First cook on #1636 with baby backs

[alecksjaycubs]

Just finished with the results of our first cook. We had some baby backs in the freezer so we gave em a shot. They were great! We followed Big Poppa's video and they were super easy. My only wish is that I would have checked them at 1:15 into foil instead of 1:30. They were a little too tender. We used some Money Rub and a dash of a few rubs that came with the Mak. Obligatory pick of what was left...

The only thing I'd like to figure out is getting more smoke on 'em. Maybe start at a lower temp for smoke and ramp up? We're doing some butts tomorrow and I'm hoping for some photo contest goodness so wish me luck!

 

[Chili Head]

How long did you run the MAK on "smoke" before you ramped up to cooking temp? I run mine an hour before I raise the temp to 250 to cook them.

I would eat those! Not bad at all!

 

[alecksjaycubs]

Thanks! They did taste great. Especially when you compare it to what we used to try to do on our Weber propane grill. I followed the BP video and he didn't run on smoke first so I didn't either. Is running at SMOKE in the beginning a standard practice with the Mak? It makes sense to me, I just hadn't seen it done anywhere... even in the Mak videos. Any thoughts on how long to run on SMOKE for pork butts?

 

[Chili Head]

Running on the smoke setting runs at a lower temp which creates more smoke . The longer your time on smoke the smokier you meat will be. For butts ill go a couple hours.

 

[MAK DADDY]

It's all a matter of preference, experiment with different temps and wood flavors too.
From that Pic I wouldn't change a thing

 

[NorCal Smoker]

Ribs look great. Can also order an A-MAZE-N tube smoker from BPS if you want more smoke. I have used mine on cooks where I want more smoke and it works well.

 

[TentHunter]

For butts ill go a couple hours.

Same here, and I put them on while they and the grill are both still cold.

In cooler drier weather a water pan in the grill can help to keep moisture levels up which helps with smoke absorption as well as smoke ring. This can even be a small loaf pan or even a couple cans of water off to the side.

Another trick I like to use is to cut the butts in half which increases surface area for more smoke and more bark.