Newbie first smoke

[jloveday]

Hi,

Long time lurker, will post an introduction shortly.

Bought a ProQ Frontier for me and my father to use, (bit of quality time togehter and a mutual love of food) and ran ourfirst smoke on Tues, some rib racks and a quartered chicken.

Some points
-Ribs were rubbed and used a 2-1-1 method as they were babybacks, foiling then glazing.
-Chicken was rubbed and smoked for 2hrs before basting and finishing in the oven for crisp skin.
-Fuel was cheap lump, this will be addressed in the next one
-Water pan was used approx 1/2 full, this seemed to hold temps fine around 225-250 for the 4hrs but longer duration may be problematic
Apple wood chips in foil used for the first 2 hrs, one handful per hr.

The ribs were tender as was the chicken and had quite a deep smoke flavour with some bitterness. About 2hrs in despite my best attempts at advice the old man decided more unlit fuel was needed, this I think created the bitterness and I think there were accelerants in it due to the way it behaved, lots of smoke!

Is this the cuplrit?

Otherwise the smoker performed really well, Markerick thermometer was a god send although the lip one wasnt totally inaccurate.

Going for pulled pork at the weekend, tips?

Money shot:

[RobinC]

About 2hrs in despite my best attempts at advice the old man decided more unlit fuel was needed, this I think created the bitterness and I think there were accelerants in it due to the way it behaved, lots of smoke!

Is this the cuplrit?

If the fuel contained accelerants almost certainly. Anything containing accelerents should be fully lit before cooking. Personally I avoid the stuff like the plague. If you've got a chimney starter you do need it. I've not used a Pro Q but on my WSM I would never need to fuel within the first couple of hours.

The other thing - though its called smoking you actually don't want to see lots of smoke. A smoker doing its stuff properly normally emits a thin plume of smoke.

That aside sounds like your 1st cook went well.

[keith157]

They look great as a rank amateur to lumpwood I'd have to think that was the culprit burning off anything that may have been used in their processing.
Hang around for a few minutes and someone with more experience will be along. Personally I don't add unlit fuel if I can help it.

[keith157]

This takes you to Toby's video, great hints and tips.
http://www.bbbqs.com/Forum/viewtopic.ph ... ork#p20560
There have been several topics on pulled pork this week, the easiest way to find them is to scroll down through the new posts section, or head for the pork section in the recipe pages.
With such a good start, provided you get dad's "urges" under control you should be fine.

Just remember the final arbiter for what is good are your tastebuds if you like it it's a proper job, if not remember what the problems were and the guys n gals on here will do their best to help you

[jloveday]

Thanks Robin, confirmed my suspicions. lesson learned. Will buy some decent lump for Sunday smoke. I have a chimney so will add lit if the basket needs topping up.

I think dad wanted something to do whilst waiting , he owned a butchers and deli while I was growing up and is well versed in cold smoking etc but we are both learning.

Will the water pan suffice over longer smoke or would it be wise to invest in a clay saucer?

[jloveday]

Cheers keith will give it a watch, I am pleased with the outcome for a first crack and glad to have tweaks for the next run.

[RobinC]

You can add unlit charcoal and many people do. Generally my decision on whether to add unlit or lit is dependent on what the cooker is doing. If I anticipate that the temp is likely to be dropping over the next couple of hours because of fuel running lower then I will add unlit. This means the cooker stays roughly at its current temp and just continues chugging along. If my temp has already dropped because I've not been keeping an eye on fuel levels (and assuming its not a vent issue, or something that could be corrected by adjusting a vent) then I will add lit. Unlit restaurant grade lump added to your cook shouldn't taint the food. Assuming you are lighting minion style most of it is unlit to begin with anyway.

Re the water pan: most people seem to go for a clay saucer for a couple of reasons: helps the cooker get up to cooking temp quicker and generally cleanup is easier. I still use water (though I start with hot tap water) mainly as I haven't really had any issues with using water so why change.

[jloveday]

I assumed unlit was potentially ok, but this was likely instant light as it came from another bag and would have been full of shite. I did use minion to start and it seemed to burn well, no more was needed but hey ho.

[RobinC]

As said instant light unlit is always a no no. It's worth having a read through the information for beginners sticky in this forum. There's some good info in there. One of the posts lickens low and slow to driving a vintage car which I think is a good analogy. You need to learn the quirks of your cooker and small adjustments are generally better than big ones. The important thing is to have fun along the way.

[jloveday]

I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well it got up to temp and held it as have read a mixed bag of reviews but am looking forward to properly seasoning and sealing it and learning its quirks. I have been reading the guides and forums for a while now but nothing beats hands on so I decided to get stuck in. Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated.