remove or reduce the cayenne pepper to a pinch (1/8 teaspoon). That should bring the heat down in the rub.

For the mop I would eliminate the cayenne pepper, and use a mild chili powder. If you can find Spice Island Chili Powder, that is very mild but full of flavors. Save the sweet stuff for the finishing glaze.

icerat4 · October 10, 2010, 03:57:09 AM

Yepper 200-210 a little spray of apple juice every hour is nice too. I do mine which are fall off the bone type this way.7-8 POUNDS OF Baby backs in the smoker 4 hours of smoke at temps of 200 -205.If the temp dosent get to that temp by the four hour mark .Dont worry.During the smoke time i spray apple juice on after the second hour til the smoke is done 3 or so sprays is good.During the 4th hour of smoke i put a lite bbq sauce on sweet baby rays and finish off the smoke.When the smoke is done i get foil and spray that and the ribs down onces again and wrap up and put in the oven for about 3-4 hours at 190.What this does is like a steamer then and the ribs will stay moist and then will fall off the bone.Be sure you take the membrane off the ribs before you rub.If there is a membrane .Other wise the ribs will be chewie.Hope this helps a little.Sounds like your doing what we call country ribs these should have no membrane on them .Do this way and im sure your next rib smoke will be a wet one .Take care and good luck

Sailor · October 10, 2010, 09:11:57 AM

With the rub and the mop it looks like you have a total of 2 tsp of cayenne pepper. That stuff goes a long way. As has been suggested I would reduce the cayenne pepper to 1/8 tsp in the rub and forget about it in the mop. But for my taste I think the 2 tsp would be just about right. I know moderation. If a little is good a whole bunch just has to be better. ;D

The ribs look really good. Nice job. The thing about smokin is that you get to do it over and over again until you get it just right for your taste. Practice, practice and more practice. :)

waterkc · October 11, 2010, 07:58:07 AM

Those look great, I have to agree with just backing down the cayenne pepper by half would make them much milder on the rub. What temp did you cook them at? and how long was total smoke time? did they shrink on the bone about 1/2 inch or so? They look very tasty from where I sit. hehe.

Good luck on the next run.

Tenpoint5 · October 11, 2010, 08:37:19 AM

Them is some good looking ribs.

hal4uk · October 11, 2010, 12:56:02 PM

The cayenne in the rub (at least to me) seems to "mellow" a bit while smoking. The cayenne in the mop might be what got it too hot for y'all.
As far as the sweet part goes, turbinado (raw cane) sugar (the big crystals) works very well in rubs.

One more adjustment that I might suggest would to leave the salt out (or cut it back) of the rub, and add some to the mop. The salt in the rub draws moisture out of the ribs, but once they develop some bark, and you're just mopping them, it's not so much a problem. Don't get me wrong; I love salt. I have a bowl for breakfast every day! It makes everything taste better. But, with ribs, it's desirable to have them moist, so the less salt in the rub, the less mopping/foiling/whatever to maintain moisture.

That said, you have to have a moist environment for ribs, because if you dry them out, they are destroyed. Problem is: Steaming, through moisture in the cooker, or extreme steaming using foil, while making ribs moist, it is also drawing out the pork juices and the smoke flavor. So, ideally, you want to use the minimal amount of moisture that will keep your ribs juicy -- and that's absolutely necessary -- but beyond that amount, you are creating a negative effect. It's a "balancing act".

ArnieM · October 11, 2010, 02:02:06 PM

I'm with Hal on the salt except I don't have a bowl for breakfast ;D. The first ingredient on most commercial rubs is salt. I do not use that for an overnight rub. I make my own most of the time and go with little or no salt.

Salt is used, for example, to pull the moisture out of eggplant or zucchini prior to cooking. It does the same thing to meat. When I use S&P on a steak or roast, it goes on about 20 minutes before cooking.

As for the cayenne, try Jalapeno instead. I've seen it in a liquid and as flakes. Put the flakes into a spice grinder and you have powder. I find that it has more flavor and less heat than cayenne.