SWMBO was out of town, kids at camp and elsewhere, so I snagged a rack of
back ribs from WallyWorld Sunday, for $7. I was reluctant to buy them
because the package says something about a brine, or salt solution, or some
dang thing. But what the heck it's just me, so I threw them in a pot of
water, and let them soak for ten minutes. Drain, rinse, repeat. Once more,
while I fired up the ol' ECB.

I'm running short on hickory, so I threw one lump of mesquite in there, and
a handful of those Jack Daniels barrel chips ($1 per bag last fall) and off
we went. The ECB has been running well this summer, sitting right at about
250 or a touch higher. Three hours later, and geez those were good ribs. The
meat was nicely tender but still stuck to the bone, and they were good and
meaty. mmmmmmm.

Maybe I've been using too much smoke. These had a nice smoky-brown surface,
they weren't black at all. Next rib cook....less smoke.

-John O

"John O" > wrote in message
>
> Maybe I've been using too much smoke. These had a nice smoky-brown
surface,
> they weren't black at all. Next rib cook....less smoke.
>
> -John O
>

I, too, have discovered that I like a less intense smoke flavor. Years ago
I would have smoke coming out of the K for the whole smoke, and an opaque,
dense smoke at that. I grew weary of that flavor. Now, I smoke with only
enough wood that you can hold between your hands. It usually stops smoking
about the first third of a long cook.

Usually my philosophy is "If a little is good, a lot is better". But smoke
flavor in meat is a great exception.

John in Austin

"John O" > wrote in message
>
> Maybe I've been using too much smoke. These had a nice smoky-brown
surface,
> they weren't black at all. Next rib cook....less smoke.
>
> -John O
>

I, too, have discovered that I like a less intense smoke flavor. Years ago
I would have smoke coming out of the K for the whole smoke, and an opaque,
dense smoke at that. I grew weary of that flavor. Now, I smoke with only
enough wood that you can hold between your hands. It usually stops smoking
about the first third of a long cook.

Usually my philosophy is "If a little is good, a lot is better". But smoke
flavor in meat is a great exception.

John in Austin

JakBQuik wrote:

> I, too, have discovered that I like a less intense smoke flavor.
> Years ago I would have smoke coming out of the K for the whole smoke,
> and an opaque, dense smoke at that. I grew weary of that flavor.
> Now, I smoke with only enough wood that you can hold between your
> hands. It usually stops smoking about the first third of a long cook.
>
> Usually my philosophy is "If a little is good, a lot is better". But
> smoke flavor in meat is a great exception.

I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

JakBQuik wrote:

> I, too, have discovered that I like a less intense smoke flavor.
> Years ago I would have smoke coming out of the K for the whole smoke,
> and an opaque, dense smoke at that. I grew weary of that flavor.
> Now, I smoke with only enough wood that you can hold between your
> hands. It usually stops smoking about the first third of a long cook.
>
> Usually my philosophy is "If a little is good, a lot is better". But
> smoke flavor in meat is a great exception.

I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

Dave Bugg wrote:

> I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
> dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
> spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
> the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

Amen.

Dave Bugg wrote:

> I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
> dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
> spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
> the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

Amen.

> I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
> dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
> spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
> the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"

-John O

> I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
> dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
> spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
> the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.

Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"

-John O

"John O" > wrote in message
gy.com
||| I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor,
||| not dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or
||| any other spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright...
||| stop snickering in the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb
||| sledgehammer.
||
|| Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"
||
|| -John O

I seldom experience what I'd call "too much smoke". Most of the time it's
the rub that's overpowering the smoke and what some might call oversmoking
is usually the sugars in the rub turning into a burnt glaze that prevents
the smoke from getting through anyway.

JD

"John O" > wrote in message
gy.com
||| I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor,
||| not dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or
||| any other spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright...
||| stop snickering in the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb
||| sledgehammer.
||
|| Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"
||
|| -John O

I seldom experience what I'd call "too much smoke". Most of the time it's
the rub that's overpowering the smoke and what some might call oversmoking
is usually the sugars in the rub turning into a burnt glaze that prevents
the smoke from getting through anyway.

JD

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:17:39 -0700, "Dave Bugg"
<deebuggatcharterdotnet> wrote:


>
>I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
>dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
>spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
>the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.
>

<snicker>


Rick Simms

--
A pessimist believes all women are bad.

An optimist hopes they are.

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:17:39 -0700, "Dave Bugg"
<deebuggatcharterdotnet> wrote:


>
>I agree whole-heartedly. Smoke needs to ADD to the meat's flavor, not
>dominate it. It's the same as using far too much garlic, or any other
>spice. Smoke needs to gently kiss the meat (awright... stop snickering in
>the back) instead of bludgeoning it like a 30 Lb sledgehammer.
>

<snicker>


Rick Simms

--
A pessimist believes all women are bad.

An optimist hopes they are.

John O wrote:

> Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"

Yeah, and I can add a red light to the front porch. :-)

Dave Bugg wrote:
> John O wrote:
>
>
>>Dave's place... "Where smoke gently kisses the meat"
>
>
> Yeah, and I can add a red light to the front porch. :-)

Yikes, I can just imagine the letter(s) you'd get from
city hall...

;-)