# A question about maintaining cooking temps



## bigwheel (Jan 31, 2009)

Hi there. Sure you get some differing opinyawns as there a lot of ways to skin a cat and a lot of theories on how to cook ribs. I'm not a big fan of trying to cook at anything less that about 250..actually prefer 260. Can you maintain those temps? If so give it a try. Cook meat side down until they are done..don't flip and dont spill the juice which will collect on the bone side. Now you can give the racks a spin or sideways scoot if you need to distribute the heat evenly. Test for doneness I use is to reach in and try to pull apart of coupla of adjacent bones in the middle of the rack. If the meat between the bones tears apart easily thats a clue they are done.  Once they pass that test wrap em in foil and stick in an insulated box..empty ice chest etc with folded up newpapers on bottom and top and let them rest for an hour or two or three. Cook time usually runs between 4-6 hrs. depending on the size of the ribs..temps etc.  

bigwheel


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## Nick Prochilo (Jan 31, 2009)

You will need to give a little info on the smoker. How many burners, what type of controls does it have to control the heat. I little more info here, and the folks here will have you up and running. Like bigwheel said, 250 - 260 degrees will work.


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## ScottyDaQ (Jan 31, 2009)

Who's gunna be doing most of the cooking? If it's him....tell his butt to join the forum, and LEARN!


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## ScottyDaQ (Jan 31, 2009)

This?


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## Nick Prochilo (Jan 31, 2009)

Is there any control on the smoke stack to control the flow of smoke out?


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## bigwheel (Jan 31, 2009)

Just an idle thought but did it come with anything like an Owner's Manuel or something like that which might perhap give a person a hint on how you supposed to control the heat on it? Thanks. 

bigwheel


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## bigwheel (Jan 31, 2009)

Now I wouldnt personally want to fiddle with the exhaust..and since it runs on gas not sure how much I would want to fiddle with the intakes either. Them thangs can turn themselves into bombs purty easy. That is why my pride and joy runs on electricity.  I think water is going to be your best pal on this deal. Do it come with a water pan maybe? If so are yall using it etc?  Thanks. 

bigwheel


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## wittdog (Jan 31, 2009)

The higher temp temp won’t make that much of a difference as far as the end product except that the cooking times will be shorter…the only other thing to consider is the dry rub you use…one with a lot of sugar might burn with the higher temps.

If you are looking for lower temps you might want to consider rigging some kind of heat sink like a water pan or some sand in a pan to help lower the temps in the smoker.


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## ScottyDaQ (Jan 31, 2009)

Yeah... I've fiddled around with doing cooks at the 350 range...instead of low and slow. You suffer a little on the texture of the bark, and there's a risk of it getting a little dry. The interior is still good, and you get the internal collagen break down that you need. If you inject the meat before you'll have better results.

So that's the cooker...Is that a thermo on the exhaust stack? If it is...don't trust that ! That's not the cooking temp.

It says it has a water pan in it.... What do you fill it with? Ever try sand instead of water? I swear by sand. (clean NEW playground sand...less cat turds in new sand.)


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## bigwheel (Jan 31, 2009)

Well yall can fiddle with that cat turd infested sand all ya want..just give me a good old water pan into which goes H2o which is the scientifical nomenclature for agua. Hey since she lives around the Ocean maybe they can get some free sand and prob some free salt water. I would take the salt water. That prob give it a nice shrimpy flavor. The Ocean always smells like dead shrimp to me. 

bigwheel


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## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Jan 31, 2009)

wittdog said:
			
		

> The higher temp temp won’t make that much of a difference as far as the end product except that the cooking times will be shorter…the only other thing to consider is the dry rub you use…one with a lot of sugar might burn with the higher temps.
> 
> If you are looking for lower temps you might want to consider rigging some kind of heat sink like a water pan or some sand in a pan to help lower the temps in the smoker.


Didn't know you were such a gas cooker expert Dave!


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## bigwheel (Jan 31, 2009)

Well sounds like the yankees has already got to ya on that Reynolds Wrap (New England Crutch) deal. You sorta remind me of a fella named Sapo. He come on here and axe for advice from folks then when he gets it..he does just the opposite. Guess it works. Good luck.  Did you ever chew on the book covers when you was in school? Thanks.   

bigwheel




			
				Newbies Wife said:
			
		

> Ok, so here's the plan.  I made up some Magic Dust rub today and the ribs are relaxing in the fridge.  Tomorrow morning, I'll let those ribs sit out for an hour or so, then we'll get the smoker ready.  Water in the pan, no sand this time.  Then we'll let them cook as low as we can get them for 3 or 4 hours.  Wrap them in foil and cook for a bit more.  Does this sound right?  Hope so.  I'll let you all know the results.  I'm a little far from the ocean, so shrimp-flavored ribs won't be on the menu.


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## ScottyDaQ (Jan 31, 2009)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Well sounds like the yankees has already got to ya on that Reynolds Wrap (New England Crutch) deal. You sorta remind me of a fella named Sapo. He come on here and axe for advice from folks then when he gets it..he does just the opposite. Guess it works. Good luck.  Did you ever chew on the book covers when you was in school? Thanks.
> 
> bigwheel



Pay no attention to the man behind the jug of Ezra.   

I hope the rub doesn't have a lot of salt, cuz letting them sit overnight may make them a lil ...well ... salty. I take my ribs right outta the fridge and throw em on. Hard to tell ya how to do ribs on a cooker that runs so hot....
How did you measure the temps on it?


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## Bruce B (Jan 31, 2009)

Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
			
		

> wittdog said:
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He's just an expert on gas.


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## wittdog (Jan 31, 2009)

Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
			
		

> wittdog said:
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I can cook inside the house you know.....We do have a gas oven


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## Uncle Al (Feb 1, 2009)

Perhaps a  therm, inside the oven, on one of the grates, might help.

Al


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## Nick Prochilo (Feb 1, 2009)

Foil it a few times then no foil a few times. See which way you like the best. I personally like to foil.


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## bigwheel (Feb 1, 2009)

Well I did a variant of the 3-2-1-1 method for years. Cept I didn't just foil I added some secret stuff like apple cider and brown sugar. The extra hour counts for the mandatory rest period..but sometimes they rested a lot longer than an hour. Drag em outta the hot box and outta the foil about 30 mins before turn in and slapped back on the fire where they got  slathered up "ONCE" with Texas Rib Ranger Spicy Sauce mixed with a big dollop of Orange Blossom Honey. Let it burn in just a little..yum yum.  If you slather mo than once it kills out the other spices. Old outlaw moss back comp cooker named Ray Batteron taught me that lesson. Found it to be true. 

bigwheel


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## bigwheel (Feb 1, 2009)

Well I been running around in my thong bikini bermuda shorts all day here in God's Country...Texas of course. Can't imagine how hot it be out in Sunny CA.  Heard a rumor today Arnald is gonna be swiping yall's State Tax overpayment refund checks in order to pay off a few bills which the State Guv'ment has accrued. You heard that yet?  Guessing it must be mainly bar tabs and Green's Fees. Whutcha think?

bigwheel


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## bigwheel (Feb 2, 2009)

Well would admit to being willing to exchange bank accounts with the boy any old day. Just guessing I get the bargain on that deal. Sure glad for you to teach me how to pronounce his name in print..Ahurnald. Think I got it..thanks. Taking a wild guess your ribs was edible. Now is this hot or warm? BBQ is real hard to mess up. Can't actually recall any total disasters that I have had. Sure you can say the same. Just got a feeling down in my feeler

bigwheel


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## Griff (Feb 2, 2009)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Can't actually recall any total disasters that I have had. Sure you can say the same.
> bigwheel



I've had my share of disasters. For the most part they involved the grill and not the smoker. Think tall flames and sooty, oily smoke.


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## bigwheel (Feb 3, 2009)

Well I had one big grease fire in the offset where the temp plumb pegged out the 700 degree gauge...which out of 10 briskets only one which was closest to the firebox and the fire got a little too crunchy. It was still edible enough for me but the warden nagged about it so seems like I gave it to a yankee at work. It was of course the best he ever had.  Now I have grease fires on the gasser fairly frequent but I just turn off the burners and let the grease be the heat source.  Saves money on propane in the long run. 

bigwheel


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## john pen (Feb 3, 2009)

I cant believe no one mentioned it, but we need to see pics of the finished product here to verify the cook ! We'll let it slide this time, but in the future, no pics = no cook !


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## Bruce B (Feb 3, 2009)

Newbies Wife said:
			
		

> We took the ribs off about 15 minutes ago.  Now they are wrapped in foil and resting comfortably.  Looks like we maintained a temp of 265 or so.  I won't tell you how warm the day has been (I'm trying to stay on your good sides), but let's just say it was warm enough to keep the cooking temp constant.  *I'll let you know the final outcome.*
> 
> Thanks for all your help.



.....we're waaaaaaaiiiittiiiinnnngggg


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## Nick Prochilo (Feb 3, 2009)

Griff said:
			
		

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Yeah? I'd guess alcohol was a leading factor!


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## Griff (Feb 3, 2009)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

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Soooo, what's your point?


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## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Feb 4, 2009)

HAY!!!!!! That's my job!!!       

Pigs


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## Larry D. (Feb 4, 2009)

It looks like you're getting the hang of it.   

That's not to say you shouldn't keep practicing... any excuse to cook more ribs!


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## mfreeman73 (Feb 4, 2009)

Ribs look good, although I'd try cutting them down to St. Louis style. I usually cut them like that then smoke the whole thing. The tips are good to munch on while you let the ribs rest.


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## bigwheel (Feb 4, 2009)

Well looks edible to me. Fine job on the ribs. 

bigwheel


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## Nick Prochilo (Feb 4, 2009)

I'd eat those!


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## WildFireEric (Feb 4, 2009)

Griff said:
			
		

> bigwheel said:
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Ribs look great. Welcome to the forum. Sign over your life in pursuit of knowlege and making better BBQ.

Thanks for the spelling tip. I just call him the Govenator. As for disasters, Amy Googled some words  that included: ribs taste like tires, too much hickory, etc. and it came back 'oversmoked'. So I learned to only use 1/2 bag of hickory chunks instead of a whole bag.


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## ScottyDaQ (Feb 6, 2009)

Yup... Looks fine. Bring the Newbie'ness on....we can handle it.


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## ronbeaux50 (Feb 6, 2009)

You are here by proclaimed "Advanced Newbie"  Good job!


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