# Eating Charcoal



## cwblile (Feb 17, 2009)

Hello all from the newbie.  I'm new to smoking and forums.  I've never smoked meat before and could use some advise.  I'm currently stationed in Germany and can't get my hands on any Mom and Pop's pit BBQ.  Being an Okie my craving got the best of me and I broke down and purchased a propane Smoke Hollow smoker.  It looks like a big safe, with a water holder and wood case.  It came with no instructions so I did some Googling and came up with a rib rub.  I rubbed the ribs down and also through on a pork butt.  I kept the temp at 200 degrees and it smelled like I was making some mouth watering ribs and sandwiches.  I checked them at the three hour point and everything was charcoal.  Not wanting to make the same mistake can anyone tell me what I did wrong?


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## richoso1 (Feb 17, 2009)

Hello, and welcome to the SMF. My first question is, did you calibrate the original therm? Test it against one that has been calibrated. Most of us replace the factory unit somewhere down the line. I'm not familiar with your smoker, but you need to check whatever is reading the cabinet temp. Good luck.


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## guvna (Feb 17, 2009)

is there any way you can post pics of your set-up? what therm. are you using? was the smoke thin and blue, or thick and white?


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## harrylips (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome to the forum...

Here is a link to the product manuals, I think...

http://www.olp-inc.com/products_smok...w_smokers.html

One thing I can think of is, what is the quality of the temp gauge?  If it is not accurate, that might be wyh your ribs were charred.


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## grothe (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome to SMF cwbile!!!
I wouldn't trust the factory thermometer...Mine is so far off, it's useless!!


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## smokingscooby (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome to the Forum! Ditto here with the original temp gauge. Found mine to be off almost 40*degree's . Went to Walmart and bought a digital one.That solved the problem.


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## bassman (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.  We also need to know what kind of wood/chips are you using?


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## BandCollector (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome from Pittsburgh, PA......Why the manufactures use those useless thermometers is anybody's guess.....Invest in a good digitial.


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## cwblile (Feb 17, 2009)

Remember I'm new at this.  I purchased a digital thermometer and haven't opened it.  From the way that it looks the probe goes in the meat.  Am I correct on that?


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## bmudd14474 (Feb 17, 2009)

You can also put the probe thru a cork or piece of wood to set it on the rack to get the chamber temp.


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## grothe (Feb 17, 2009)

For ribs, use the digital for grate temps.
Just stick it through a potato or a piece of wood to hold it. make sure the tip is sticking out to read air temp. Use that to monitor your chamber temps instead of the factory thermometer. Thermos aren't really good for ribs...not enough meat and too much bone. Pick up another digital for meat temps for other cuts of meat.


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## jdt (Feb 17, 2009)

welcome, the potato trick works great for calibrating, someone around here is sure to have one of them smokers and may be able to give a little advice.


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## cowgirl (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome from Oklahoma! Glad to have you here. :)


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## gooose53 (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome and thanks for your service!!!


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## fired up (Feb 17, 2009)

Welcome aboard!


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## roggen (Feb 17, 2009)

Make sure it is reading in Fahrenheit.  If it is Celsius it will be way off!!!


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## cwblile (Feb 20, 2009)

I tried to smoke some more ribs today.  The smoke was a thick white for the first two hours then it went to the thin blue.  Am I doing something wrong?  Also I purchased a digital thermometer and stuck it through a potato.  It stayed around 208 degrees and that was as low as the heat would turn down on the valve.   NOTE:  The ribs were completely done in 2 1/2 hours.


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## donnylove (Feb 20, 2009)

Hello and thanks for serving our country. Most folks around here use something known as the 3-2-1 (or a variation thereof) method for cooking ribs. It involves wrapping the ribs in foil with some liquid for a couple hours in the middle of the cooking process to braise the meat (further tenderizing it), before finishing the ribs in the open are for the last hour or so. Do a search for 3-2-1 and you'll get more detailed results. 

You didn't say how the ribs turned out . . . 2.5 hours is a bit fast for them to be done, especially at just 208 degrees. How were they?


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## cwblile (Feb 20, 2009)

There were good but I'm still looking for that perfect rub.  I will check out the 3 2 1 and try it again in a couple of weeks.  Thanks for the help.


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## donnylove (Feb 20, 2009)

You're welcome. Let me know when you find that perfect rub. I'm still searching for it myself!


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## yodelhawk (Feb 20, 2009)

Welcome! Looks like you are getting a lot of help with your project, so I'm gonna go off ona little side-bar... Where in Germany are you? I grew up on a now closed AF base called Bitburg and my son is now stationd over there. The Germans are known for their smoked meats but not for their BBQ. I miss the old country and go back as often as I can. Have fun, and thanks for your service!!!!


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## cman95 (Feb 21, 2009)

Welcome to SMF. Purchase Jeff's rub and meat sauce here from the forum. Ya can't go wrong. Then you can tweak the rub to your liking. Good luck.


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## crusty ol salt (Feb 21, 2009)

welcome aboard, glad you joined us @ smf.

all i have to say is do not get discouraged, the dogs in the neighborhood eat well when i first started.  they still do when i try some new things.  keep pluggin' away, toubleshootin' and asking uestions.  i promise you will soon be makin better que than you could ever buy.

Good luck


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## carpetride (Feb 21, 2009)

Welcome aboard!  I use a small red potatoe to hold my probes at the grate.  Does your rub have a lot of sugar...particularly white sugar?  If so it will burn even at lower temps.  A lot of us use demurara or some other type of sugar to avoid the burn.


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