Hello from CT

[doctorak]

I've been a lurker here for a few months ever since researching my new grill earlier in the summer. I've used a bunch of Meatheads techniques and recipes for things like steaks and chicken, but this weekend, with some old high school friends coming over with their families, decided to cook some SLC ribs using the Last Meal Ribs recipe with Meathead's Memphis Dust.

In a word: WOW. As the name implies, amazing stuff. My friends were texting me the next day to let me know how great the ribs were. Attached is a picture of my setup on my Weber Genesis 330EP, which is a fantastic grill that I've been really happy with. I cooked three racks on the indirect side and was able to keep everything about 220-230 the majority of the 7-hour-ish cook with minimal tweaking of the single left burner I had on. The final product picture came out a little blurry, unfotunately.

Thanks to Meathead and the whole crew. This is easily one of the best sites on the internet, and I look forward to getting involved on the forums. Next up, I'm going to look into buying a smoker.

[Spinaker]

ONE OF YOUR FIRST POSTS, SO WELCOME TO THE PIT!!!!!!!! THE RIBS LOOK AWESOME

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to the pit! How late in winter can you still cook? You finished product looks good!

[Danjohnston949]

Welcome to the Pit doctorak, By the look of your ribs you should have been here all of the time! 👍👍👍👍👍. Dan

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to the Pit, and great looking ribs! I call Amazing Ribs my "internet home". There's nowhere else on the internet where I'm comfortable around a bunch of guys and gals that I've never met.

[Breadhead]

Welcome to the Pit doctorak ...

Looks like you came up with the perfect setup for a low and slow smoke on a gasser. Good job!

A Kettle and the SnS might be a nice step forward for a low and slow cook. For about $250 you'll get a better finished product I think.

Then you can move into the smoker category... $500 to $5000, there is no limit.

[doctorak]

Welcome to the Pit doctorak ...

Looks like you came up with the perfect setup for a low and slow smoke on a gasser. Good job!

A Kettle and the SnS might be a nice step forward for a low and slow cook. For about $250 you'll get a better finished product I think.

Then you can move into the smoker category... $500 to $5000, there is no limit.

Thanks for the advice! So you think it's worth it to go with a Kettle and a SnS rather than just spend a bit more on something like a Smokey Mountain? I already have my Genesis for non-smoking cooks so I'm really looking for something that will be a little better for long cooks.

[Breadhead]

I use a Big Green Egg for almost everything.

However I'm going to buy a kettle just because of the results I see AR members getting with that simple inexpensive setup.

Yes spending more will give you a better low and slow cooker IMHO. Even though you figured out a creative way to turn a gasser into a pretty good smoker.

Let us know what you decide on... Pictures are always nice.😎

[doctorak]

Welcome to the pit! How late in winter can you still cook? You finished product looks good!

Well I just moved back to CT this July from Philly, so I guess my answer is that I plan to find out!

It starts cooling off around this time in the fall but still very temperate. Around late November early December is when it starts getting significantly cooler, then it usually starts snowing around late December. January and February can be pretty brutal months. My guess is I'll probably grill through November and slow down around December but we'll see how the winter goes.

[LA Pork Butt]

I can't imagine that cold. Typically we get to 28° a couple times a year, but that's the worst of it. Last year it got down to 19° which is pretty unusual for us. Generally, I can cook year-round.

[David Parrish]

Thanks for the advice! So you think it's worth it to go with a Kettle and a SnS rather than just spend a bit more on something like a Smokey Mountain? I already have my Genesis for non-smoking cooks so I'm really looking for something that will be a little better for long cooks.

Welcome doctorak! We're glad you're here. The SnS/Kettle combo is a disruptive force at its price point. You won't be disappointed. full disclosure I own the company that sells the SnS.

[_John_]

Welcome, looks great, you need more space! Poor ribs all confined to a small cooker, free range is better

[David Parrish]

Space was adequate, just needed to cut the racks in half so they weren't flopping against each other.

[doctorak]

Thanks for the tip. I did notice they were flopping onto each other, I'll take it into account next time.

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit doctorak! Glad to have you here and nice job on the ribs.

To help you decide what to get- a kettle with SnS, like Pit Boss says, is killer for its price point and ease of use. A WSM is more expensive and a little more of a learning curve but also more capacity. If 2 or 3 racks is really all you'll do there's no need to spend the dough on a WSM. If you see yourself doing larger gatherings a WSM may come in handy. However, now that you know how to do ribs on your gasser, with a kettle+SnS AND your gasser you have double the capacity for not a lot more money. You can always upgrade later if the need arises. (And it often does with us BBQ folk!) Another tool in a similar price range as the WSM is the PBC, Pit Barrel Cooker. Lots of happy folks using it, and less learning curve than the WSM.

Now on to further business... Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos.

Also, it's very important that you add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list in case you are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner!

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[doctorak]

I actually have become quite intrigued with the PBC. If I can convince the wifey that it's ok having something in our backyard that looks like hobos are cooking on it, I think that might be the next step. The real benefit, to me, is the reduced cooking time everyone's reporting. I actually was thinking about doing a brisket instead of ribs for the party for my first long cook, but with a 4 month old daughter sleep is at a premium, and I really didn't want to be up at all hours of the night (well, more than usual) adjusting the gas on the propane, swapping out a new tank, etc, so I went with the ribs. The ability to do a brisket without being up all night is mighty appealing, and if the PBC can give me high quality smoked meats in like half the time, I think it might be worth the extra 100 bucks over a Kettle +SnS combo.

We do occasionally have some parties where > 3 racks would be nice. to have. Again, the PBC would come in handy since I can prep everything then like 3-4 hours before just light it, hang the racks,m and set a timer. I'm going to start lurking in the PBC forum and see if I like what I see.

Also

[Huskee]

Sounds like you're doing your research wisely doctorak. If you're leaning toward the PBC I know you'll like what you see in the PBC channel. Haven't yet seen one person say "I don't care for this cooker."