So it took a few days to get this posted...yet another consequence of trying to do too many things at once. Also, please note that when I'm cooking I often forget to take the pics. I'm in the zone, thinking things through and just enjoying the moment.
After the Baby's arrival Sunday, I decided some pulled pork and SL ribs would be a good first cook. I'm pretty familiar with those cuts so I could focus on the smoker operation. I used Everglades All-Purpose No MSG for the rub on both, a taste with which I am also very familiar.
Charcoal: a mix of some leftover Kingsford BB and B&B Competion briquettes
Fire Starter: Grill Goods all natural fire starters, with an assist from my Looftlighter
Flavor Wood: a chunk of pecan in the ash pan (as recommended)
Thermometers: built-in pit thermometer, ThermoPop for meat
Starting the fire
I set two fire starters (they look like little wax-covered tumbleweeds) on the fire grate and poured in about a half chute of charcoal, then lit the fire starters. They burned...ok but not impressively and were getting used up quickly without noticeable change in the charcoal. There was, however, a good amount of smoke out the top of the chute. After a few minutes I decided to give the fire an assist with my Looftlighter. It perked up a bit so I closed the fire door and top chute, then opened the air inlet ball valve all the way.
And waited...
I had heard these cookers take a while to come up to temperature. Mine did. At about 175F after a half-hour I got impatient. I fitted the Looftlighter to the air inlet and gave it a blast for a few minutes. This caused a rapid increase in temp and after a few cycles of this (checking to make sure the temp didn't fall when I stopped Loofting) the pit was a 200F.
Adding the meat
There are four channels and three racks in the smoker. The very top channel is at the very top of the cabinet. This turned out to be the perfect place to stash the middle rack, which needed to be moved for the partial pork butt. The two rib racks went on the second channel rack, side-by-side and front to back. Closed and latched the cabinet and checked the thermometer. It soon was back to 200F. I Loofted again to bring the pit up to about 250F, then slightly closed the inlet so that the handle was pointing to 7-o'clock as recommended on Stump's site (it took a little bit for me to figure out when they thought 12 o'clock was, but there is only one possible orientation that works for 7...looking at it from the open end). It stayed at that temp with no intervention until I shut it down. Rock steady.
A snag
Remember the "too many things at once?" With how long it took the pit to come up to temp, I had a prior commitment just about the time I would normally be wrapping the ribs. By the time I got home the ribs were fall-apart done but not at all dry. In fact, they were just the way my extended family loves them (The meat falls off the bone!!). I took them out, wetted them with apple juice, and wrapped in foil to rest.
The pork was hanging in there at 175F. I wrapped with apple juice and put that back in the cabinet. I removed it a few hours later at just under 200F.
The results
It's always hard for me to judge the smokiness right after a cook after being in all that smoke, but the ribs and pork had a very delicate flavor. The ribs did fall apart, but still had texture to them and were just the way my husband likes them (we server them dry, sauce on the side). The pulled pork compared well to what I'm used to from my PBC. I vacuum packed the pulled pork and one rack of ribs for the trip (which got cancelled due to boat mechanical issues) and we at the first rack that day and the next.
What I really like
The Stump's Baby suits me well. Get it going and it does its thing without a lot of fuss. The chamber stays moist without a water pan. The unit (except for chimney and fire door) stay cool-ish to the touch. The overall height is perfect for me...I'm 5'4. If you are really tall it could be a lot of bending. I also like that I found a used unit as I don't think I'd go for one at full-price. This was just a lucky find.
What I'd change for next cook
I need to rethink fire starting. Two other methods I can try are plumbers torch (don't have one yet) and half-chimney to start (I'll need to take all the charcoal out of the chute). I also have a BBQ Dragon fan that might be good to help the coals along instead of Loofting them.
I was so excited to try the new cooker that I tried to compress the timeline. Next cook I'll make sure I'm not trying to rush.
Next cook I'd like to try my BBQ Guru Party-Q for temp control. I needed to order an adapter. I'm not certain it's powerful enough for the task but we'll see.
I wonder if my Meater+ wireless thermometers will talk thru all that steel...also something to try.
After the Baby's arrival Sunday, I decided some pulled pork and SL ribs would be a good first cook. I'm pretty familiar with those cuts so I could focus on the smoker operation. I used Everglades All-Purpose No MSG for the rub on both, a taste with which I am also very familiar.
Charcoal: a mix of some leftover Kingsford BB and B&B Competion briquettes
Fire Starter: Grill Goods all natural fire starters, with an assist from my Looftlighter
Flavor Wood: a chunk of pecan in the ash pan (as recommended)
Thermometers: built-in pit thermometer, ThermoPop for meat
Starting the fire
I set two fire starters (they look like little wax-covered tumbleweeds) on the fire grate and poured in about a half chute of charcoal, then lit the fire starters. They burned...ok but not impressively and were getting used up quickly without noticeable change in the charcoal. There was, however, a good amount of smoke out the top of the chute. After a few minutes I decided to give the fire an assist with my Looftlighter. It perked up a bit so I closed the fire door and top chute, then opened the air inlet ball valve all the way.
And waited...
I had heard these cookers take a while to come up to temperature. Mine did. At about 175F after a half-hour I got impatient. I fitted the Looftlighter to the air inlet and gave it a blast for a few minutes. This caused a rapid increase in temp and after a few cycles of this (checking to make sure the temp didn't fall when I stopped Loofting) the pit was a 200F.
Adding the meat
There are four channels and three racks in the smoker. The very top channel is at the very top of the cabinet. This turned out to be the perfect place to stash the middle rack, which needed to be moved for the partial pork butt. The two rib racks went on the second channel rack, side-by-side and front to back. Closed and latched the cabinet and checked the thermometer. It soon was back to 200F. I Loofted again to bring the pit up to about 250F, then slightly closed the inlet so that the handle was pointing to 7-o'clock as recommended on Stump's site (it took a little bit for me to figure out when they thought 12 o'clock was, but there is only one possible orientation that works for 7...looking at it from the open end). It stayed at that temp with no intervention until I shut it down. Rock steady.
A snag
Remember the "too many things at once?" With how long it took the pit to come up to temp, I had a prior commitment just about the time I would normally be wrapping the ribs. By the time I got home the ribs were fall-apart done but not at all dry. In fact, they were just the way my extended family loves them (The meat falls off the bone!!). I took them out, wetted them with apple juice, and wrapped in foil to rest.
The pork was hanging in there at 175F. I wrapped with apple juice and put that back in the cabinet. I removed it a few hours later at just under 200F.
The results
It's always hard for me to judge the smokiness right after a cook after being in all that smoke, but the ribs and pork had a very delicate flavor. The ribs did fall apart, but still had texture to them and were just the way my husband likes them (we server them dry, sauce on the side). The pulled pork compared well to what I'm used to from my PBC. I vacuum packed the pulled pork and one rack of ribs for the trip (which got cancelled due to boat mechanical issues) and we at the first rack that day and the next.
What I really like
The Stump's Baby suits me well. Get it going and it does its thing without a lot of fuss. The chamber stays moist without a water pan. The unit (except for chimney and fire door) stay cool-ish to the touch. The overall height is perfect for me...I'm 5'4. If you are really tall it could be a lot of bending. I also like that I found a used unit as I don't think I'd go for one at full-price. This was just a lucky find.
What I'd change for next cook
I need to rethink fire starting. Two other methods I can try are plumbers torch (don't have one yet) and half-chimney to start (I'll need to take all the charcoal out of the chute). I also have a BBQ Dragon fan that might be good to help the coals along instead of Loofting them.
I was so excited to try the new cooker that I tried to compress the timeline. Next cook I'll make sure I'm not trying to rush.
Next cook I'd like to try my BBQ Guru Party-Q for temp control. I needed to order an adapter. I'm not certain it's powerful enough for the task but we'll see.
I wonder if my Meater+ wireless thermometers will talk thru all that steel...also something to try.
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