Pork, Beef and Sausage

[puddle jumper]

Well I jumped in with both feet yesterday on my first cook,,

 Started with a run to the store and picked up some Beef and Pork Ribs, Summer sausage and a couple of potatoes... went with a basic seasons, heavy Salt, Pepper, and a little Cyan and Garlic,,back in the fridge for two hrs then start the cook, I would have like longer but could not get to the store before yesterday ,,,

I put the Ribs and Potatoes on the smoker around noon, and started on the low side to get the temp balanced out without going to hot,,, I put the Dial on 215 and that seemed like my temp swing would go between 218 and 195 so I bumped it up a little and that put me swinging around 234 and 214 I'm really happy with the tight swing of my temps,, also started out with two pieces of OAK about 3 x 1/2 x 1,,, I wanted to start really light with all I have read about people over smoke flavor on a lot of first cooks,,,

At three hrs I check everything,,, Potatoes where well on there way so I wrapped them and into the cooler to slow things down,, the ribs seemed to be drying out a little so I wrapped them, and put the sausage in...

At 4 1/2 I opened everything up, mopped the ribs with Cattleman's sweet, and back in the smoker to finish at 5 1/2 hrs which looking back was a little early the ribs could have used about 45 more min,, but my girls where getting hungry and I caved and went ahead and pulled them... rest for 1/2 hrs and serve...

 All in all everything was good,,, I will add a little more wood next smoke, and probably a little water bowl,,, I,m really happy with temp control on my rig,

My temps where on my Maverick ET-7 that I checked with water before I started" I have never checked it before and it was right on 212" I did'nt watch it like a hawk but did fly byes in between yard work and a occasional beer run..
 
PJ

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[UWFSAE]

I'd kill to find decent beef ribs; the only thing I've seen lately have so little meat that it's not worth the purchase ... so much for Texas being all about the cattle.

Beautiful color on everything, by the way.  I do think you'll like the results of using a water pan to give you a little boost to internal humidity; the Miss Lilly's Flavor Savor sold on the Smokin-It site has been very handy for me as I like the elevated concept rather than just having it on the floor of the smoker or a rack.

[puddle jumper]

I will check it out,,,
On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 7 overall , I have done better, but a have done a lot worse...
Not bad for the first time out...
PJ

[old sarge]

Regarding the beef ribs:  I think many places are selling them more for soup stock than anything else. Slim pickins for sure.

Toss in a couple when doing something else.  The family pooch will love them.

[DivotMaker]

Great looking first cook, PJ!  Everything looks really good, and I bet there were no complaints from those who consumed it!  As I've always said - we are much harder on ourselves than anyone else!  The first cook is really a "test drive" that allows us to see how these babies perform.  I learned a lot on my first couple of smokes, and have my machine dialed-in pretty good now.

I agree that you'll like the results of a water pan.  I use disposable mini-loaf pans with either water, apple juice, or beer.  The fit perfectly beside the smoke box.

Here's to many more successful smokes!

[BIG BOB]

Looks great.... cant wait- my #2 should be here this week.   Looks like you had plenty of room!

[DivotMaker]

Looks great.... cant wait- my #2 should be here this week.   Looks like you had plenty of room!

The waiting is the hardest part, Bob!  Wait til you get that bad boy seasoned and ready for your first smoke!  Good times...good times.

[BIG BOB]

Hey Divotmaker, Tom Petty said that too....LOL.  looking forward to Indianapolis Colts football while smoking something wonderful in the #2!

[DivotMaker]

Hehe, Bob.  Thanks for catching the Petty reference!