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View Full Version : Been away from the smoke for awhile...


itschris
03-15-2010, 08:34 AM
Hey guys, I've been out of the mix for awhile and haven't fired up the smoker for awhile. Life is finally a bit less hectic and I wanted to get things back in order.

I uncovered my Brinkmann Cimarron yesterday to get it ready to go back in action. I"m dedicated to using it a lot this year. My sole goal is to get a consistent babyback rib out of the thing which I have yet to do. I can never seem to get them tender regardless of what i do.

But anyway, I clearly neglected my rig and it has started to get some rust on the firebox. I pressure washed and scrubbed and scraped the thing as best I could inside and out. There's still some specs here and there but I'm not too worried about it. I am concerned about the rust though. What's the best way to address the issue? Do I need to sand it all down? How much so if any? What kind of paint... prep... that sort of thing.

Thanks in advance guys!

bigabyte
03-15-2010, 08:55 AM
sand/brush it down until it is shiny, and then apply a high heat paint. Auto shops shoudl sell engine block paint that is rated to very high temps, and is available in many colors. You are probably jsut looking for black though, but that is the paint i would go for ont he firebox. Only paint the outside.

kickassbbq
03-15-2010, 09:03 AM
Glad to see you are back from Zombie Land (no smokie)!!
By the by, what have you been eating if you haven't q'd for that long. Betcha you are hungry!!!!

Oh, and what are you doing to those Ribs!!!

Try this. Put on you favorite rub and put them on the smoker, bone down, at 250-275.
Smoke them until you can pick them up in the middle with your tongs and they break in half.

That would be the "Bend Test"

About as easy as it gets.

itschris
03-15-2010, 02:32 PM
Glad to see you are back from Zombie Land (no smokie)!!
By the by, what have you been eating if you haven't q'd for that long. Betcha you are hungry!!!!

Oh, and what are you doing to those Ribs!!!

Try this. Put on you favorite rub and put them on the smoker, bone down, at 250-275.
Smoke them until you can pick them up in the middle with your tongs and they break in half.

That would be the "Bend Test"

About as easy as it gets.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing wroing with the ribs. One problem is I can't lay a rack front to back, the smoker just isn't quite deep enough. I have to lay them side to side and I'm always worried that there's not enough room in between the slabs. 3 racks is the limit. I've tried using vertical rips racks... I must have 5 or 6 different ones I've tried, but I can't seem to get consistent results. I've done 2-1, 2-1-1, 3-2-1, foil, no foil and just really haven't gotten the results. It always seems that I never get the pull back off the bones and they just come off tough. I've been told by other BBQ'rs that they need more time because they're not cooked enought, others have said less time because they're overcooked and that why their tough. I'm just not sure which route to take. I just bought a new pack 3 from SAM's Club. I'm gonna try just laying them flat, side to side, no foil nothing... just 225-250 until something good happens.

As far as the rust goes, it's primarily on the firebox. I might just sand the hold thing down. Getting down to shiney is gonna be a big job. I almost wish there was way I could sandblast it.

Chef Jim
03-15-2010, 02:51 PM
Chris is right, you need to sand off the rust (I used to own a paint factory). I used Rustoleum high heat black on my fire box. It was only three weeks ago but it seems to be holding up well. Got it at HD. Use a wire brush on a drill to speed things up.