Tricky
is one Smokin' Farker
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2010
- Location
- Ventura County, CA
The Rec Tec finally arrived just before the long weekend. I got her assembled and ready to go, and did an initial burn in and then smoked a pound of bacon just because the cooker was hot and ready for something to smoke.
Here is the cooker post bacon:
Then Sunday I decided to do some baby backs. I had to be up and out of the house early, so I slathered on some yellow mustard and hit two racks with some Simply Marvelous Pecan Rub accented by some of my own homestyle rub. I started the cooker before I left and told my wife to throw in the ribs around 8:30. Here they are just after going on:
Smoked the ribs on the Rec Tec at 250F until I got home around 12:30. I wasn't sure how long they would take so I tried the bend test and realized they still had a ways to go:
Let 'em cruise for another hour or so, and ramped the heat up to 275F. Cooker works like a dream -- temp quicky rose, and the computer started easing off the throttle before it got to 275F so it didn't overshoot the mark very far.
Hit the racks with some original Sweet Baby Rays. One plain, the other I mixed in some seedless rasperry jam and some Louisiana hot sauce just for fun. (The sauce had a bit of a kick when I was brushing it on . . . but for some reason when we ate the ribs the sauce had totally mellowed out and tasted about the same as the straight Sweet Baby Rays). Here's what the first rack looked like - no foiling:
Family loved the ribs, and my wife (who doesn't like a strong smoke flavor) said they were the best she's had in a long time. As I was walking back into the kitchen with the second rack I heard my 6-year-old daughter say (after sampling one): "These are the best I've ever had. Dad just went up a level!" We got some good laughs after that one (as an aside, she had previously told me that she didn't like the new cooker because the red made it look "too Tuscan" -- we don't know where she comes up with half of what she says!)
Here's my chief rib tester trying out one of the ones with the spicy sauce:
The kids sure put 'em away. Great cook on my new toy! Looking forward to many more.
Here is the cooker post bacon:
Then Sunday I decided to do some baby backs. I had to be up and out of the house early, so I slathered on some yellow mustard and hit two racks with some Simply Marvelous Pecan Rub accented by some of my own homestyle rub. I started the cooker before I left and told my wife to throw in the ribs around 8:30. Here they are just after going on:
Smoked the ribs on the Rec Tec at 250F until I got home around 12:30. I wasn't sure how long they would take so I tried the bend test and realized they still had a ways to go:
Let 'em cruise for another hour or so, and ramped the heat up to 275F. Cooker works like a dream -- temp quicky rose, and the computer started easing off the throttle before it got to 275F so it didn't overshoot the mark very far.
Hit the racks with some original Sweet Baby Rays. One plain, the other I mixed in some seedless rasperry jam and some Louisiana hot sauce just for fun. (The sauce had a bit of a kick when I was brushing it on . . . but for some reason when we ate the ribs the sauce had totally mellowed out and tasted about the same as the straight Sweet Baby Rays). Here's what the first rack looked like - no foiling:
Family loved the ribs, and my wife (who doesn't like a strong smoke flavor) said they were the best she's had in a long time. As I was walking back into the kitchen with the second rack I heard my 6-year-old daughter say (after sampling one): "These are the best I've ever had. Dad just went up a level!" We got some good laughs after that one (as an aside, she had previously told me that she didn't like the new cooker because the red made it look "too Tuscan" -- we don't know where she comes up with half of what she says!)
Here's my chief rib tester trying out one of the ones with the spicy sauce:
The kids sure put 'em away. Great cook on my new toy! Looking forward to many more.
