Sunday chuckie and my failure.

[bwram1]

So...I woke up yesterday with all intent on doing some full spares and a spatched chicken today. I had 6 racks and a bird, but...they were in the freezer. No worries...I called the wife from work and explained my dilemma. "Sure", she said, "I'll go to the store and pick something up." Problem solved.

I got home last night to discover she had bought beef back ribs, a small sirloin roast labeled as "steak" and one extremely fatty 4 lb chuck roast. :doh:

I smiled and told her what a fine job she had done on her shopping trip, went to the garage and began wondering...where did I go wrong? She has shopped with me many times over and heard me describe what I look for when selecting meats etc...I guess I have failed to explain myself in a clear and concise manner. My failure!

I am trying to make the best of it and cook these things, hoping they turn out a notch better than chew toys for the dogs. Running the Bandera and WSM side by side...meat on the Bandera between 250 n 275...beans to go on the WSM later.

There was so much fat in the chuck that in order to remove it all, I basically broke it down to 4 pieces...gotta keep an eye on the smaller ones...gonna get the IT up to pull for lunches this week. The ribs may or may not be edible...who knows? The smaller piece of ribs to the right are not seasoned...the dogs will get those no matter how they turn out...they always get a treat when "daddy" cooks!

Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. ray::lol:

NOTE: I still love her! :biggrin1:

 

[bwram1]

Using some dark red kidney and some great northern beans...drained completely. Added in a red pepper and maybe 2/3 of red onion. Had zero pulled pork leftover pulled in the freezer...not sure where the last 2 packs went...so I cut up some lil smokies I had leftover from last Sunday's ABTs. Tossed in some brown sugar, SBR, yellow mustard, worcestershire sauce and a bit of my rub...then cracked some kosher salt and black peppercorn til I thought it looked right.
They will be hitting the smoker in about an hour.

 

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

Good luck. Beef ribs are amazing. and don't sell your salvage skill short.

 

[bwram1]

Panned the chuckie chunks almost 3 hours in...beans went on earlier than expected, so I put a lid on them after about an hour of smoke. So far so good on those...

 

[SmittyJonz]

I'd of put the beans under the Beef Ribs to catch drippings.......

 

[LMAJ]

I think she is dumb like a fox... She knew what she was doing on the beef ribs.
The cook looks good!

 

[bwram1]

I'd of put the beans under the Beef Ribs to catch drippings.......

Well whaddya know...Smitty got me! :heh: Was so "distraught" over this cook that I wasn't thinking straight...
The beans are open top under the ribs now...things are looking up! :clap2:
Didn't do as much trimming as I typically would on the ribs, since I wasn't expecting much...they are now meat side down see if the fat renders a bit more into the beans.

 

[bwram1]

Was probing the chuck chunks...smaller ones at 185...couldn't resist carving a piece off to taste...all I can say is mmmmmmmmm!!! Has a nice smoke ring and a nicer flavor...not bad for Montreal Steak Seasoning! :clap2:

 

[tonyjohnson619]

Looks good I did a Chuck to day for dinner during the week

 

[Fwismoker]

Yummy, and those beans look great!

 

[pjtexas1]

They call that a pit master test. Looks like you hit that curve ball right out of the park. :thumb:

 

[bwram1]

OK...I ain't gonna lie...I was NOT expecting the ribs to turn out anything like they did...my main slip up was the chuck. It started looking a little dry on the exterior when I was probing it at 190, so I pulled it off and just sliced it up. Juices were flowing! Think I need to learn some patience?! :doh:

Pics may be a lil fuzzy...pup was trying to jump up on me...was having trouble keeping still.

 

[bwram1]

So...the rib had a little fat but was yummmmy, the sliced chuck was awesome, the beans were the possibly best I've ever done...the wife baked some taters and melted some cheese all over them (we were out of bacon) and baked some sourdough. All in all, this was a really nice Sunday evening plate. I think I'll toss this into the Happy Meal TD! :-D

 

[SmittyJonz]

Well it's seems like yo wife and me had some Good ideas.........:mrgreen:

 

[tbonedave]

Mighty fine meal, there. I think beef back ribs are my favorite, even for the membrane. So what are your thoughts on your Bandera so far? Water useage? Concerned much with meat on firebox side? Think cooking a case of pork butts would be asking too much of it? How does it compare with your past OC Over and Under other than more capacity?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[bwram1]

Mighty fine meal, there. I think beef back ribs are my favorite, even for the membrane. So what are your thoughts on your Bandera so far? Water useage? Concerned much with meat on firebox side? Think cooking a case of pork butts would be asking too much of it? How does it compare with your past OC Over and Under other than more capacity?

Thanks,
Dave

So far I've only burned 5 fires in it. The first 3 were all in the 300+ range for chicken...Turned out some mighty fine drummies and wings...Gonna do a whole bird this weekend I think.
Grates are a bit small for full racks of ribs (15.25x16) so I am gonna pick up 6-8 stainless Steel hooks and see how many I can hang. Smitty says he used to hang 8 racks in his...Maybe 6 if full spares.

I have burned 2 fires in my typical smoking range of 250-275...First time around was a beast to maintain...Kept dropping to 230 and under far to fast. Was using KBB and pecan splits about 6-8" diameter and 10-12" long. Yesterday, I switched to B&B oak lump and oak splits about beer can diameter...Was a much smoother fire management system...Held 260-280 for the bulk of 5+ hours with little to no effort...Don't foresee a problem with keeping temp for a 10+ hour cook.

As for comparison to the O&U...I liked the OC but needed more space and have always preferred verticals...Usually straight verticals...The OC was my first ever offset. I never really got to do much with it...Suffered a partially severed Achilles about a month or so after I bought it and sold it while I was down collecting 60% of my normal salary via short term disability.
I do like how I can move the Bandera grates up n down during the cook if I feel the need to get closer to or further from the fire...Using the basket I made, I can also move the fire left or right to spike or drop temp a bit.

Rig came with 4 grates (grill grate fits in main chamber) and I have added 2 more. Spaced on every other grate rail (14 rails) I can fit 6 half pans or 6 racks of chicken halves/quarters. I estimate maybe 25 wing sections per grate, so can currently cook 150 wings...About 50 pounds. Plan on adding at least 2 more grates just for future wing cooks.

I haven't drilled the lower hole for the other RC thermometer yet...My cousin has my set of step bits...So haven't checked temp difference top to bottom yet. So far have only used the Maverick to verify accuracy of the RC. I am gonna be picking up a couple of oven thermometers to test left to right to see if the fb side is hotter...Didn't appear to be yesterday, as the 2 racks of ribs seemed to cook evenly. The rig came with a baffle so that helps.

As for water, I filled the small bowl up maybe 2/3 and used maybe half of it yesterday.

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with the cooker.

 

[bwram1]

Think cooking a case of pork butts would be asking too much of it?

Thanks,
Dave

In my previous response, I failed to answer this one. I believe I can fit two 8-10 pounders per grate. Based on spacing between grates, I know I can run at least 4 grates, or 8 butts. 10 butts on 5 grates could probably be pulled off...Not sure as I haven't used the two extra grate yet...Just the 4 stock grates.

On a side note, the biggest concern I have found so far is this...There are no tabs to keep the grates from tipping over so, when I pull them out to access the meat, I have to keep hanging on to the grate. Even with the welding gloves it can get a little warm after a bit. I need to see if I can weld a few pieces in here and there.

EDIT: I have yet to put the hanging rods and rib racks in yet other than initial install for pics. Haven't had them in for a fire to season...Doubt I'll ever use them.

 

[Dr. Trout Bum]

So...the rib had a little fat but was yummmmy, the sliced chuck was awesome, the beans were the possibly best I've ever done...the wife baked some taters and melted some cheese all over them (we were out of bacon) and baked some sourdough. All in all, this was a really nice Sunday evening plate. I think I'll toss this into the Happy Meal TD! :-D

That looks amazing! Beef ribs are my absolute favorite! The beans look great too.