Help!!

[dlaslo]

I just started 14 lbs of 2" thick short ribs at 5AM in an Oklahoma drum smoker. I have four thermocouples - one measuring just below the grill and one each in three slabs. After just an hour and a half, the darn temps in all three of the ribs are 175 already. The smoker has been 225 +/- 15 and the built in thermometer on the side of the Oklahoma Joe is also in the "smoke" range.

I have the probes stuck in the middle of the thickest part of the meat and not touching a bone.

I lifted the lid and they a sizzling like they are in a 400 degree oven.

I changed the grill to the lower of two positions on the smoker and I am wondering if I'm getting high radiation from the dispersion plate above the coals. Although one of the slabs is "hung" and is shielded by the other slabs.

I think I may do emergency surgery and move the grill to the upper level.

[Polarbear777]

I’ve had this happen before but it was because one of my thermometers was set to Celsius and I didn’t realize it.

Did you check things with an instant read?

hopefully it settles into a normal pattern.


If not, if it’s cooking way too hot, worst case you can wrap and slow braise to finish it and get it tender, it will end up less bark and smoke but still good.

[shush]

I've zero experience with the drum, I am a pellet guy, but I do know that trying to use a probe on ribs can be difficult at best.
Can you use one of your probes as an ambient gauge so you know the real temp? I do not trust the bimetals they put on for show. It could be you are just running way too hot. As far as what to do 'if', I'd do my best to lower the temp as close to 150 as possible, and let them go until they pass the bend test. If they already pass it, then you have made ribs _way_ quicker than expected. Throw them in a cambro for a while, and about 20 minutes before you want to eat, fire up the grill / broiler and give them a quick char to crust them up.

[dlaslo]

I've zero experience with the drum, I am a pellet guy, but I do know that trying to use a probe on ribs can be difficult at best.

Yeah. I just did a major overhaul. I moved the grill from the lower rack to the upper rack and reinserted all the thermometer probes.

In order to fit three slabs on an 18" grill I had to set one on its side. But its all good now.

I believe what happened is the meat shrank and the probes moved. I've used this same setup (although never on the lower rack) twice before with ribs and this did not happen. Very strange. Anyway, when I reinserted the probes, the temperatures on all three slabs went down 20 degrees. Everything is now at 165 and the smoker is steady at 225 with the digital probe band the bimetal running about 15 degrees lower.

The only thing different this time is the use of the lower rack. I can't believe all three slabs went to 180 like that.

[dlaslo]

Did you check things with an instant read?

.

no...didn't think of it when I panicked. but I will next time. These ribs should take 10 hours. If they get done early, I may have to put them in a cooler for a long time.

[RonB]

Once you get dialed in, it's hard to beat a drum...

[dlaslo]

Once you get dialed in, it's hard to beat a drum...

I made short ribs in this smoker a few weeks ago and they were 185 F about 3PM (10 hrs) , Now they are 180 after 5 hours. I'm debating whether to remove them for a while and put them in a cooler, Or cook completely and put in a cooler.

Anybody know which is best?

[RonB]

If you take off the heat and cool it, you will have to heat it again, and still take it up to probe tender. Let it ride, and if it's done early, wrap it in foil and either cambro it, or set your oven to it's minimum temp and hold in the oven. If the bark softens too much, you can either broil it for a few minutes per side or sear it over a hot fire.

[dlaslo]

I wasn't planning on cooling. I want to take them off the heat at say 170F and put them in a cambro for 2 or 3 hours. Then -- back to the smoker to finish at 203F. Maybe still cambro after that.

Is that better than cooking all the way and the cambro for many hours?

[dlaslo]

If not, if it’s cooking way too hot, worst case you can wrap and slow braise to finish it and get it tender, it will end up less bark and smoke but still good.

What's a slow braise?

[pkadare]

Cooking meat slowly in a liquid.

https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/how-to-braise

[tbob4]

I would go with RonB ‘s advice and pkadare ‘s. If the temp keeps rising, take them out and Cambro them. Then put a little beef broth, butter and red wine in the bottom of a crock pot on low.

[FishTalesNC]

Apologies if I’m misunderstanding your setup, but I have a little experience with the PBC (just one cook so far on my Bronco) and thought I’d chime in...

When you say "I changed the grill to the lower of two positions", you’re referring to the cooking grate, right? (And not the charcoal basket which is actually designed to have a couple of positions depending if you’re smoking or grilling/searing?) Generally speaking I think the design intent is to use the cooking grate at the top most position (at the top of the grate support.) The bottom lip of the grate support (which I think you’re calling the "lower position") is intended to support a food hanger. I know some people have purchased a 2nd grate and use it in that "lower position" to increase capacity, but I think you have to consider what you’re cooking, e.g. perhaps a pork butt that can take higher heat, with ribs on a grate at the upper position. My long winded point is I think using the cooking grate at the "lower position" isn’t ideal because is too close to the charcoal basket, even with the diffuser in place. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were sizzling since they were probably being grilled rather than smoked (ignore the temp zone markings on the included thermometer, I think they muddy the waters here).

Compounding matters, if I understand your setup, is you also have a rack hanging above the cooking grate. That rack is cooking at a very different temp than those on the grate, which are interrupting the vertical flow of heat in the barrel which you want for the hanging meat. Ideally you’d have a probe at grate level rather than solely relying on the included thermometer. In your situation, I would have hung all the racks if I couldn’t fit them all on a cooking grate. If they did fit on a grate, I’d have placed it at the "top position".

Lastly, I agree with RonB in that you’re probably better off cooking fully and then cambroing for even up to 4 hours (which I’ve done) as opposed to leaving it shy, then having to bring it back up to temp (which I’ve not done, so I don’t really know).

Hope there’s something helpful here and I didn’t completely misinterpret your cook!

[dlaslo]

Yes...the cooking grate. I ended up abandoning the lower position as I posted above.
And I don't use the smoker's thermometer...I have a digital probe on the grill.

It turned out I was fooled once again by the initial temperature rise in the food. Later, the stall was forever and after 13 hours I still hadn't hit 203F. Some of the ribs had a shell.....dried out and chewy. Uneatable. Really bad result. Some of the ribs were the opposite.....really good.