Miraculously, the ribs went into the smoker precisely at my target time of 8am. Running the Pit Boss on the low-T "smoke" setting for the first hour. Any rain showers are not expected until after dark, so I should be fine today. (Although this close to solstice, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, it gets late early this time of year)
(That's the Meater+ wifi/bluetooth probe on the left)
About four hours in, with the first hour on the "smoke" setting. Temps in the 150s.
Six hours in, temps around 175.
Last edited by DaveD; December 18, 2021, 01:09 PM.
Hey all, here's how the rack came out of the trimming process this afternoon. I shaved off 11 oz, and I think I am near the target of "enthusiastic but not aggressive"
Believe me, we're in no rush! We'll be having a leisurely afternoon of nosh & grog. Just want to be able to plate everything simultaneously, at whenever o'clock.
Great news about the weather Dave.
Once you get those puppies prob tender, 200-205ish
holding them in a cambro or oven, wrapped. They can hang there for 3-4 hrs easily. Spend the time enjoying your friends and family. There is no rush on getting them plated.
Holding in the oven or FC was always part of the game plan so that we could plate everything at once, if nothing else. But I wasn't automatically planning to wrap them, so we'll see. The weather outlook is improving though, arrival of showers has slipped to the right in the forecast so I am hopeful to get a full day without having to walk between the raindrops...
Honestly, after about 3-5 hours in the smoke, you’re not getting much use out of the fuel aside from BTU’s. Once I get the bark I like, I’ve finished in my oven and rested in faux cambro’s. I find holding them allows me to better entertain guests, rather than trying to get meat(s) just right.
Many award winning pitmasters will tell you, after you wrap, BTU’s are BTU’s.
I have heard everything from "a couple of hours" up to "until you wrap". I would not sweat it too much. Any amount of smoke is going to amp up the flavor profile. If possible err on the side of starting earlier. You can always hold them in a warm oven or faux cambro if they are done early.
Hey folks, while we wait for those ribs to thaw in the fridge I have a weather-related question.
Forecast is for some rain showers to arrive later on Saturday, when I need to cook these (we're having our next door neighbors over for a pre-Xmas feast before they hit the road to their kids' place for the hols). My game plan was to get them on good and early in the hopes they'll be done before the showers arrive. Also planning on using my smoker's low-T "smoke" setting (about 140F) for the first hour while the ribs are coldest to really get a major smoke hit.
But if the rain arrives early, and is more than I can fend off by dragging my patio table over near the smoker and opening the umbrella, I'll have to bring the ribs inside to the kitchen oven. Question is, is there a consensus on how long before one gets to the point of diminishing returns on smoke uptake on pieces like this? Would be good to know that if I make it, say, five hours before I have to bail, I'll probably have gotten most of the smoke I'm gonna.
Nailed it -- that's what I'd like, a little bit of fat for that flavor hit, not enough that someone would think, that's gotta go. So no bark would be harmed in the smoking of these ribs.
To be clear, I'm not the least worried about moisture, mostly about getting the rub seasoning properly engaged and not having more fat than most folks want to eat (I like some, as gboss as has posted too). I've done a couple chucks but no brisket yet...
I keep looking for Dinos at my local markets. Only found’em once and they were ridiculously expensive, so I haven’t cooked them yet. But I’d approach them like brisket.
That means (for me) leaving about a 1/4” of fat cap. That’s what I leave on a packer, and I’ve never had anyone cut it off and leave it on their plate.
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