The Texas BBQ Forum

Hey folks, so I'm cooking a few things today for my bday bbq, pork butt, some chicken, ribs,etc. I'm smoking the ribs on the little green cheapy smoker. First one I did a few months ago turned out really good, figured I'd do it again. Everything seems like it's going good, but it's only been on about an hour and a half and it's already at 130 degrees. The smoker gauge has been pretty much pegged at 290 since I put it on. I'd prefer it a little lower but I think that's what I had it around the last time. Just seems like it's pretty hot pretty quick. It's only about a 5.5lber, so I was figuring about 5-6 hours on the smoker then an hour in the cooler. Any thoughts out there?

Thanks

CM

first off, personally i would never trust a stock therm gauge.....all mine seem to vary from cook to cook.....i use an oven thermometer on the racks and a digital probe that mounts to racks.......and I wouldnt worry about the internal temp of the ribs....once the fat starts breaking down it will stall out for a while and dont go by temp...when they are done to your liking...then they are done, also I cook mine at 275....as far as 290 (if thats what it really is) id rather have it run a little hot than a little low on ribs....also ivve never put ribs to rest in a cooler.....i only do that with thick cuts of meat like brisket, shoulders and butts.....unless im trying to keep hot for hours

just my 2 cents......im sure others will chime in

I cook my butts around that temp or a bit higher, you should be OK, your time estimate seems about right.

im confused.....you asking about ribs or butts?

Hey guys, sorry for not getting back to this sooner.

I did mean pork butt and not ribs, so sorry for the confusion. It cooked in about 6 hours running around 290 on average. Got up to 210 internally before I pulled it. Didn't necessarily want it that hot, but was busy doing other stuff before I was able to get over and take it off. Came out pretty good and tasty and pretty moist. Used Salt Lick's spicy rub. Only issue after it cooked was I think I let it rest a little too long and it started cooling down and was a little hard to pull apart. Here are some pix. Stupidly, I didn't take any after I had cut it up.

Here's some more pix of the smoker warming up and after I took it off.

And here's a few after I took it out of the cooler and started shredding it a bit on one end before remembering to take a pic. Of course everyone started diggin in before I could take a pic of it all shredded.

And lastly, I also cooked some Ribs on the gas grill, so throwing those pix on here as well.

looks good, thanks for not sharing the actual product ("I hope you're picking up on the sarcasm, cause I'm laying it on PRETTY thick"....Richard on Tommy Boy)

Jerode I definitely get the sarcasm.

Truth be known, and as sad as it is, I barely got a few nibbles of it myself because as fast as I was shredding it, the hands were taking it.

I really don't like fresh pulled pork.....

I LOVE the leftovers....later, reheated.....as long as they last...

True dat. Next time I'm cooking one, no one's getting their hands on it until I've had plenty AND stashed some away.