I bought a nice smoker

[oldbay]

I got a nice smoker the other day at Sam's Club. I'd been pondering and putting off buying one since last Christmas. I've been looking at catalogs and online, yet hadn't found one that wasn't too expensive, was made from home use, and was ok in size. So while I generally try to avoid buying something made in China, the Sam's Club Masterbuilt Smoker is cool. The company is actually in Georgia, and I did call for help and received a pleasant response from them.

Last night I smoked a pork butt and chopped it up for sandwiches and they were on the same level as any sandwich from a smoker restaurant. The word is 'awesome'!

Tonight I'm making baby back ribs. Yum!

I think I could slow cook a delicious prime rib in it like the restaurant I worked in as a kid did. They'd cook the rib roasts for 10 hours at 275 degrees and they were tender and moist.

That restaurant also had beef long ribs, that were about 8" long. A friend of mine says those are the ribs from prime ribs when they make rib eye steaks. They cooked them in the same oven unit they cooked the prime rib in and it's almost like the smoker (yet my smoker is smaller) so I think I can make them like they did if I can figure out the seasoning. Anyhow, I've never seen beef long ribs anywhere else but that place and that was 30 years ago.

I Googled beef ribs, but only found places selling short (fatty) ribs. Anyone know what kind of ribs I'm talking about? Tell me their name and what's the secret to getting them, please!

 

[gacherokee2002]

Try SMITHFIELD Baby Back Ribs

 

[tcinsa]

Congrats on your smoker, Old Bay! Don't you just love it when you finally make a purchase you've been considering for a while and it exceeds all expectations? (I love BBQ pork sandwiches - so juicy and tender.) Thanks for the tip on the Sam's brand smoker, too!

 

[George]

I bought a smoker about 3 years ago now and just love the thing. It is a bit of a hassle to use in the winter, but I still give it a good try and have had things out there smoking while the snow is coming down. Sometimes when you are in the mood for smoked pork or chicken, nothing will deter you! the hardest part is keeping the temp up in the winter, I just seem to run through more charcoal, but other than that it works great and is still one of the best outdoor cooking purchases I have made.....next to my grill...but that is another story.

 

[KYHeirloomer]

When the weather turns cold, George, what I do is forgo the side cooker and arrange my coals in the main grill.

You still want to use indirect heat, of course. But their proximity helps maintain the temperature.

 

[George]

When the weather turns cold, George, what I do is forgo the side cooker and arrange my coals in the main grill.

You still want to use indirect heat, of course. But their proximity helps maintain the temperature.

Well my grill is propane so that really isn't a problem in the winter. My smoker is a stand along tall smoker...I really don't have a problem using it in the winter, but if the wind is strong it just seems to push the temp down on the inside of the smoker and I just have to use more charcoal than I do in the summer.....still worth it though.

 

[Mark M]

Smoking in the cold or in wind,
I had problems with all of this and found a great and cheap fix it. I have a stand up smoker not to big 4 feet tall with a open bottum feeder for your fire, anyway's I bought some cinderblocks and stacked them around the base 2 feet high and it kept the wind and cold out . It even kept some heat at the base ( fake summer temps )...

 

[ricksrealpitbbq]

Old Bay , the ribs you want are indeed cut from the whole rib roast. Short ribs are cut from these same ribs as well. Just ask your butcher to save a few racks for you before cutting them up