BBQ-masters, show me the way

[atgcpaul]

I made the plunge (OK, only knee deep) and bought a vertical water smoker
this weekend from Lowes--a Brinkmann. Please don't lecture me on, oh, you
should have gone with a Weber or something else. I know, I know. After all,
I'm just getting started.

I know there's probably a considerable learning curve to making it work and I
need help. I used it for the first time yesterday. The taste and appearance-
smoke ring and all-was excellent, but it just didn't come out tender.

I used about 5lbs of charcoal briquets that I got ashy in a chimney starter.
Those went in the coal pan at the bottom. I soaked 2 hickory chunks earlier
and those went on the coals, too. Next the water pan filled with hot water,
and then ribs on the upper and lower racks. Lid on, then walk away.

There's a temp gauge on the front that reads something like "Warm, Ideal, Hot".
In not too long, it was on the border of Ideal and Hot. I opened the lid a
little and got the needle back to middle-Ideal. I was doing 5lbs of ribs and
let it go for 3 hours. By the end of it, the needle was just in the Ideal zone,
close to Warm.

So I think that first 1/2 hour at Hot was probably not good, and not going for
4-6 hours was probably another reason it didn't turn out tender.

First, I want to get a temp gauge with actual numbers on it. Any
suggestions on how to mount it? There are no holes in the lid other than
where the handle is attached and where the current gauge is.

Secondly, did I start with too many coals? The manual actually said start
with 15lbs (the whole bag). That seemed like a crazy amount. One
suggestion I read is to put unlit coals in the pan and add a small amount of
hot coals to that pile. Over time more coals will light as other go out. Sounds
reasonable. Or is it best to start with just enough and add more hot coals as
needed?

Lastly, do y'all start with cold water or hot water in your pan? I saw some
suggestions of putting ice in the pan if the temp gets too hot. However, the
majority of the smoke and heat seem to easily bypass the pan so I don't see
how that could be very effective.

When this rain stops, I hope to go out there again armed with your suggestions.

Thanks!

Paul

[nadz]

brinkman A+

hey man,

i started on a brinkmann bullet style smoker too, they take a little practice to get used to, but once you get the hang of them, your family and neighbors will be over every weekend

i build a fire using the minion method- pile of unlit topped with 2-3 handfuls or so of fully lit charcoals(from a chimney starter), throughout the cooking i add hickory or oak chunks

i also use oven thermometers on my cooking surface to get a more accurate reading on my cooking temps...

i rarely cook anything without wrapping it in foil at some point, for example: babyback ribs- smoke 2 hours or so, foil and continue to cook for a couple of hours(until desired tenderness) unfoil, sauce, and either serve, or allow to remain in the smoker for the sauce to 'barbecue' on

also- might want to start with butts and chickens, butts are hard to mess up, and chickens are cheap and delicious

hope this helps!

[dbhost]

I am not familiar with that Brinkmann, or an inline smoker of any sort. I use offset smokers so my advice may be a bit off for you...

I have used Mesquite charcoal, or chunk wood such as mesquite, pecan, apple, or cherry all work well, small stuff that is either scrap cutoffs from projects, or stuff too small to even chuck up on the lathe. And no I don't turn pens or stoppers yet... I start this with a Kingsford Charcoal Chimney starter, and scrap paper. I typically have a nice glowing bed of coals in less than 10 minutes...

I then build up the fire with larger pieces, and set the intake, and exhaust baffles and adjust until I get "sweet blue" smoke that is steady. This can be a frustrating process to master, especially with a finicky smoker.

I use an Outdoor Gourmet in door thermometer (cheapie, but all I could get my hands on at the time), which has a range of temps, sub 200 for warm, 200 to 275 for BBQ, 275 to (350 I think, I don't recall) for grill, and over that for roasting.

I typically do NOT do grilling or roasting in a smoker, but leave the Weber Smokey Joe Gold for grilling.

Depending on the recipe at hand, I use either straight water, cheap beer, or a mix of water and apple juice in the water bowl at the bottom of the smoke chamber.

FWIW, my BBQ equipment is as follows.

New Branfels (R.I.P.) Bandera Smoker. (2004 Vintage)
Smoke Chamber Baffle Mod. (directs smoke / heat toward the back wall of the smoke chamber, evenly distributing it instead of allowing both heat and smoke to just run up the inside of the chamber and out the stack.)
Smoke Chamber Door Gasket Mod. (Keeps smoke, and heat in the cooking chamber as long as possible).
Smoke Chamber paver mod. (Keeps temps more even on long cooks).
Smoke Chamber drain hole mod. (Simple hole drilled in the bottom of the smoke chamber, and threaded to accept a 1/2" pipe plug. This gets removed to allow the smoke chamber to be cleaned and dried out, which is why I still have a 2004 vintage smoker).

[BigguyZ]

I have the Char Griller grill that Menards carries, and this weekend we added the side fire box that's available. http://www.chargriller.com/store/pro...products_id=31

Anyways, I followed the instructions with the grill and the chips best I could, but I'm not 100% sure that it turned out as well as it could have. We used hickory wood chips from Menards- picked the bark out, and put it in foil dry over the coals. The coals were started in a chimney starter, and then put on the coal tray for the side fire box. Then, the meat was placed in the body of the grill, now the smoke chamber...

Anyways, the ribs were OK, but definitely not fall off the bone tender. One chuck roast I cooked at the same time was dry, the other very tender and very juicy. I also tried doing chicken and corn at the same time (it's a huge grill, I love it). The temperature only reach 150-170°, per the temp gauge... We cooked everything for 4-5 hours.

The chicken wasn't fully cooked until I put in in the actual side fire box. The ribs were OK, like I said.

Once I had to refill the coals, since they were getting burned down, and I put a softball sized wad of hickory in the fire box twice...

So yeah,... I didn't read anything about a water pan in my directions. Where would I put one with thyis type of smoker, and how do I get it to run hotter?


Thanks.

[Rand]

The meat wasn't tender because it didn't get hot enough. Tough cuts, like a brisket for example, are full of connective tissue that make it very tough and chewy. Slowly bringing the temp of the meat up to 210° will make it fall apart tender. Apparently your smoker doesn't get hot enough for that - mine doesn't either. So, here's what I do.

After applying a dry rub I put the meat on the smoker for 3-4 hours. That's long enough to give it good color and flavor. Then I wrap the meat completely in foil, put it in a pan and into a 300° oven. I use a probe thermometer set to 210. It usually takes about an hour to get the temperature up. When my thermometer alarm goes off I remove the meat from the oven but leave the foil on. I let it rest at least 15 minutes.

I remove the meat from the foil but save the juices. After carving I pour the juice back over the sliced brisket. BBQ sauce is optional. The same process works good with Pork too but I don't cover it in foil before going in the oven.

I have also tried using the gas grill instead of the oven - that works but I fried a probe thermometer doing that.

[poolhound]

I have a gas smoker. Same principle but it has lava rocks and I add various woods that have been soaked on top to provide the necessary smoke.

In my experience the main tip is things need to be cooked low and long and try not to be tempted to keep removing the lid as it lets out all the built up heat.

The liquid pan is there primarily to add steam and help prevent the meat from drying out. You can also add the marinade to the pan which I typically do.

The biggest trick (which I have yet to master) is the amount of smoke. You dont need that much to flavor the meat and I still tend to overdo it.

I have had the best results from whole chickens or turkey breasts.

Havent yet tried ribs as these seem to work best on the regular grill and the smoker doesnt have room for a whole rack.

[poolhound]

Another option for tougher cuts is to boil them first and then put in the grill or smoker.

[mschrank]

Another option for tougher cuts is to boil them first and then put in the grill or smoker.

Oh, you didn't really just say that, did you?

#1 Rule of Ribs: Thou shall not parboil!

Paul,
Not sure what went wrong. All I can say is that I haven't had much luck with my vertical smoker (can't remember the brand, but it was cheap). I have better luck on a regular Weber kettle type BBQ grill.

Here is a great site: www.amazingribs.com
Look for the "Last Meal Ribs" recipe. The first time I BBQ'd ribs (couple years ago), I followed his directions and produced the best ribs I've ever had. Now granted, here in the Pacific NW, we don't have much in the way of authentic BBQ joints, but if there are ribs better than these, they'd have to be called Nirvana.

[poolhound]

Oh, you didn't really just say that, did you?

#1 Rule of Ribs: Thou shall not parboil!

Paul,
Not sure what went wrong. All I can say is that I haven't had much luck with my vertical smoker (can't remember the brand, but it was cheap). I have better luck on a regular Weber kettle type BBQ grill.

Here is a great site: www.amazingribs.com
Look for the "Last Meal Ribs" recipe. The first time I BBQ'd ribs (couple years ago), I followed his directions and produced the best ribs I've ever had. Now granted, here in the Pacific NW, we don't have much in the way of authentic BBQ joints, but if there are ribs better than these, they'd have to be called Nirvana.

Good point, I didnt necessarily mean with everything but its quite common for things like brisket as in "boiled beef."

We often do that and then coat in a sauce and finish in the regular oven.

[Uncle Cracker]

There was a question above about hot vs. cold water. Generally in cooking, you start with cold water. The main reason is that starting with water hot out of the tap adds a metallic aftertaste from your hot water heater. Cold water bypasses the HWH, so does not have this aftertaste. FWIW

[Tom Slick]

What cut of meat and how much did it weigh? smoking is usually 1hr/lb.