It was a perfect weekend to uncover and fire up the Assassin 48 to bbq two racks of spare ribs.
I tried a different indirect setup this time, instead of the V-pan I used a 3/8-inch thick steel plate of similar length and width. Beneath the plate in the charcoal pan I used a single long maze of Weber briqs (newsflash - they are sale at HD :wink
with apple wood chunks. I used a large chimney of coals to start the maze and heat the cooker and steel plate.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen the whole spares needed aggressive butchering and a good layering of Simply Marvelous Spicy Apple topped with a healthy dose of Killer Hogs Hot Rub.
Onto the Assassin for five to six hours till done at about 250. I don’t often wrap or sauce but I did both this time and they were very good and a nice change up. After 2.5-ish hours on cooker, wrapped in BP for just under an hour with honey, butter, and pomegranate juice then removed from BP. Cooked unwrapped for a bit, added a few hot coals, and brushed with sauce till set.
I liked using the steel plate, for the first couple of hours it created a temp variance of about 50 degrees from left to right. But as the maze advanced toward the center, and further towards the opposite side of the pit, the temp evened to within 15 or so degrees. It also created a lot of radiant heat that seemed to cook a little hotter. I was also experimenting with placing, and moving, a foil pan with water on the steel plate over the lit part of the maze to help even temps.
I cooked the ribs near the center of the Assassin and beneath the center exhaust stack and I really like the way the setup forced the smoke to travel over the meat before exiting the cooker, something I did not always feel I was accomplishing using the v-plate. Fun day experimenting and feeding!
I tried a different indirect setup this time, instead of the V-pan I used a 3/8-inch thick steel plate of similar length and width. Beneath the plate in the charcoal pan I used a single long maze of Weber briqs (newsflash - they are sale at HD :wink
with apple wood chunks. I used a large chimney of coals to start the maze and heat the cooker and steel plate.Meanwhile, in the kitchen the whole spares needed aggressive butchering and a good layering of Simply Marvelous Spicy Apple topped with a healthy dose of Killer Hogs Hot Rub.
Onto the Assassin for five to six hours till done at about 250. I don’t often wrap or sauce but I did both this time and they were very good and a nice change up. After 2.5-ish hours on cooker, wrapped in BP for just under an hour with honey, butter, and pomegranate juice then removed from BP. Cooked unwrapped for a bit, added a few hot coals, and brushed with sauce till set.
I liked using the steel plate, for the first couple of hours it created a temp variance of about 50 degrees from left to right. But as the maze advanced toward the center, and further towards the opposite side of the pit, the temp evened to within 15 or so degrees. It also created a lot of radiant heat that seemed to cook a little hotter. I was also experimenting with placing, and moving, a foil pan with water on the steel plate over the lit part of the maze to help even temps.
I cooked the ribs near the center of the Assassin and beneath the center exhaust stack and I really like the way the setup forced the smoke to travel over the meat before exiting the cooker, something I did not always feel I was accomplishing using the v-plate. Fun day experimenting and feeding!
