1. Both are good. It's a mater of preference. Babyback's are leaner and take less time, St Louis/Spare Ribs have more fat and take more time.
I actually watched that before trimming it. Additionally I watched this. Even after all that research it still looks a little janky. This is my first time trimming a packer so it's all good. I got the fat cap 1/4" thin, trimmed off the dangly bits and rounded off the thin corners that'd burn. Unfortunately I may have trimmed too much of the fat between the flat and the point. My brisket's shape looks different than his finished product. It should still turn out alright.
Looks good. Should make for a nice efficient smoke.
Oh I want one. Where did you get yours?Yay, my new steel door arrives for my WSM with compression latch.
The latch pulls the door tight against the smoker wall.
Damn, I really need to buy some of their stuff.
take that brisket to 200 or 205 and thank me later.
Almost 12 hours in and it's almost done.
Better view:
The sharp downward spike about 5:00 am was when I wrapped it. The small upward one at the end there is the sun coming out and hitting the black grill.
After the first hour of adjustments I was able to keep it between 210-240*F 99% of the time. In that first hour no matter how I adjusted the top vent it wouldn't go under 250. I was considering just smoking it at 250, but figured out my problem was the lid wasn't fitting tightly. I added a binder clip and it was smooth sailing from there.
I didn't top off the charcoal once and haven't refilled the water reservoir. It rained last night so I figured there was enough humidity in the air. This was my first overnight smoke and this really proves my set up is capable of it.
When it hit 193 I did the probe test and it was super soft. Some spots were registering 195. Then I put the lid back on, shut all the vents and left it there for about 4 hours while we went with a friend to the flea market.
First smoke of the year.
My new door seems a little out of round with my smoker (maybe the smoker is out of round) so I have some reflective heat tape I bought for situations like this to seal it up until I figure out a better solution. I could always get some nomex gaskets to give it a better seal.
negreenfield said:
I usually do 325, still indirect. Slide lots of butter under the skin. I like a salt and pepper rub; makes great stock for soup. Drip pan to catch stuff for gravy, but it will be salty.
if you closed it in the smoker and left it i imagine you probably got pretty close to 200 or higher.When it hit 193 I did the probe test and it was super soft. Some spots were registering 195. Then I put the lid back on, shut all the vents and left it there for about 4 hours while we went with a friend to the flea market.
I sliced it pencil thin and it passed the pull test. Do you like yours more tender than that? It's possible it continued cooking from the residual heat.
This was right when I put it on. Excuse the poor trimming. It didn't really fit with the probe thermometer next to it, so I had to flip it around, curve it a bit and have the probe close to the edge.
This is how it looked when I opened up the foil.
Sliced. It looks like that because I seperated the flat and the point.
That's a tough call. Before yesterday I'd probably choose the 18.5 for efficiency, but it sucks not having the room and needing it.
You already have the Slow N Sear, right? If so I'd probably get the 22.5" and use it for bigger smokes and the Slow N Sear for smaller ones when you want to use less charcoal.
i do it at 295, when i've cooked hotter i've had to tinfoil the bird so the skin doesnt burn.
Cool. Looks like my next Christmas present.
With the wood charcoal, I was running at 300 before it'd taper down into the 200's after the first hour. So I guess if I keep a good stock pile of charcoal ready, I could probably get a good skin on it.
