I’m subletting in Charles Village while Molly’s down in Texas for ER training. As luck has it, the place comes equipped with a smoker, specifically this Brinkman (though it’s missing the handles and the water container; according to the web it’s more fail-safe to not dry out the meat if you use water so I just added a large water filled coffee can to the middle later).
In any event, I’ve been wanting to give smoking a try so this morning I picked up $7 worth of Cherry Tree pieces from the farmers market to give this ago. I read only one basic “Top Ten Smoker Tips” which was a good primer to start thinking things through. To start I loaded up the chimney with real wood charcoal and once that was ready (30-35 minutes) loaded the bottom of the smoker with that and about 1/3 of the Cherry pieces and covered. Thankfully the Brinkman has a temp guide that’s easy to read: cold, ideal, too hot. It was at ideal and steady after about 15 minutes so I loaded up the tray with a dry rubbed rack of ribs (1lbs) and bone in shoulder (3lbs).
This was my dry rub mix:
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Corriander
- Old Bay
- Oregano
0 hours in
Time started 11:00am. What I was most worried about frankly was how often I needed to check the meat and add more charcoal/wood. I’ve used a crock pot for pulled pork and that’s insanely easy. From my novice understanding of smokers I know that they require tending, I just have no idea how much. My plan was to add a new round of chimney prepped charcoal about 1/3 or 1/2 way through and check the meat at the time. Based on the meat I imagine at least 6 hours of cook time.
1 hour 45 minutes in
After about 1:45 cook time I ended up adding my water and also using a mop (light basting sauce) to make sure I wasn’t creating a dry-bbq disaster. The meat already smells and looks pretty awesome. I mopped thoroughly and flipped both the ribs and shoulder.
Mop ingredients
- 1 can macro light beer
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons worchestershire
- 2 tablespoons chili paste (I use Scott’s Sauce from the NEK)
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/4 cup evoo
It’s also helpful to have a clean rag or a brush to apply the mop. If you lack either like me paper towels will work.
So far, so good. Time for a run.
3 hours in
3 hours in and I need to prep a bit of charcoal again in the chimney. It’s burned to ash so while still “ideal” heat it’ll need more fuel to go 6 hours. Still looks good though, applied generous mop, ensured the coffee can was filled still and closed it off again.
In the down time I’m starting to prep sides and my maple bbq sauce. Ingredients:
- 1 cup maple syrup (Vermont made only)
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon chili powder or chili paste
Put it all in a mason jar and shake to mix.
4 hours in
4 hours in the ribs were done. Heck yes. Pretty solid bark.
Added the new chimney worth of charcoal and 3 pieces of wood I soaked in the mop (because why not?). My guess from the firmness of the shoulder that there are around 2 hours left (to be able to tell my guess is that the bone will start to wiggle and the shoulder will be uniformly tender under the bark.
4 hours 30 minutes in
After a little snack of ribs it’s time to make some slaw to go with the pork. Ingredients:
- 1 shredded cabbage head
- 1/2 onion chopped
- garlic paste (we roast it in evoo and puree it)
- 4 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I like dijon)
- celery seed
- shredded carrots (1/2 to 1 cup)
5 hours 30 minutes in
The shoulder looks good but needs more time. Last mop (’cause now I’m out).
6 hours 30 minutes finished
I was satisfied with that I saw so pulled the meat off. After letting it sit for a few and pulling some apart I think it could easily have been in there for another hour, but I am out of charcoal so no more fire. The bark and red beneath it is pretty solid and good. While it could have stood for extra time the end product is tasty (and will be great for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole week).
