First Cook - Baby backs

[SeeTrai]

Hi All,

Just got my #2 yesterday, seasoned it and have started my first smoke.  To start, I have read a bunch here both before my purchase and before the first cook.  Thank you for your wonderful insights and posts.

I'm currently at the end of the cook but am just too excited so thought I'd post.

2 racks of baby backs cut in half
Pecan rub (liberally applied) and sat in the fridge for 19 hours
Put in the beautiful #2 at 225 with a 2.2oz pellet of hickory (from the stash they gave me).  not cut in half, although that seems like it would be better.
Used a mini-loaf foil pan with 2/3 filled of water
Took out at 3.5 hours in and applied Gates Original BBQ sauce.  Put 'em back in a 225.

I'm going to probably take them out after an hour more (total cook of 4.5) as I prefer the competition style and not fall off the bone.

Excited to see what happens.  This forum is awesome and the build quality of this smoker seems great as well.

A question, smoke stopped pouring out about 1.5 hours in, I'm assuming that is normal?  Also, I monitored internal temps of the smoker (not the meat) and temps fluctuated between 203 and 230.  I assume that is normal too?  I'm using the ET-733.  I did read on some post the person was adjusting their readings because the product is accurate, is that correct?

Any comments are graciously appreciated/welcomed.

Best,

Chris

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[DivotMaker]

Hi Chris, and welcome!  Congrats on your new #2 and your first smoke!  Sounds like you've got it going on tonight.  I'd check those ribs at 4.5 hours with a toothpick to be sure - might be a little tougher than "competition style" at that point.  See if you have good pull back on the bones, and test the toughness.  Might need to go around 5 to get what you're looking for.  It's really a "feel" cook with ribs, so you'll learn what works best for your taste.

As for the smoke - with 2.2 oz, that's about right on the time.  You should be good on smokiness; let us know if it's not to your liking.  Also, when set to 225, the temp swings you noted are normal.  The only way to get the temp really tight is to add an Auber PID.  This makes a great smoker even better!

Post some pics of your ribs, if you can!  We LOVE pics around here!!

[NDKoze]

I have a feeling your going to want to go closer to 5 1/2 to 6 hours based on my experience. I like a little chew off of the bone as well. But I typically need about 6 hours for my desired doneness. But like Tony said, everyone's tastes are different and experimentation is the best way to get it where you like it.

I am interested to hear how your ribs turned out. Got any pictures?

[SeeTrai]

Well, the taste was great, but tenderness was too dry.  What I ended up doing was pulling them off at 3.5 hours and applying sauce, put back in for a little over an hour.  After that, I pulled them again and did a toothpick test and a "bend" test (and cut off two ribs to taste test :-)  The two ribs were good, just not quite pulling away from the bone how I wanted... so I put them back in for another hour and pulled them out after.  Total cook time ended up around 6 hours.

Result:  some of the meatier ribs were close, while the thinner ribs (most) were way too dry.

Learning from this, next time I'll try to let them go for 4 hours, sauce them, then cook for another 60 minutes.

I can't believe I only needed 2.2oz of wood, as I've been used to smoker boxes on the grill and using 2 of them that would still leave me wanting more smoke.

For tonight, I'm doing a full chicken (well, 2 halves of a chicken) that was brined for 24 hours.  I need to read through the forums for time estimates and amount of smoke.

Chris

[swthorpe]

Good show...practice makes perfect!

When I do whole chickens of 6-8# or so, they usually take about 4 hours.  However, the key is to insert a meat probe (Maverick, for example) in the breast meat without touching the bone.  You can pull the chicken when the breast temp reaches 165F.

Good luck!

[DivotMaker]

They look good, Chris!  Some of the problem may actually be the meat.  I only get baby backs from Sam's Club - far superior to anything else in my area.  Baby backs I've purchased from the grocery store usually come out dry; just not enough meat!

Your process of opening and saucing, imo, probably also contributed to the dryness.  The more you open the smoker, the more precious moisture you let out.  The key to these smokers is to keep the door closed as long as possible.  I put baby backs in cold from the fridge (where I have them wrapped with rub for at least 12 hours - also helps moisture, as the salt in the rub acts as a dry brine).  Then, put in the water pan (I use apple juice), close the door, set to 235, and go occupy my time with something better for at least 5 hours.  Keep the moisture in.

If you prefer sauced ribs, smoke them until done to your liking, then sauce and do a quick reverse-sear on a hot grill or in a 500-degree oven to caramelize the sauce. 

Just my 2 cents...