EATING TOO MANY MISTAKES

Steve Borkowski said:

Stan, I appreciate your reply.  But what you printed, or typed made about as much sense me sending you a golumbki recipe in Polish.  I have absolutely NO IDEA of what you said.  But I've heard in the past that Yankees don't speak Texan.

Steve
 

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oldschoolbbq said:

Hello,Steve. Chin-up , my Friend... hanging with us will help your style improve...

Tell us how you are doing it and someone will be by to suggest a cure.  Give specifics on your process for each cook.   Smoking ANYTHING involves a number of variables.  It's beneficial to provide as many details of your process as you can to try and figure out how to improve results.  How long did you cook?  Internal temps when pulled.  Grate/chamber temp while cooking.  Were there major temp spikes ? 

First one, be patient , most likely the culprit of the Brisket caper,:   Lack of patience is one of the main killers of brisket.   Many people just don't get that a brisket will be done when it's ready to be done.  It doesn't follow a time schedule.  You don't just throw it in a 350 degree oven and take it out after X hours.    Many don't have patience to ride out the plateau.  They say "it's been on for X hours, so it must be ready".  

Another big mistake is that a person might follow all the other procedures correctly, and the brisket is truly ready, but they don't let it rest properly.  Nope.  They pull it out of the smoker, throw it on a cutting board and start slicing it.    It'll come off as somewhat dry, tough and stringy.   The "rest" period allows the natural juices to redistribute throughout the brisket making it both juicy and tender.
 

Try the 3-2-1 method of Ribs: 3 hours in the smoke, then foil and put back in smoker for 2 hours, then remove from foil and put back in smoker for 1 more hour

 , and the country ribs , well ,I like them Smokey,however, esy fix. Back-off on the Smoke Generation... She'll love them then , if not , you get more...:  IF something is "too smokey", then give it less smoke next time.   Two different things to look at here.  First, the volume of smoke.  If using chips/chunks, don't use as many next time.   Instead of filling the wood pan, cut the amount of wood in half.    Second thing to look at is the duration of the smoke.    Some people smoke throughout the entire cook.  Others only smoke a portion of the time.   I've been known to have Butts in a smoker for 18 hours, but I stop generating smoke after the first 10 hours or so.  Why ?  A more subtle smoke flavor. 

You will find your Click in no  time at all.  Just be patient and Vigilent:  Smoking is both an art and a science that takes time and experience to master.   At this point, you don't have a personal knowledge/experience base to draw from.   As you smoke more, you'll gain experience and "figure out" what the "right way" is for you.   This will happen by learning from one smoke to another and making adjustments. 

One thing I've noticed is that it appears that you have jumped around and experimented with a number of different meats/cuts.   Nothing wrong with that at all, BUT, it hasn't given you that "experience" factor yet.   Think of it this way.  You start a new job assembling some Widget.  Doesn't matter what it is.  On your first day, the process is new to you so you fumble around with it.  This continues for the first week as you gain experience.   The more you do that process, the better you become at it.    Now, if you got moved to a different assembly line putting together a different Widget, some of your experience will transfer, but there will still be a learning curve for the new task.

Smoking is no different.  The way to "get good" at smoking ribs is to smoke more and more ribs, learn from the experience (what works and what doesn't) and refine your process.  Same for smoking Brisket, Butts, Prime Rib, what have you.   For instance, I've smoked a heck of a lot of Butts, Spares, Baby Backs, Pork Loins, Briskets and Pork Loins and I'm decent enough with all of them.  But, I've only smoked Beef ribs twice and both turned out as miserable failures.  I mean, they truly sucked.    I haven't smoked a Fatty yet but I'm sure that it will take some trial and error with those as well before I'm able to turn out a good product.

I'm not alone in this.  I know some people who can smoke the heck out of some ribs, but if you gave them a Brisket they'll destroy it.  Or they might smoke Butts that are the best thing this side of Heaven, but they can't smoke ribs to save their life.   Why ?  Because they don't have practical experience with those other cuts, and just because you can smoke one thing (even really well), doesn't necessarily mean that you can smoke anything else you come across.

, no - or  - less refreshments while cooking . LOL:    Drink less while smoking   :)

Have fun and . . .

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Steve Borkowski said:

The chicken was just okay.  Wife actually liked the Turkey breast.  Brisket was tough, and the Country Ribs far too smokey and salty.  The spare ribs today were odd.  One very tender, one very tough.  Wife says too much smoke.  Using a blend of oak and apple.  Apple alone has worked best so far.  I'm using a Masterbuilt Electric smoker.  Just learning, as is evident by  my mistakes, and questions.

Steve

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Steve Borkowski said:

The chicken was just okay.  Wife actually liked the Turkey breast.  What was the difference? I'm a noob on solo smokes, but have experience as the "helper". If the chicken was just okay, what stopped it from being great? Not enough smoke? Seasoning not what you wanted? To me, turkey has a great flavor that needs very little to be great, chicken on the other hand can sometimes be bland without the proper seasoning.

Brisket was tough, and the Country Ribs far too smokey and salty. Solid advice given here already, I have no additional thoughts on the brisket. For the Country Ribs, did you use oak and apple or just one or the other for them? How long did they smoke and how heavy of a smoke? When I use apple or another fruit wood I tend to go for a heavier smoke or smoke longer throughout the process, for heavy woods like oak or mesquite I go for a light smoke and cut the smoke off part of the way through the smoke. Ribs especially, being less meat to actually smoke, I go for a lighter, subtle smoke and stop the smoke about halfway through.

  The spare ribs today were odd.  One very tender, one very tough.  Did you check temps of both, or just one? I always rotate when I'm smoking more than one rack because the back of my smoker stays cooler. For instance if the rack is long ways like this: (---------->, I'll rotate the rack so its like <--------), so everything stays even. If I have two racks I'll rotate twice, once to flip like the above illustration, and again to switch positions entirely. This goes against the "if your lookin you ain't cookin" mantra, but I do what I have to for a good even cook. IT is important, and IMO ribs are the hardest to get a good temp on as there is less meat to get the temp from. You could always do the "pull test" and grab two bones in the middle and pull apart, should offer resistance at first and then separate easily.

Wife says too much smoke.  Using a blend of oak and apple.  Apple alone has worked best so far. As others have said, keep at it, keep learning. My wife likes a medium smoke and very little heat, I like a heavier smoke and lots of heat. Different strokes for different folks. If you can live with a lighter smoke, you may want to keep with fruit woods, more forgiving and lighter taste. If using stronger woods like oak or mesquite, cut off the smoke sooner.

I'm using a Masterbuilt Electric smoker.  Just learning, as is evident by  my mistakes, and questions.  We are all learning. I can tell you from experience I have had quite a few pizza nights, where the smoke just didn't turn out good at all. First turkey I ever did tasted like I was eating the left over wood chips straight out of the grill.

Steve

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