# Newbie smoker on the Florida Treasure Coast



## 16again (Feb 13, 2021)

Wife an I decided to buy a smoker. Kinda how we landed on this site.  Soooo many choices! We decided to start with an electric smoker to get our feet wet.
Picked up a MASTERBUILT electronic unit at Lowe’s.
We assembled it and seasoned it yesterday. Going to attempt our first smoking around 1:00 eastern time.
Gonna do a rack of Pork and rack of Beef.


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## MCQSmoker (Feb 13, 2021)

Good luck with the cook, hope you have fun with the new smoker!


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## Hamdrew (Feb 13, 2021)

I'm a fan of a pork rack. Beef has me real eager to see!!


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## Brokenhandle (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome from Iowa! Hope it turns out good for ya! Make sure to post up some pics

Ryan


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## Wurstmeister (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome from SC.   Don't forget to post how you made out with it  and like Brokenhandle said,  add pictures.  If you have any issues,  post them. These folks will gladly help.


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## TNJAKE (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome from Tennessee


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## sawhorseray (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome from Gilbert, AZ! RAY


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## ChrisLane (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome from PA!


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## kruizer (Feb 13, 2021)

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.


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## 16again (Feb 13, 2021)

Well I hope we get better at this. 
Cooked for 3 hrs at 225*  I ordered the temp probe this morning, will be here tomorrow.  Everything looked and went fine, until we cut into them. WELL DONE! 
The homemade rub was good, apple chips smoke was good as well. Timed cooking failed us today.  We’ll figure it out and it was a great couples time cooking outside together.


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## pineywoods (Feb 13, 2021)

Well done or underdone?????
I see no pull back at all on them

If overdone then the temperature gauge on the smoker is way off


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## 16again (Feb 14, 2021)

Over done.


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## 16again (Feb 14, 2021)

Cleaned everything up. Meat probe arrived this afternoon. We will make attempt number two later this week. Rack of pork ribs, measuring the internal meat temp. We are sure that we will get a much better result.
Suggestions on the Flavor of wood chips for the pork with our own dry rub?


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## 912smoker (Feb 14, 2021)

pineywoods said:


> Well done or underdone?????
> I see no pull back at all on them
> 
> If overdone then the temperature gauge on the smoker is way off


Agreed. They should not be overdone at 225* for 3 hrs. But you"ll get it and a meat therm will make it ALOT easier to measure and determine you cooks. I like apple or pecan for pork. Most of these folks have a lot more experience than I do and are willing to help guide you in the right direction.
And welcome from SE Ga


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## pineywoods (Feb 14, 2021)

If the ribs were overdone in 3 hours then there is no way the smoker was running at 225 degrees. We all smoke baby back as well as regular spare ribs for longer  than 3 hours more like 4.5-6 hours depending on type


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## 16again (Feb 15, 2021)

The unit is digital, can only tell you what it told me. That sure doesn’t mean it’s right.


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## 16again (Feb 15, 2021)

pineywoods said:


> If the ribs were overdone in 3 hours then there is no way the smoker was running at 225 degrees. We all smoke baby back as well as regular spare ribs for longer  than 3 hours more like 4.5-6 hours depending on type


Perhaps the electronic temperature is wrong. I’ll shoot the temperature with a heat gun, then I’ll adjust the temperature based on that. Meat probe arrived yesterday. The next rack of pork ribs we will cook to internal temperature.


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## pineywoods (Feb 15, 2021)

Ribs are one of the very few things most of us smoke by time and not internal temp some people try to place a probe in the ribs without being to close to the bone or the outside of the meat some do it quite well some not so much.
Some do 3-2-1 method for regular spare ribs or they play with the numbers to suit their tastes.
Some do 2-2-1 for baby back ribs or they play with the numbers to suit their tastes. 
The 3-2-1 and 2-2-1 are figured on a smoker temp of 225.
The first number is hours the ribs are in the smoker on the rack.
The second number is the time the ribs are in tightly sealed foil with a little juice of some type added before sealing.
The last number is the amount of time the ribs are put back in the smoker on the rack after being removed from the foil.
Using 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 depending on type of ribs will give you fall off the bone tender ribs. You will find different people use different times and they can vary quite a bit. Some people don't wrap at all. 
If you wish to baste with bbq sauce I suggest doing it the last half hour as most sauces contain quite a bit of sugar which burns pretty easily. Most of the time I just serve sauce on the side and warm it if I have the time and think about it. 
Have fun and good luck with your smoke


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## 16again (Feb 15, 2021)

We have 2 racks of St Louis ribs to smoke. Thanks for taking the time to explain things to me, much appreciated.


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## 16again (Feb 16, 2021)

Meat probe arrived. Also have my heat gun.  We will make another go of this Thursday or Friday. Will bring the unit up to temperature and check to see if the unit is true or off, will adjust accordingly AND cook to internal temperature NOT time. 
Cleaning everything the 1st time was a learning experience. Water tray and drip pan now are wrapped in foil.


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## DRKsmoking (Feb 16, 2021)

Welcome from Nova Scotia

  Good luck on second time around with the ribs. 
Lots of great info here, and its fun to keep trying to see what works best for you 
with flavors etc

David


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## heynow.brian (Feb 16, 2021)

16again said:


> Wife an I decided to buy a smoker. Kinda how we landed on this site.  Soooo many choices! We decided to start with an electric smoker to get our feet wet.
> Picked up a MASTERBUILT electronic unit at Lowe’s.
> We assembled it and seasoned it yesterday. Going to attempt our first smoking around 1:00 eastern time.
> Gonna do a rack of Pork and rack of Beef.


Good luck dude


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## JC in GB (Feb 16, 2021)

Welcome from Wisconsin.


JC


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## 16again (Feb 16, 2021)

DRKsmoking said:


> Welcome from Nova Scotia
> 
> Good luck on second time around with the ribs.
> Lots of great info here, and its fun to keep trying to see what works best for you
> ...


Thanks we are enjoying it. Love your chihuahua. I have 2 of them. My best friends.


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## 16again (Feb 16, 2021)

We just brought the  unit up to full high. Electronic thermostat said 275* 
Placed 2 probes in the air inside smoker. Both registered within 3* of each other. 20* to 23* higher air temp inside than the electronic thermostat was set for.
Above said, does that still mean under cooked as to the over cooked we perceived?


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## Hamdrew (Feb 16, 2021)

16again said:


> We just brought the  unit up to full high. Electronic thermostat said 275*
> Placed 2 probes in the air inside smoker. Both registered within 3* of each other. 20* to 23* higher air temp inside than the electronic thermostat was set for.
> Above said, does that still mean under cooked as to the over cooked we perceived?










These were ~4.5hrs at ~250*. The bigger ones (right two) were still a little underdone


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## Hamdrew (Feb 16, 2021)

16again said:


> We just brought the  unit up to full high. Electronic thermostat said 275*
> Placed 2 probes in the air inside smoker. Both registered within 3* of each other. 20* to 23* higher air temp inside than the electronic thermostat was set for.
> Above said, does that still mean under cooked as to the over cooked we perceived?


yes, i would say undercooked


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## TNJAKE (Feb 16, 2021)

Sounds to me they were under cooked. 

 pineywoods
 gave some good advice that is a great starting place for beginners. Then once you nail that you can adjust to your liking. Spare ribs take around 6 hours at 225. At 3 hours they will be very tough and could be thought as over cooked but it's actually the opposite. The longer cook as suggested will further break down the fats and tenderize the ribs. I highly recommend 3-2-1 for spares and 2-2-1 for baby backs for beginners


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## 16again (Feb 16, 2021)

This is what it looked like after dinner. Left overs wife chopped up.


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## Hamdrew (Feb 16, 2021)

looks like quite a bit of unrendered sinew. being a very tough cut of meat, it needs every bit of that cooked. 

watch for the pull back more than relying on temps/time etc


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## 16again (Feb 16, 2021)

Hamdrew said:


> looks like quite a bit of unrendered sinew. being a very tough cut of meat, it needs every bit of that cooked.
> 
> watch for the pull back more than relying on temps/time etc


Thank you for the help. Much appreciated.


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## DRKsmoking (Feb 16, 2021)

16again said:


> Thanks we are enjoying it. Love your chihuahua. I have 2 of them. My best friends.


Thanks That's my Gabby. She is gone now . 2 years this April 1st. Still miss her . She was with me every day for 16 years
We still have 2 little girls left, but not the same without her. She was the social one

David


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## 16again (Feb 17, 2021)

We have burgers in the smoker right now. Using double probe. One in the air the other in thickest burger. Heavy rain here at the moment and driving the sensor up and down. Will cook the burgers to 145* 
Have the smoker set to 225* but the sensor in the air keeps informing me that the temp is high. When I adjust down it notifies a few minutes later that the temp is low.


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## DRKsmoking (Feb 17, 2021)

16again said:


> We have burgers in the smoker right now. Using double probe. One in the air the other in thickest burger. Heavy rain here at the moment and driving the sensor up and down. Will cook the burgers to 145*
> Have the smoker set to 225* but the sensor in the air keeps informing me that the temp is high. When I adjust down it notifies a few minutes later that the temp is low.


Thanks 16again for the like.   Because of the weather making my temp go up and down so quick ,( plus the dial is so sensitive ) that's one of the reasons why i built the shed for mine. Plus i like building sheds :)                           David


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## 16again (Feb 18, 2021)

DRKsmoking said:


> Thanks 16again for the like.   Because of the weather making my temp go up and down so quick ,( plus the dial is so sensitive ) that's one of the reasons why i built the shed for mine. Plus i like building sheds :)                           David


No shed here, actually under front porch. Burgers came out great using the probe. If  We would have used time we would have had ashes.


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## DRKsmoking (Feb 18, 2021)

16again said:


> No shed here, actually under front porch. Burgers came out great using the probe. If  We would have used time we would have had ashes.


Ashes , probably not as good on a bun, ha ha


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## 16again (Feb 18, 2021)

DRKsmoking said:


> Ashes , probably not as good on a bun, ha ha


Not as good at all. Lol


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## BigW. (Feb 18, 2021)

I'd eat that burger.


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