Smokin.....Oh Yeah !!!

[Bird]

Steve, my smoker is on a patio in a breezeway, so it's never in the sun. Wind can make it a little more difficult to control the temperature, but I do the ribs at 250-275. But I have a simple spray bottle and mix one-third each 7-Up (or Sprite), water, and red wine (burgundy or sangria) and I open the smoker briefly about once an hour and spray a fine mist of that mixture on the ribs. Now I've eaten some ribs in restaurants that I thought were better than mine, but last week when my wife was telling our younger daughter about the neighbors' ribs, our daughter told my wife, "Nobody does ribs better than Dad."

 

[BigE_]

Thanks for the tip, Bird. I'll have to give that a try.

I've heard of mixing BBQ sauce and red wine 50/50, but the sprayer would always get plugged. Then I tried a basting brush with the mixture, and while that worked, the BBQ sauce would go a little ways past carmelization to the carbonized point.

I've also heard that putting beer in your water pan really makes it moist. At some point I'll try some cheap beer to check that one out.

-Steve

 

[jimmyj]

You fellas sure are making me hungry.
I'm going to get a smoker this year and I can't wait.

 

[Bird]

I've also heard that putting beer in your water pan really makes it moist.

I suspect that would work, but haven't tried it. I'm probably repeating myself, but many years ago, my wife used to fix a good "pot roast?" in the oven and she poured a can of beer on it. It was really good. So then, I cooked a beef roast in the pressure cooker and poured a can of beer on it before cooking it. Bad mistake and bad flavor. I guess most folks know that when you cook with wine or beer, the alcohol evaporates and disappears, but in a pressure cooker, you have it trapped in there with no place to go. Another lesson learned.

 

[jinman]

I suspect that would work, but haven't tried it. I'm probably repeating myself, but many years ago, my wife used to fix a good "pot roast?" in the oven and she poured a can of beer on it. It was really good. So then, I cooked a beef roast in the pressure cooker and poured a can of beer on it before cooking it. Bad mistake and bad flavor. I guess most folks know that when you cook with wine or beer, the alcohol evaporates and disappears, but in a pressure cooker, you have it trapped in there with no place to go. Another lesson learned.

The last three times I've smoked, I have been using a can of beer along with a cup of apple juice and a cup of wine. I ran out of cheap wine, so the last time I used a cup from a $20 bottle of wine. I'll have to buy a couple of jugs of cheap red wine and keep it on hand because it really gives all meats a good flavor when mixed with the beer.

I think the real trick for moist meats is to keep the temperature low. I cook at 210 to 225, never more for anything. The inside of my smoker gets dripping wet from the moisture. Just think about it. At boiling or a little above, most juices won't boil. That leads to a very moist environment. After about 4 hours on ribs or 6 hours on a big brisket, you will not get any more smoke, so you might as well just wrap the meat. That's when I baste heavily to trap that moisture inside the foil as the meat finishes. I just think low and slow is the way to moist and tender meat that is full of flavor. The ribs I had with my wife and inlaws last night were juicy and tender.

BigE: I read somewhere that heavy sweet basting should not be done to meats you want to absorb a lot of smoke. The sugar will glaze over and block smoke. The author suggested such things as vinegar, apple juice, beer, and wine mixed with other ingredients to produce a very light wetting of the surface instead of the heavy glazes. Bird's spray bottle mixture would be about the perfect consistency according to that smoking recipe.

 

[scott_vt]

The last three times I've smoked, I have been using a can of beer along with a cup of apple juice and a cup of wine. .

Good Afternoon Guys,
Well Kathleen and I along with two other couples are leaving for St. Martin wednesday, so we are havin are friends over for dinner tonite and we thought we would fire up the smoker for the event ! We wanted to go with a carribean flair, so Kathleen came uo with a marinate that has some carribean spices, lemon juice and garlic as the main ingredients !

Anyone that has been to Grand Case on the french side of the island, has smelled the natives smokin and barbequin chicken and ribs.

Are menu tonite is country style pork ribs, smoked to perfection, with Kathleens carribean marinate. We are also havin sliced potatoes wrapped in foil with butter and garlic, along with a host of veggies also marinated !

Jim, I did pour some beer in the water bowl, I just hate to pour too much in there ! You get the idea !

A couple of pics on startup and then after 3 hours, lookin good so far !

 

[Bird]

Sure looks good. Of course, I think those country style pork ribs are hard to beat no matter how you cook'em.

 

[BigE_]

I generally put in two bottles of cheap beer. You can't really tell the difference in taste, and it does seem to hold the moisture better.

Definitely looks good! I'm going to have to fire up my smoker again!

I built a little wheeled base for it and the propane tank, and then took it a step further and added a roof to it to keep some of the rain off. Much easier to wheel it out away from the house now, and I don't worry about rain getting into the top opening anymore.

Thought I had pictures, but can't find them right now. Camera is off at the repair shop getting fixed under warranty...

 

[Bird]

I didn't fire up the smoker today, just the Patio Caddy and grilled some chicken breasts that had been marinated in Allegro and served with a baked potato and asparagus.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Good Afternoon Guys,
Well Kathleen and I along with two other couples are leaving for St. Martin wednesday, so we are havin are friends over for dinner tonite and we thought we would fire up the smoker for the event ! We wanted to go with a carribean flair, so Kathleen came uo with a marinate that has some carribean spices, lemon juice and garlic as the main ingredients !

Anyone that has been to Grand Case on the french side of the island, has smelled the natives smokin and barbequin chicken and ribs.

Are menu tonite is country style pork ribs, smoked to perfection, with Kathleens carribean marinate. We are also havin sliced potatoes wrapped in foil with butter and garlic, along with a host of veggies also marinated !

Jim, I did pour some beer in the water bowl, I just hate to pour too much in there ! You get the idea !

A couple of pics on startup and then after 3 hours, lookin good so far !

Good Evening Scott,

So your back to smokin again.......That is some nice looking ribs

I reached my laptop to my wife & told her to read & look....... she said that you & kathleen sure know how to fix ribs....But we have never tried the potatoes that way, and it sure sounds good!....We will try it in 2 weeks when we go camping for a couple weeks.

When we go camping, we always get up early & fix breakfast on an open fire & fix dinner....but if it's raining, we have to cook in the camper

Hope you enjoy your trip!.....Where is St. Martin???.....

Enjoy your ribs