What went wrong?
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Hello Meat Smokers, I am new to smoking, I bought a Masterbuilt Electric 30" smoker which I learned yesterday is too small and I don’t get the set it and forget it mentality if I am adding wood chips every hour. Yesterday, I smoked Spare Ribs using the 3-2-1 method. When I eat ribs, I like to have a bit of a bite and a chew to them. I don’t know what happened but some of my meat was charcoaled on the tips and edges. Very dry and stringy. The rest of the meat was fall off the bone tender and all though delicious, maybe a bit too smokey tasting for me. These ribs were so tender I could barely get them out of the smoker with any meat sticking to the bone at all. I know there is a learning curve but I thought the 3-2-1 method and ribs couldn’t be any easier. My temp was right in the 275 range the entire time, I found that the MB Smoker was definitely in need of constant chip replacement to produce a steady smoke. I am after a tender rib but one that stays on the bone until I bite into it. Where did I go wrong yesterday?
STRYKER ACE get the cold smoker kit and it will smoke for hours.
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STRYKER ACE When I first started smoking and doing sausage, I over thought everything. My product got better when I began having fun and didn’t sweat the details. I now cook about 500 slabs of ribs a year ( not near some commercial productions) and just have fun.
It is important to note that our section on drink of choice is more important than the details about the smoking. The entire problem just may have been not having the proper beverage to help you during the smoking process… LOL
Chef have you named your smoker yet ? lol
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
Chef Smokomotive #1
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
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Yes, Thanks guys, I have read several books and watched multiple videos and I think I may have overcomplicated the cook. The more I think about it, I believe I may have merged several different examples into one accidentally. My plan is to learn by practice and when I can make myself happy and my guests wanting more, I will build my own smoker. Still don’t like having to add chips so often to the MB but at least they have a great function for doing so. Thanks again!!! Until my next Duck Up!
STRYKER ACE Learning by practice is the best way to go. There are so many small variables between smoker design, outside temp and ever humidity that can change the final product. I started keeping a log book of what I made and how. Then I take notes on how it came out and if I felt like I needed to make some small changes in the next batch. Experimenting is the fun part.
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Yes, Thanks guys, I have read several books and watched multiple videos and I think I may have overcomplicated the cook. The more I think about it, I believe I may have merged several different examples into one accidentally. My plan is to learn by practice and when I can make myself happy and my guests wanting more, I will build my own smoker. Still don’t like having to add chips so often to the MB but at least they have a great function for doing so. Thanks again!!! Until my next Duck Up!
STRYKER ACE I agree with the 225°, I also have a MB and have found their temp control is a bit lacking. Keep an eye on what the temp variation are during the heating cycles and adjust accordingly.
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
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lkrfletcher ooooooo that’s good! But so is johnsbrewhouse Smokomotive. Those are the 2 leaders in my mind.
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
This post is deleted! -
I’ve never been a fan of “3-2-1” because (as already noted) the meat falls off the bone. I still have teeth, and so does just about everyone around me, so I don’t much care for mushy ribs yet. Cut down their time in the foil, and you ought to be in good shape. 60-90 minutes should do it, depending on the thickness (and some ribs are just hornery).
Cutting your time in the foil probably won’t cut down your total cooking time, though. In fact, it may increase it a little (30-60 minutes, tops, but they’re done when they’re done).
As others have mentioned, also look at reducing your temperature. Because ribs are so thin and have so many tapered areas, they can much more easily dry out around those tapered edges. Some folks actually like that, but it sounds like you don’t.
As for smoke, I have learned that smoke from sawdust in an electric smoker is VERY potent. You don’t need to add new sawdust every hour because you don’t want a steady stream of that thicker sawdust smoke (and you can’t get a steady stream of that barely visible or even invisible smoke like you might see with a stick burner–they are two different animals–and a pellet cooker is another sort, as well). That thicker smoke can get pretty heavy pretty quickly.
Also, keep in mind that some of what you want from smoke is invisible and keeps on happening after the thick, visible smoke has gone away. That sawdust is doing something until it’s ash.
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You can get an add on for your MB that basically makes it a pellet smoker. You attach it to the side where you add the wood chips and it produces smoke from the pellets. I have found that it sometimes needs a gentle shake to ensure the pellets have fallen, but it makes it basically a set and and forget.
bocephus Yeah, I saw that when I was researching but they no longer sell that box.
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I do thank you all for the awesome replies to my query. I definitely overcooked and over smoked them. Next time will be a different story!!
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craigrice I haven’t
I think we need a contest. I’ll send a pecan pie to the person with the most votes.
Let’s start now. Name the smoker.
Chef I would say the Smok-N-Ator or Smokzilla!!! That’s a Big Boy Smoker fer sure!!
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bocephus Yeah, I saw that when I was researching but they no longer sell that box.
STRYKER ACE Just looked at their sight and it is still listed and was able to add to cart.
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STRYKER ACE Just looked at their sight and it is still listed and was able to add to cart.
bocephus You are correct. When I first started researching what smoker I was going to buy, I saw a video of MB’s cold smoker box. It was the size of a mailbox. I guess it was an older version as I found it several places but it always said out of stock or discontinued. This one you have shown is huge in comparison. Thanks for going back in and rechecking for me. It is much appreciated.
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bocephus You are correct. When I first started researching what smoker I was going to buy, I saw a video of MB’s cold smoker box. It was the size of a mailbox. I guess it was an older version as I found it several places but it always said out of stock or discontinued. This one you have shown is huge in comparison. Thanks for going back in and rechecking for me. It is much appreciated.
STRYKER ACE It looks big but it is about the size of a mailbox, mounts right on the side of MB smoker. I have one and so far like it very much.
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I have a mb smoker and the cold smoker it is all that I use for smoke and you can cold smoke things like cheese ect.
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I put a small battery operated desk fan on low over the top vent when cold smoking with MB to increase air flow. Fan won’t last forever but cost less than $5.
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