[RubberMallet]

right now i'm doing goose and deer jerky. the goose is whole meat jerky and the deer is ground meat jerky...

first time for me...

[Sly Fox]

Goose jerky is intriguing. Back when I hunted geese we never thought of that.

[RubberMallet]

about 10 more minutes and i'm taking the first "is it done" taste test...

[HenryGale]

I'm with you on the ribs Malett...I always take the membranes off. When you did the BB's with no foil, how long did you smoke them for? I have always foiled, and gone with a 2-1:45-1 method.

BTW....

[RubberMallet]

wife took the camera with her...sorry guys....i'll be doing a pastrami and another brisket hopefully either this weekend or next,...

[RubberMallet]

eh....not too shabby... a few more test batches over the next few weeks....the goose jerky is very tasty though....the deer jerky is ok...not enough flavor...

[BJWilliams]

Man somebody ought to do some ribs and bring them to the first tailgate of the year...thatd be so awesome!

[AZjonz]

Sounds like a fun experiment. I was going to throw some spares in the smoker today, but the weather's not cooperating.

I don't foil the ribs, but I do spray periodically with a mixture of apple juice and my rub. I agree with pulling off the membrane. I find using a paper towel pulls it off quickly and efficiently.

I’ve started using the minion method. It really makes a difference as I use the cheap Brinkman off-set smoker and it keeps the temps more consistent. The wood I use is apple, although, we are building a new house outside of Tucson right next to a pecan grove. The owners claim it’s the largest in the world. Who knows, but it is enormous. So, I’ll have plenty of Pecan wood to use/try. I plan on adding a baffle, tuning plates, and an extended exhaust pipe as soon as I have time. I read an idea where one guy would cover the outside of the cooking chamber with a welding blanket to keep the heat in. It seems like a sound theory, what do you guys think?

When the ribs are done (right at 177 degrees) in the smoker, I’ll apply some of the wife’s homemade bbq sauce and flash grill them briefly over high heat to caramelize. Gives them nice grill marks.

HenryGale/LUConn – that’s some tasty looking bbq with a nice bark, I’ll have to post some pics when I get a chance to run the smoker again.

[Sly Fox]

So have you tried grilling on the pavement there in Tuscon? I had a friend in Tempe who used to grill dogs & brats on a piece of foil on his patio when the summertime he reaches its max.

You guys are giving me feelings of grill inadequacy.

[RubberMallet]

I'm with you on the ribs Malett...I always take the membranes off. When you did the BB's with no foil, how long did you smoke them for? I have always foiled, and gone with a 2-1:45-1 method.

BTW....

every piece of meat is different....most of my bb's are done in 5-6 hours...spared 6-7...i grab a hold of 2 bones in the middle and tug...if the meat starts pulling away easily they are done...

[RubberMallet]

Sounds like a fun experiment. I was going to throw some spares in the smoker today, but the weather's not cooperating.

I don't foil the ribs, but I do spray periodically with a mixture of apple juice and my rub. I agree with pulling off the membrane. I find using a paper towel pulls it off quickly and efficiently.

I’ve started using the minion method. It really makes a difference as I use the cheap Brinkman off-set smoker and it keeps the temps more consistent. The wood I use is apple, although, we are building a new house outside of Tucson right next to a pecan grove. The owners claim it’s the largest in the world. Who knows, but it is enormous. So, I’ll have plenty of Pecan wood to use/try. I plan on adding a baffle, tuning plates, and an extended exhaust pipe as soon as I have time. I read an idea where one guy would cover the outside of the cooking chamber with a welding blanket to keep the heat in. It seems like a sound theory, what do you guys think?

When the ribs are done (right at 177 degrees) in the smoker, I’ll apply some of the wife’s homemade bbq sauce and flash grill them briefly over high heat to caramelize. Gives them nice grill marks.

HenryGale/LUConn – that’s some tasty looking bbq with a nice bark, I’ll have to post some pics when I get a chance to run the smoker again.

i only use a welding blanket in the winter...

[AZjonz]

So have you tried grilling on the pavement there in Tuscon? I had a friend in Tempe who used to grill dogs & brats on a piece of foil on his patio when the summertime he reaches its max.

You guys are giving me feelings of grill inadequacy.

Too funny. The news people in Phoenix would do a demonstration about how hot the asphalt would get to warn parents about their kids falling down. They would crack an egg on the asphalt in the afternoon and it would start frying. Pretty strong imagery. (I was like that's my brain on drugs when it's really hot out)

[AZjonz]

RM - that would make sense using it in the cold. Does it help to keep an even temp for long periods of time? I'll def use it when the wind is blowing in the Fall as that seems to be a heat killer.

[RubberMallet]

i only use it to save on charcoal in the winter....i assume it would probably work in the summer too...i could close the vents even more and keep a steady temp.

in the winter i still use the minion method, i just have to light 25 briquettes instead of 15. with the blanket i can use 20.

[HenryGale]

I would think it would be hard to maintain low temps in the summer with the welding blanket....sometimes in the summer, I have all my vents essentially closed and I have a hard time keeping temps in the 225 range. That is also using the minion method with just 15 or so lit coals. One method I did use to keep temps lower is I moved my smoker from the back porch to the front porch, simply because I have a roof on the front porch and I can keep the sun off the smoker, thus keeping additional heat off the smoker.