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 I like the reputation I've developed among friends:

Brisket on the Bone

Beef rib plate smoked nine hours over apple wood with a simple rub (kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, crushed red pepper) and rested in beef stock for two hours:

Memphis-Style Dry Rub Ribs

This slight variation to a recipe for easy Memphis Dry-Rubbed Baby Back Ribs published in Southern Living makes moist ribs with a thin and spicy bark.

This will make a generous quantity of dry rub for two racks of pork back ribs:

1/4 Cup Kosher Salt

1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

3 Tbs Paprika

1 Tbs Black Pepper

1 Tbs Garlic Powder

1 Tbs Onion Powder

1 Tbs Ground Mustard Seed

1 Tbs Chili Powder

1 Tbs Ground Cumin

1 Tbs Herbes de Provence (I used a mix of dried and ground oregano and rosemary from the home herb garden)

1 Tsp Fennel Seed

 

(If your Tablespoon won't fit into your spice container, 3 teaspoons = 1 Tbs)

 

Components of the dry rub

After thoroughly mixing the dry ingredients, set aside about 1/4 cup of the mixture for use in finishing the ribs just before serving.

 

The only other ingredients you'll need: apple cider vinegar and water

 

Start by removing the membrane from the back side of the pork ribs (use a dry paper towel to grip the membrane and pull it away from the ribs.)

 

Use paper towels to pat the ribs dry.

 

Generously rub with the spice mixture on all sides.

 

Heat your smoker to 250-275 degrees. I used apple wood for the smoke. Using a water bath smoker, add some of the apple cider vinegar to the water bath (I used about 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.)

Make about 2 cups of a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar and place in a spray bottle for spritzing the ribs while smoking.

Ribs nearing completion

 

Smoke ribs for about 5 hours meat-side up, spritzing with water-vinegar mixture after the first hour of smoking and repeating every subsequent hour for first 3 hours. Increase frequency of spritzing to every 30 minutes during the final 2 hours of smoking.

 

When the racks bend easily and meat has pulled back from the bone, give one final spritz with the water-vinegar mix, making sure the racks are well saturated. Remove ribs from smoker and lightly dust them with the remaining dry rub you saved for finishing.

 

Slice the racks into single rib servings.

 

Enjoy! 

Sliced and ready to serve. Spicy bark and moist, tender meat.

 

 

 

 

Applewood Smoked Chicken

I found this recipe on Recipes Worth Repeating and it was simple to prepare and resulted in a mild-flavored bird. For a 5-6 pound bird, prepare the following rub:

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs oregano (I used dried leaves from the herb garden rather than ground oregano)
1 tsp salt (I used kosher salt and a bit more than called for)

Cut the breast up the middle and split the bird open. Apply the rub all over, including the chest cavity. Allow to marinate 8-12 hours in the fridge before you plan to smoke,

After well-marinated, fire up the smoker and cook the bird at 225-250 F until 165 F internal temperature (around 4-5 hours.)

I used apple wood chips for making smoke in the first hour of cooking, after which I removed to avoid a heavy smoke flavor.

After smoking, let the bird rest at least 10-15 minutes to reabsorb moisture before carving.

Enjoy!

Burner Upgrade

I decided to try a different burner with a little more capacity. Gas One has an excellent selection of burners and I purchased their 50200 Cast Iron Burner Head. I was able to purchase the burner with a fuel line and regulator included on Amazon. I also found an exact replacement burner pan (Bergan Basics galvanized pet food pan) online, which made the retrofit quick and simple.

I cut a hole in the burner pan that was about 2-inches greater in diameter than the burner to provide adequate combustion air. I based the size of the hole on the total area of the holes in the old burner pan I was replacing. This provided enough free area for sufficient air to enter the smoker from the bottom, supporting combustion and convection through the smoker before exiting from the top vents.

I appreciate that the new burner allows adjustments to air-fuel ratio without reaching into the heated smoker when the burner is operating.

Old burner removed and replacement burner with an exact-match burner plan ready for installation.

View from the bottom. A single piece of steel flat bar supports the burner.

The previous burner had brackets for holding a tin can of wood chips above the flame to create the needed smoke. While the Gas One burner did not have this, it was easy to construct a rack for the can using some 1/2-inch all-thread and 1/2-inch conduit brackets.

Looking down into the smoker with new burner and pan installed.

1/2-inch all-thread secured with conduit brackets made a good rack for the coffee can that holds wood chips and creates the needed smoke.

Avoid COVID-19 Stay home and make BBQ

Grinding Peppercorns

Most rubs call for more pepper than you might want to grind by hand. A quick way to get the quantity needed is to use your coffee grinder. Just be sure to wipe it out before making your next pot of coffee!