1st smoke of the year - 06-14-2016. Yeah, I'm late.

[fpmich]

Cold rainy spring and other things kept me from the smoker this year, but I finally got the first smoke of the year under my belt.

One thing I noticed was the top rack vs bottom grates ran between 40* & 50* hotter on top rack without any meat in smoker.  When I added the meat, and the temp settles in, the top rack only ran 10*-15* higher throughout the cook.  Perfect for what I was cooking.

One rack of ribs, and three chuck eyes.  I took the chuck to about 180* and will freeze for future dinners.  Stopping just short of "done" will let me roast them in the oven with veggies for 1 1/2 hours at 325* or so long enough for veggies to get done, and the meat will be just right.

Here they are about 2/3 the way through the cook.

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• fpmich
• Jun 15, 2016

This day felt good!

 

[smoking pit]

Hi Frank,

Looks good.  What temp were you at for the ribs and what kind were they?  My wife is after me for ribs next.

 

[fpmich]

Ribs were "all natural" meaning not enhanced with salt or tenderized before packaging.  It was just one slab of St. Louis Style.  I cut it in half for ease of placement.  The roasts were chuck eyes. 

Ran smoker between 225* to 240* the whole time (about 7-8 hours total) 

 

[smoking pit]

Thanks Frank,

Another thing I need to look for, I did not know there were enhanced ribs.

 

[fpmich]

There nothing wrong with the enhanced ones.  They cook a little quicker, easy to get tender.  And they already contain enough salt, so don't use a rub with salt in it. 

 

[smoking pit]

Thanks Frank,

Had family over yesterday and served the pulled pork made Monday/Tuesday.  I had put it in the freezer.  On thawing it seemed to mellow out, also added 3-4 cups of apple juice on reheating (1/2 cup at a time) to keep moist.  All loved the pork.  My daughter would not even make a sandwich so she could eat more pork, also made sure she got leftovers to take home.  All in all it was better than when I was pulling it on Tuesday.