Pork Ribs & Trout

I took my first stab at doing full racks of pork ribs and decided to do a repeat of trout fillets with different rubs and glazes.

I am glad to say that both turned out spectacularly. The trout fillets were brined in soy sauce overnight and then rubbed liberally with dry dill prior to smoking. I also topped it with sliced lemons - be sure to take the peel off the lemons. Otherwise, they will leave a bitter taste wherever they make contact with the fish.

Trout fillets ready to head into the smoker

I smoked the fish at 225F for 2 hours. The first 1.5 hours with cherry smoke and the last 30 minutes without. I glazed it very simply with maple syrup for the last half hour of cooking to give it just a hint of sweetness.

Fillets fresh out of the smoker

The fish was still incredibly moist inside. I tried to get a picture of the juices in the photo below. It turned out a little blurry as someone turned the turn-table just as I snapped the photo.

Very juicy interior

 

I followed my usual procedure for the pork ribs. First and foremost - remove that nasty membrane on the back!!! If you don't do this, you will NEVER get them to fall off the bone as that membrane is like a sheet of rubber and will hold the meat to the bones. Once that is out of there, brine the ribs overnight in a simple salt and sugar solution followed by a smearing of mustard and liberal application of my sugarless pork butt dry rub. I then left the ribs to sit for a second night in the fridge. I pulled them out a few hours prior to smoking to allow them to come up to room temperature.

Ribs ready to hit the smoke

The first 2 hours of cooking were done using cherry smoke at 225F. After 1 hour, I basted the ribs with my pork butt dry rub mop. After the second hour of cooking, I basted the ribs again and then foiled them. I also added about a 1/4" of apple juice to each rib foil package. The juice not only helps to keep the ribs moist as them gently steam inside the packets but it adds a little sweetness to the meat. Cook inside the foil for another 2 hours.

Then, open up the foil packages and apply your glaze. I used my Asian 3S finishing glaze and actually did a double coat. I applied the original coat and allowed it to bake in for 30 minutes and then applied a second coat and baked for another 30 minutes. The result was a nice thick crust that was still sticky and tacky when held and munched on.

The ribs were absolutely fantastic. I had my cousin's family over for supper and they were raving about them. The meat was extremely tender but still held on to enough of its structure that it wasn't like eating baby food. There was no need to use a knife on them as the meat just slid right off the bones. They honestly could not have turned out any better.

A paragon of porkiness

Kalbi / Galbi Ribs

I decided to try a different approach to beef short ribs and picked up a pack that had been cut across the bone in classic kalbi fashion. For those of you who are not familiar with kalbi, it is a staple Korean dish. It is a grilled dish made of beef ribs that have been marinated in a soy sauce based marinade.

I made up the marinade the night before and allowed it to sit in the fridge overnight so that the salt and sugar could fully dissolve. I stayed fairly true to form in terms of the marinade ingredients. Click here for the recipe.

Kalbi marinade

The morning of the grill session, I washed the ribs and placed them into a freezer bag. I then poured the marinade into the bag and worked it around all the ribs. Place the bag back into the fridge and allow it to marinade for 8-12 hours. Try to turn the bag every few hours so all the ribs get a good soaking.

Kalbi happily marinading

Kalbi is traditionally grilled and you can certainly do it that way. I decided to use my smoker to cook them. To be honest, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether they are done on the bbq or in the smoker. Since they are sliced so thin, they cook up pretty fast. I cooked mine at about 275F for roughly 35 minutes. They had just cooked through and were still pretty juicy.

If you are expecting the ribs to be tender, you are going to be disappointed. Kalbi is meant to be a little bit of a workout for your mouth. If you want tender beef short ribs, you will have to cook them low and slow Texas style.

Serve the Kalbi with white rice and veggies on the side. And eat them with your fingers! They taste better that way. :)

A plate full of deliciousness

Kalbi Marinade

Kalbi Marinade

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder

Kalbi marinade

Smoked Chicken Lasagna

I have been a bit behind with my posts but I have finally found a little time to catch up on them. A few weeks ago, I smoked off a couple packs of chicken thighs to use in a smoked chicken lasagna.

In order to speed up the cooking process, I de-boned the chicken thighs. I also removed the skin, as I don't want to use that in the lasagna.

The thighs were tossed in a simple seasoning combination of 1 teaspoon each of salt, freshly ground black pepper, basil and oregano. Drizzle on some oil to help the seasonings adhere better to the chicken. Once that is done, smoke at 225 using your wood of choice for about an hour to an hour and a half. All you are looking for is an internal temperature of 165F.

Since I planned on using the thighs in a lasagna, I did not bother with brining, dry rubs, mops or glazes, etc. that I would have done if serving the chicken on its own. Nevertheless, they came out looking very good - extraordinarily juicy and tender, as you can tell from the juices sitting on the meat. It also picked up some great grill marks on the bottom side.

Chicken things fresh out of the smoker

 

Great grill marks and succulent juiciness

Since, I didn't have time to use the chicken immediately, I stashed it in the fridge overnight. When I was ready to turn it into lasagna, I cut it up into small pieces. I also put mushrooms and onions in the lasagna. However, for additional flavor, I sauteed these separately and then put the cooked mixture into the lasagna.

Onion and mushroom mixture

The lasagna itself was actually fairly straight forward with the smoked chicken being the most unusual ingredient. The sauce I used was made of equal parts tomato-based spaghetti sauce and alfredo sauce. The result was like a rose sauce. In addition to using the standard ricotta (2 cups), cottage cheese (2 cups), and mozzarella cheese (2 cups), I also used cream cheese (1/2 lb). I think the cream cheese adds a great flavor and texture to the dish.

Construct like you would a normal lasagna. I like having at least 4 layers to mine as it seems more pleasing to the eye to see all the different tiers when you cut into it. When everything has been layered, bake it at 350F for about an hour until the cheese at the top is golden brown and delicious.

Smoked chicken lasagna - the finished product

Asian 3S Finishing Glaze

Asian 3S Finishing Glaze

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili powder

Basic Beef Rub

Basic Beef Rub

Once again, I am going with a sugarless dry rub in order to avoid over caramelization. The lack of sweetness in the dry rub can be compensated for with either an injection, a brine or a sweet finishing glaze (or all 3 combined).

1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
3 tsp paprika

RIBS RIBS RIBS!!!

The main event this time around was beef ribs. although I did have 3 extra thick pork ribs that I also threw on. The beef ribs were short ribs. These are thick (approx 2"), meaty ribs with plenty of marbling and connective tissues. In other words, perfect for low slow smoking.

Typically, these short ribs are cooked in one of two ways - Chicago style or Texas style. The major difference between the two is the texture. Chicago style only takes the internal temperature of the meat up to 150F, not quite fully cooked. The meat tends to have more of a chew at this point. Texas style, on the other hand, takes the meat all the way up to 180F, at which point all the fat and connective tissues have rendered to result in a much more tender, juicy rib. Cooking time is about double for Texas style as it is for Chicago style. Ultimately, of course, the style is up to the diner. My family prefers fall off the bone ribs, so we went Texas style.

Once again, the ribs were brined and dry rubbed the night prior to smoking and allowed to marinade overnight in the fridge. The 3 smaller ribs at the top of the bottom tray are the pork ribs. The rest are all the beef short ribs. I used my sugarless pork butt dry rub for the pork ribs and a basic beef rub for the short ribs.

Dry rubbed ribs

 

Dry rubbed ribs close up

My smoker finally got a bigger workout than the single rack cookouts it has been getting the past few weeks. With all the ribs loaded in, as well as a couple packs of chicken thighs I wanted to smoke off for future use, it was looking pretty full.

Smoker loaded up

I cooked both the beef and pork ribs at 225F for about 4.5 hours. I chose to use cherry wood again. The techniques I used for the two types of ribs were slightly different though. With the pork ribs, I followed a technique very similar to that of the pork shoulder from last week. I smoked it for 2 hours on the rack and then foiled them and smoked them for another 2 hours. After removing them from the foil, I glazed them and smoked for another half an hour. They came out extremely tender and flavorful. I would definitely classify them as fall off the bone.

The beef ribs were also very tender and juicy. However, I did NOT foil them. I simply smoked them on the rack for 3 hours and then glazed them for the last hour of cooking. I took them out when the internal temperature hit 180F.

Beef ribs ready for glazing

Beef ribs ready for glazing close up

The glaze I used this time was a home concoction that I threw together based on what I had in the pantry. It actually came out tasting really good - sweet and sour with a hint of heat. The chili flakes in it give a very inviting visual to the finished ribs and the vibrant red color darkens up well under the heat to get that sought after mahogany color. I will definitely be using it again in the future. Asian 3S Finishing Glaze sounds like a good name for it! Why 3S you ask? Sweet, Sour and Spicy!!!

The Asian 3S Finishing Glaze!!!

Freshly glazed beef ribs

Just like what you would expect to find at a good bbq restaurant, the ribs came out with a great mahogany color and a wonderful stickiness. Letting the glaze bake in for the last hour allowed to form a really nice crust with the dry rub underneath and also allowed it to lose a lot of its moisture to form a sticky, syrupy coat that you had to lick off your fingers. It was great.

Beef ribs ready to eat

Pork ribs (3 near the front) ready to eat

Of course, I tented the ribs after pulling them from the smoker and I let them rest for about 15 minutes before digging in. As previously discussed, this allowed the juice inside to redistribute and reabsorb into the meat. Don't forget to do this!

Moist and juicy beef short rib

Smoke Ring?

I am sure that many if not all of you have heard of the infamous smoke ring. Within BBQ circles, it is supposed to signify that you have a proper job of smoking your meat low and slow and is particularly prized in smoked brisket.

Well, that is true. HOWEVER, it does NOT mean that lack of a smoke ring indicates inferior BBQ. Why you ask? Let's take a look at what a smoke ring is.

A smoke ring is a band of pink discoloration of the meat just under the bark. Depending on the amount of smoke the meat has been exposed to, the thickness of this band can range from being very thin to about 1/4" in thickness. It is caused by the build-up of nitrous dioxied in the meat and its reaction with the hemoglobin. This NO2 forms ONLY if using a hydrocarbon as a heat source - i.e. wood fire, charcoal, etc. or if using natural gas or propane as it is a biproduct of natural gas or propane combustion. In short, an lectric heat source will NEVER produce a smoke ring while pretty much any other heat source is capable of it.

But wait you exclaim! We are still burning wood to create smoke - how come that doesn't create a smoke ring? Well, a high temperature flame is required to create NO2 from nitrogen and oxygen. A smoldering fire without a flame does not produce as much NO2. Consequently, a smoker that uses indirect heat generated from the burning of wood typically will develop a pronounced smoke ring while a smoker that uses smouldering wood simply as a smoke source will not.

Is it a big deal though? If aesthetics is important, then I guess it might be. However, from a taste standpoint, the difference a smoke ring might have is so miniscule compared to all the other flavor reactions that are going on that I don't think it really makes a difference at all.

So there you have it. No smoke ring doesn't necessarily mean bad BBQ.

Food For Thought - A Review

As I outlined in a post last week, there were a few key experimentation points I was going to be trying out this weekend with the butt. I will address each of those items here with results.

1 - the bark. The pork ribs from 2 weeks ago tasted good but looked awful due to the coal black bark that was produced. To remedy this, I modified the dry rub to include no sugar and thus eliminate possibility of over caramelization and burning. Instead, I added a sugary glaze only during the last 15-20 minutes of the smoke in order to limit caramelization.

The result was a huge success. The bark I got on the butt was fantastic - a dark mahogany color that was full of flavor and aromas.


2 - injection. I could definitely taste the flavors of the injection in the innermost sections of the butt where marinade and brines wouldn't be able to penetrate. The added moisture also helped to keep the meat moist and succulent. Therefore, another success.

3 - tenting - that is, wrapping the meat in aluminum foil once it hits 160F in order to encourage moisture retention and tenderizing through steaming. The tenting also worked well. The pork was definitely juicy and moist and the tent helped to lock in the flavors of the rubs and mops. Success!

4 - modification of my use of a spritz/mop. The mop I made this weekend was a lot more flavorful due to the incorporation of the dry rub in it, as well as the hint of worcestershire sauce. I could definitely smell the vinegar presence although the flavor was just slightly tangy and not overpowering. Limiting the number of times I mopped also helped to preserve the heat in the smoker and reduce the heat variations. I believe this led to a better cook.


All in all, I am very pleased with the results. I will be using a lot of them again when I try pork ribs again.

Pork Butt Dry Rub Mop

Pork Butt Dry Rub Mop

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup of pork butt dry rub - sugarless
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp of soya sauce

I say to use hot water because this will encourage the dry rub to dissolve. Mix everything together well. Note that prior to applying to the meat, you will have to give the mop another stir as the oil will have floated to the top and the dry rub to the bottom.

This recipe is going to make a LOT of mop. I just make a big batch of it and divide it into tupperwares and stick them into my freezer. Saves me having to make some every time.

Pork Butt Dry Rub - Sugarless

Pork Butt Dry Rub - Sugarless

1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tbsps dried oregano
2 tbsp celery seed
1/4 cup paprika
1 tbsp chili powder

Mix all ingredients together and apply to pork butt.

Basic Pork Injection

Basic Pork Injection

1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup kosher salt
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

** I found that this was not sweet enough for my tastes. The next time I try a pork butt, I will likely double or even triple the amount of brown sugar in the injection.

Pork Butt

I decided to postpone the beef short ribs until next weekend and make a rib day of next Saturday. This weekend was my first pork butt experiment. The butt piece I had was about 4lbs which technically makes it a half butt. Typical Boston butts weigh 8-10lbs with full shoulders weighing in at about 16-18lbs. I definitely didn't want to tackle anything quite that bit on my first time. As indicated in my last post, I tried out a few different techniques this time around.

First was injection. This is said to impart a lot of extra moisture and flavor deep inside the meat. I used a very simple and standard pork injection. In order to try and hit as many areas of the butt as possible while limiting the number of entry holes, I would use the same entry hole for 3 different injections. That is, instead of removing the needle entirely from the butt, I would pull it almost to the surface and then change directions and push it into the butt again. Do this every few inches on the butt to maximize coverage. If you decide to taste the injection, you will find that it is extremely salty. Don't be alarmed, once it is injected, it will propagate through the meat and it will taste fine once it is cooked.

Once injection is complete, put the pork butt in a large freezer bag and pour the remainder of the injection into the bag. Seal and let it sit overnight - this would be like a brining phase.

The next morning, take the butt out of the fridge a few hours before you want to start the smoke. You want the butt to slowly come up to room temperature prior to beginning the smoke. This difference can be 30F or more depending on the setting on your fridge and the ambient temperature. Starting out the smoke with room temperature meat means it doesn't need to smoke as long and reduces the chances for overcooking and dryness.

Remove the butt from the freezer bag and rinse off any excess brine/injection solution and pat dry with a paper towel. Once you have the butt out and dried off, we can begin the marinating process. First, slather a layer of mustard onto the butt. This time around I just used plain yellow mustard but you can mix and match with grainy or honey dijon or whatever you want. The mustard itself does not lend much flavor - its main purpose is to give the dry rub something to stick to. It also happens to make a nice crust on the meat when smoked.

I used a different dry rub from my pork rib mix. This time I removed all sugar from the rub in order to avoid any burning of the crust. After all, we want a dark mahogany color, not a coal black color. The dry rub recipe can be found here. Here is a shot of the dry rub mixture. You will notice that it has a far lighter color than my pork rub rib due to lack of brown sugar.

Pork butt dry rub

Liberally sprinkle the dry rub over the entire butt, turning the flipping the butt as necessary to get the sides and underneath. Once the butt has the mustard and dry rub applied, let it sit on the counter until the internal temperature reaches room temp (about 70F).

Pork butt with dry rub applied

Closeup of rubbed pork butt

Once it comes up to room temperature, you are ready to smoke. I cooked my butt at 225F throughout the entire process. I decided to use cherry wood this time to impart a more subtle smoke flavor as well as to try something new. Make sure you have a probe thermometer inside your pork butt so you can track the temperature. Just try to insert it in such a way that you are equidistant from the edges and also avoid bones as they will throw off the reading.

Put your pork butt into the smoker and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160F. For me, this took about 4 hours. While it is smoking away, take the time to make your mop. I decided to incorporate some of the dry rub into the mop this time around in order to add more flavor. I found that my previous mop with the pork ribs really didn't make much of a difference flavor wise at all. The mop this time around was far better - when I smelled the final product, I could detect a pretty strong presence of the vinegar that I used in the mop. Click here for the recipe.

Pork dry rub mop

You don't want to be mopping too often as this will make it tough to maintain a steady heat in your smoker. I don't apply mop for the first time until 2 hours into the cooking process and then every hour to hour and a half thereafter. Don't hold back on the mop - since we are not applying it too often, be sure to get a good amount of it on there.

Once the pork butt reaches 160F internal, it is time for the tenting phase. This is the period of time in which the meat is going to tenderize significantly. Remove the butt from the smoker and place on a bed of aluminum foil. Apply more mop liberally and finish off with a light dusting of the dry rub. Wrap the butt up tight in the aluminum foil and put it back into your smoker. At this point, the butt has absorbed all the smoke it is going to, so remove your chips from the smoker.

Pork butt ready for tenting

This tenting will help keep moisture and heat close to the butt and will significantly speed up cooking time as well as juiciness of the meat. Keep the butt tented until internal temperature reaches 195. At this point, all of the fat and connective tissues will have rendered and distributed through the butt, making it tender and delicious. Remove the butt from the smoker and unwrap it from the foil. You will notice a golden liquid that has collected at the bottom of your foil packet. Be sure to save that! It makes an awesome au jus to serve alongside the butt. You could also whisk in a little more oil and vinegar and turn it into a salad dressing.

Foil is removed

 
 

Foil is removed - same shot but with better light!

 
Apply a finishing rub and/or finishing glaze if you wish. I slathered on some apple butter to mine in order to get that sweetness I was after. Once that is on, put it back into the smoker for 15-20 minutes. This is just long enough for the finishing rub and glaze to caramelize for a wonderful mahogany color. Any longer and you risk getting coal colored bark.

When you remove the butt from the smoker for the last time, you should have a dark brown/mahogany crust. You will also be able to smell all the spices and vinegars from the rubs and mop as they mingle with the porky smell to create a mouthwatering aroma. Unfortunately, you can't dig in quite yet. The butt needs to be tented again (just on the serving platter) for 15-20 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute and reabsorb inside the meat. If you were to cut into it or start pulling it now, all those juices would flow out onto your plate and be wasted. So have patience and tent it.

Butt under final tent

Once the time is up, you can reveal your masterpiece to your eager diners. They are sure to be impressed. Check out the wonderful color of the crust as well as how moist and juicy the meat is when you cut into it. The slightest press on the butt will get the juices oozing out. I ate mine with a little more apple butter on the side (I like my pork on the sweet side).

Ready to serve - great color, great aroma

Juices ooze out of the meat as it is cut

Food For Thought

The experimentation plan for this weekend includes a couple of beef short ribs and a pork butt AKA Boston butt.

I have been doing more research and reading online throughout the week and will be changing up a few things for the smoking session this week.

The first thing I want to address is the bark on my meat. The pork ribs I did last weekend were pretty tasty but looked highly unappealing. Due to the high sugar content in my rub, the bark turned a black color instead of the dark brown that is so sought after in the BBQ world. Note that it didn't taste burnt at all but for presentation purposes, I want to improve on this.

So the rubs I plan to use this weekend will have no sugar in them at all. To get the sweetness I want in my ribs, I will be glazing them during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking to try and develope just the right amout of caramelization.

A second technique I plan to try is injection. Particularly for larger cuts like shoulders, butts, briskets, chickens and turkeys, injecting the meat prior to smoking is recommended. I will be giving this a shot on my pork butt this weekend.

A third technique I will also be experimenting with is tenting - that is, wrapping the meat in aluminum foil once it hits 160F in order to encourage moisture retention and tenderizing through steaming. Apparently, it's a tried and true technique of making succulent pulled pork.

Lastly, I am going to modify my use of a spritz/mop. I found with my ribs last weekend that the mop I used really didn't add any flavor that I could detect. I think that if I try one on the pork butt, I will use one that has a much stronger flavor.

I have also ready arguments that mopping only serves to prolong cooking time and actually dries the meat out more than it moistens it. With this in mind, if I do mop, it won't be as often as every half hour.

So there you have the battle plan for this weekend. I will, of course, report back with the results.

New Burner Gets A Workout

As mentioned in previous posts, I replaced my 1000w with a far beefier 2400w element. The new element was a 240V element and thus required a little electrical work to get it hooked up. Luckily I had a 240V welding plug in my garage that I could hook it up to.

New 2400 watt element

Since I had already cut a hole in the bottom of my smoker to accommodate my previous 1000w element which came with a control box, I had to cut out a new plate to cover up this hole. Otherwise, I would have had a great deal of heat loss through the hole. I still had some stainless steel plate left over from my door, so I cut out a small piece of that to fit over the hole.

I also had to notch out a hole in the plate to allow for the power prongs on the new element.

Existing hole made for previous burner element

New cover plate with slot for power plug

Everything fit very snugly in the bottom with minimal air gap for heat loss. I found the new burner was far more efficient in heating up the smoker. From a heat up time (to 200F) of about 30-45 minutes depending on outside temperature, I dropped to about 10 minutes. I was also able to gain and maintain temperature while cooking far more efficiently. This is great as I like to open up the smoker every 30-45 minutes to spritz on a "mop solution" to add flavor to the meat as well as some moisture.

In fact, the element was so good at maintaining heat that I had to keep unplugging it to prevent it from overshooting my desired temperature of 200F. Even after I unplugged it, the temperature would continue to rise another 10-15F before settling down. It would hold its temperature very well and would really only drop significantly when I opened the door to apply my mop. It would then drop to about 185 at which point I would plug it back in for about 5 minutes to get the temperature back up.

I am thinking that instead of a thermostat, all I really need is a simple toggle switch to either turn the element on or off. The thermostat would let me set a temperature and walk away but since I like to keep the meat mopped/basted every 30-45 minutes, I won't be doing much walking away anyhow.

New burner and plate in place

Sweet n Spicy Pork Rib Dry Rub

Sweet n Spicy Pork Rib Dry Rub

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup paprika
2.5 tbsps ground black pepper
2.5 tbsps kosher salt
1 tbsp mustard powder
1.5 tbsps chili powder
1.5 tbsps garlic powder
1.5 tbsps onion powder
1 tsp chili flakes

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. For additional spice, add more chili powder and/or chili flakes. I like using the flakes as it gives a visual contrast to the rub. I prefer my ribs on the sweet side. If you don't like it as sweet, cut down on the amount of sugar.

Here is a snapshot of the rub when mixed up.

Pork Ribs - First Attempt

The second menu item this weekend was pork ribs. This was a process that started the night before the smoke.

After washing and cleaning the ribs, I applied a layer of mustard to the ribs. There are a few reasons for the mustard.

1. It adds the first flavor base
2. It helps the dry rub to stick to the meat
3. When smoked, it forms a nice crust that protects the meat underneath and keeps it moist while adding a nice tangy flavor

I used a mixture of 40% grainy mustard and 60% prepared yellow mustard. The grainy mustard has a more subtle flavor and adds some additional texture with the whole mustard seeds in it.

With the layer of mustard applied, I then mixed together a batch of sweet n spicy pork rib dry rub (recipe on recipe page) and sprinkled it liberally onto both sides of the ribs. Next they went into the fridge overnight to let the flavors absorb.

Sweet n spicy pork rub

On the day of the smoke, I removed them from the fridge approximately an hour prior to smoking. This allows them to slowly come up to room temperature. Any time you are cooking meat, it is a good idea to let it come to room temperature. This decreases the range of temperatures you need to take it through as it cooks.

Ribs after overnight marinade

I smoked my ribs for 2 hours at 200F. Every 30 minutes, I would spritz them with a solution of 60% apple cider vinegar and 40% oil. This helped to keep them moist during the smoke as well as infuse additional flavor.

They took on a great dark brown smokey color and flavor. Note that the color on the meat is simply the dry rub taking on the smoke. The meat is NOT burnt! The meat was juicy and very well seasoned.

Ribs right out of the smoker

Ribs plated up for service

Interior of ribs - juicy, not burnt!

If you are a fan of fall off the bone ribs, you will want to smoke them even longer and at a lower temperature. You will also need to remove the layer of translucent membrane that holds the meat to the bone. Personally, I prefer some chew to my ribs, so I leave the membrane on and I also don't cook it as low and slow as I could.

Simple Fish Brine

SIMPLE FISH BRINE

1/3C salt
1 C sugar
4C water

Mix everything together in a bowl or pitcher. The salt and sugar don't need to be completely dissolved. Pour over the fish fillets. If the fillets are not completely submerged, flip them every half hour or so to get even coverage.

White Fish - Very Simple Smoke

One of the menu items this weekend was white fish. One of my coworkers highly recommended white fish, touting it as the best smoked fish he had ever tasted. He said it was much better than either salmon or trout so I had to give it a try.

I smoked it for an hour at 200F and the meat turned out just perfectly. It was just on the cusp of being cooked and resulted in a very moist and flavorful fish. I brined it in a simple brine of salt and sugar (recipe in recipe section) for 1.5 hours prior to smoking to improve the moistness. As far as seasoning, it was kept very simple. Just a light smear of pesto on top.

White fish in brine solution

White fish ready to head into the smoker

I found that the white fish absorbed more of the smokey flavor - likely due to white fish's natural blandness. Salmon and trout tend to have a stronger, fishier flavor that competes with the smoke for dominance. The white fish is also a more delicate fish and the flesh when cooked was softer and more tender. I myself still prefer the stronger fish flavor of trout and salmon but I would definitely do white fish again.

Here are some photos of the finished product.

White fish right out of the smoker

Fish all plated

How Much Smoke?

I have read quite a few online posts trying to describe in words the quality and quantity of smoke that is desirable. And I found that words alone made it difficult to comprehend so I have taken a few pictures of my smoker while it is in action. Hopefully this will help to clarify things a little.

What you are after is thin wisps of white smoke with a slight blueish tinge to them. You get this by having your wood at a good slow smolder. I have been experimenting with different setups in my own smoker to determine what I need to do in order to get an optimal burn. That is, to prolong the life of my chips in order to get a slow steady burn instead of a quick release.

Thus far I have put my chips into a cast iron pan which then goes directly on top of my burner. However with the burner on, I have found that the chips burn far too quickly as they are exposed to direct heat. As my smoke went on and I accumulated an insulating layer of ash and charcoal on the bottom of the pan, the wood began to burn at a much more modest rate.

I think what I will do next time is to layer the bottom of my cast iron pan with briquettes and then heap my chips on top of that.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pictures of what you want in terms of smoke. Clearly there are some gaps in my seal and that is why there is smoke escaping from my dampers even when they are closed. However, that is not abnormal and gives a good indication of how much smoke you should have.

Front view

Exhaust damper view