Hi everyone......
This week, I just got a PBJ and last night, I decided to tackle a couple racks of ribs. With the new cooker, I decided to stay close to what the manufacturer recommends and used their rib recipe, rub, and cooking instructions. At the last minute, I decided to add a crock of their mac & cheese, again, following their recipe exactly.
The ribs turned out pretty good. Evenly cooked, nice crust, not fall-off-the-bone, but still tender. That was encouraging. They were saltier than I like, and I did see one reviewer who said their rub had a lot of salt in it, so that wasn’t too surprising.
However, the mac was a total fail, with a bitter, acrid smoky flavor throughout. After tasting that, I realized a little of that acrid flavor was in my ribs as well. (But it didn’t stop me from eating them.)
I used Kingsford original and the manufacturer confirmed I had the vent set properly.
So, before I throw in the towel on the PBJ, I thought I’d look for input from the experts here at AR.
From reading posts here, I’ve already decided to...
1. Use the 15-10-10 lighting scheme from fzxdoc to get the PBJ to a higher temp before putting on my food.
2. Use one of Steve Raichlen’s excellent rubs
3. Throw in a couple lumps of apple or hickory when I put my food on
4. Leave the top off after I’m done cooking to help it burn off any leftover residue.
Is there anything else I should do differently?
I will probably cook a whole chicken for my next effort.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you have for this newbie.
This week, I just got a PBJ and last night, I decided to tackle a couple racks of ribs. With the new cooker, I decided to stay close to what the manufacturer recommends and used their rib recipe, rub, and cooking instructions. At the last minute, I decided to add a crock of their mac & cheese, again, following their recipe exactly.
The ribs turned out pretty good. Evenly cooked, nice crust, not fall-off-the-bone, but still tender. That was encouraging. They were saltier than I like, and I did see one reviewer who said their rub had a lot of salt in it, so that wasn’t too surprising.
However, the mac was a total fail, with a bitter, acrid smoky flavor throughout. After tasting that, I realized a little of that acrid flavor was in my ribs as well. (But it didn’t stop me from eating them.)
I used Kingsford original and the manufacturer confirmed I had the vent set properly.
So, before I throw in the towel on the PBJ, I thought I’d look for input from the experts here at AR.
From reading posts here, I’ve already decided to...
1. Use the 15-10-10 lighting scheme from fzxdoc to get the PBJ to a higher temp before putting on my food.
2. Use one of Steve Raichlen’s excellent rubs
3. Throw in a couple lumps of apple or hickory when I put my food on
4. Leave the top off after I’m done cooking to help it burn off any leftover residue.
Is there anything else I should do differently?
I will probably cook a whole chicken for my next effort.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you have for this newbie.
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