Threw a few ribs on the grill

desertdog,

I bought the smaller one only because it's just my wife and I 95% of the time.

There is some ash buildup but it's not a big deal, I vacuum it and give it a thorough cleaning every couple of cooks. I think the pellet cookers are the way to go, the key is to get quality pellets. I buy mine from BBQ Delight, they are $34.00 per 40 pounds including delivery.

Nothing wrong with gas, I have a Weber gas grill, can't beat it for, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, etc.

Now, as much as I like the Traeger I would rather have bought one of these:

http://cookshack.reachlocal.net/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=88&=SID

Guys on the competition circuits are kicking butts with them (No pun intended).
At the recent comp in Key Largo, Fl, four of the top five teams cooked with these. I did not buy one because it's much larger than I require as well as a lot more money. I waited two years hoping they would develope a smaller model before giving up.

Now to really add to your confusion take a look at these;

http://www.americangrills.com/

It appears to be the best of both worlds, pellet burner and a gas grill. I do not know if you're familiar with Jim Minion, he's very well known in the BBQ/Smoking community. He told me that the best butt he ever cooked was on one of these. Again, too big and expensive for my needs.

For what you are doing I would lean toward the pellet/gas cooker. Some things just require the high heat that only gas can give you.

Email me if you wish so we do not bore everyone else.

Good Luck,

John

desertdog,

Yes, with the American Grills you can smoke with pellets, grill with gas, or a combo of both, e.g. throw some wood smoke on a steak while grilling. To me it sounds like an idea whose time has come. Of course I would ask for users names to get it from the horses mouth. Check them all out, the FEC 100s by Cookshack are not to be ignored, they say it gets up to 465 degrees.

John

quote:

Originally posted by John A

desertdog,

Yes, with the American Grills you can smoke with pellets, grill with gas, or a combo of both, e.g. throw some wood smoke on a steak while grilling. To me it sounds like an idea whose time has come. Of course I would ask for users names to get it from the horses mouth. Check them all out, the FEC 100s by Cookshack are not to be ignored, they say it gets up to 465 degrees.

John

Yeah, I think I prefer the American Grills over the FEC 100's simply because of size and Build-in ability(?). I'll keep you posted as to what I end up with. Hell, lookin' is half the fun!

John A, just getting back to you to tell you that my wife and I shopped at a Super Walmart this week and confirmed what you had earlier said that their beef was all "Select" grade. A big disappointment, as we usually get great "choice" or better beef at Sam's Clubs, which has always been excellent. Oh well, not the place for beef in my estimation, BUT their baby back ribs and pork roast were excellent and their prices on most other products were substantially below other super markets on most everything.

Regarding cooking the baby back ribs, we always take the membrane off of the backs as our long experience has shown they turn out more moist and tender than with them on. We generally cook our ribs "slow and low" then crisp them up briefly on the grill.

Hi BTB,

Yep, around here you cannot beat Sam's for quality and price at the supermarkets. Only problem is that you have to buy large quantities, I just do not like to freeze beef. Last couples of rib buys were from elsewhere, no injected brine, and they were not nearly as good as Sam's. Guess they carry better grade pork as well.

Here's a couple of shots from yesterday's cook. Can't tell you how the ribs & butt taste as they are in the refrigerator.







There has not been anything applied to glaze them, they come out of the new smoker like that.

Adding a post to the chicken forum reminded me that the appearance is due to the blend of pecan & oak pellets, it's the oak that does it.


John

I smoked some Sam's ribs this afternoon. My smoker's water pan has a hole in it, so I did them on the grill. I used the low setting and used indirect heating and pecan wood chunks. They went for 4 hours, and they came out poi-fect!

quote:

Originally posted by olphart

I smoked some Sam's ribs this afternoon. My smoker's water pan has a hole in it, so I did them on the grill. I used the low setting and used indirect heating and pecan wood chunks. They went for 4 hours, and they came out poi-fect!

Yep, they sure do come out great that way as well.

John

My rotisserie stuff got lost in the move here to Bastrop, and I just came across it week before last. This is the first time I have ever used it.

I have done a couple of chickens so far, and they came out great, even though I am still learning how to rotisserie. I wanted to try cooking the ribs that way, but my basket wouldn’t hold one slab, and I cooked two yesterday. I’m still working on a way to use it, though.

The thing about rotisserie and Sam’s – the last chicken I did cost $4.14 at the store. Sam’s sells their rotisserie chickens for $4.99. Considering the time and propane, it’s really cheaper to buy the ones at Sam’s. Just wish we lived closer to one (25 miles).

The local Sam's use to do some decent rotisserie ribs also. You're right, I could buy them for about the same as uncooked. My smoked ribs are better but they were convienent if in a hurry with a hankering for ribs. They stopped the ribs, guess they did not sell enough.

John