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More Ribs Smoked with the Smokenator

Published by Nathan in Smokenator on May 10th, 2011 | No Comments »

For my second try with the Smokenator I again decided to smoke some pork ribs. Our local Albertson’s had a special on pork ribs and I believe it was buy 1 get two free, it was a heck of a deal so we stocked up with 6 racks of ribs. This of course was also time to get out the Smokenator and my Weber Grill to smoke some ribs!

I decided that I would cook these ribs with a mixture of regular Kingsford charcoal and the remainder of a bag of lump charcoal (mainly smaller pieces). I would say that my tendency was 65% Kingsford charcoal, 35% lump charcoal. I think that I am going to use a similar mix for the next few times I use the smokenator. When I use lump charcoal alone my temperature tends to run on the high side, which is ok but I can’t seem to keep the dome temp around 225 degrees. I used the Rib recipe from the Competition BBQ Secrets book, I highly recommend picking up a copy today, Click Here!.

Regarding the meat preparation, the ribs were already seasoned by Albertson’s. I added a little bit of McCormick’s Garlic Pepper seasoning just for good measure. If you’ve never used McCormick’s Garlic Pepper grinder before, you’ve got to try one!

I got everything set-up and put together and packed the smokenator with charcoal. I find that when I pack it about half full (including wood chips) and then fill the other half with lit coals it tends to burn a little hot but also still has enough lit coals to ignite the charcoal already packed in the smokenator. I have had problems in the past of things not really taking off so that’s why I start with more hot coals. I can get the temp down within 30 minutes.

As you can see from the photos I used Apple wood chips, I soaked them overnight in water. The overall cooking time was 3 hours, the last 10 were over medium heat on my gas grill to firm up the meat, my wife likes smoked ribs done that way I think for my next smoking adventure I’m going to try a whole chicken. There are may recipes for rubs and ways to smoke different meats in the Competition BBQ Book, I highly recommend getting one as it is a great road map for BBQ adventures.

Try your best to maintain the low dome temperature if possible. It’s ok for it to go up and down at times but once you are able to maintain the temperature, it’s almost as if it clicks! Good luck and happy smoking!

Tags: smokenator, smoking ribs, weber grill smoking

Smoking Ribs with the Smokenator

Published by Nathan in Smokenator on May 29th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Do you have a Weber Grill and wish you had a Smoker? My wife and I got married recently and got a gas grill as a gift. We already had a Weber kettle grill and the ‘ol lady but the kaibosh on a smoker so it was on her to find a suitable replacement. I can highly recommend the Smokenator for someone who wants to learn the basics of ‘low and slow’ smoking. In addition, you’ll learn how to take care and monitor your smoking because you do need to get really good at temperature management with the Smokenator. There are a few essential items you’ll need, Weber grill, Smokenator, thermometer, and I highly recommend the Competition BBQ Book, it’s full of recipes and techniques for cooking and smoking award winning BBQ. I have other books but there isn’t one that is equal to what this book provides in terms of techniques, the rub recipes are A+ as well. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

So our house has space limitations and we got a new gas grill as a wedding present and already had a Weber grill which we used for BBQ on the weekend. I wanted a Weber Smokey Mountain unit but my wife came up with a better idea, Bam! She found the Smokenator 1000. It has been a great substitute, and hopefully a primer for a full-fledged smoker. So I just smoked some fantastic ribs with the Smokenator and my Weber grill. Go down to you local meat market and grab a rack or ribs. Ribs aren’t the only meat that you can smoke with the Smokenator it’s just what we’ve used a few times now.

smokenator911hj9 300x222 Smoking Ribs with the Smokenator

The key to the whole smoke is lump charcoal, make sure you get lump instead of Kingsford if you can help it. I live in the Phoenix area and I was able to grab a 20 lb bag of lump charcoal for $6 at my local Fry’s grocery store.

The key to the whole system is temperature, make sure you get a smoker thermometer, instead of the recommended meat thermometer and a clip. The smoker thermometer is slightly larger than the hole in the Weber lid. It does fit nicely at angle or using the locking nut to hold it in place. This is one of those exercises where you DO need to read the Smokenator Manual fully before starting. Make sure you understand the process of controlling the temperature.

I’ve used the Smokenator twice now and I really like it as an alternative or temporary solution to having a smoker. The main thing I need to work on is controlling temperature. I think the area for improvement is in keeping the coals consistently hot and keeping a good flow through the entire 4 hour smoke. Another item you might want if you’re cooking multiple racks of ribs is the Hovergrill for the Smokenator.

If you follow the directions that were provided with the manual, then you’ll have no problem. The biggest thing it to make sure you know your Weber grill through and through. It’ll be very hard to maintain the minimum temperature if you’ve got a leaky kettle. The Smokenator will only be as good as your kettle grill, and of course the leading brand is Weber. As I mentioned before, I highly recommend picking up the Competition BBQ book, lots of great BBQ instruction as well as recipes for rubs and sauces.

Here’s a great You Tube Video about the dry run which is very important, you need to do the test run, I cannot stress it enough!!

Here is a video of the late Smokenator creator, Don Thompson explaining the features of the Smokenator and also Cooking Low and Slow with the Smokenator: