Sunday, April 17, 2016

Having bought the MES 40, gen. 2.5, yesterday we had a lot of things to smoke. Decided that filling it with all kinds of cold meat was not a good idea so we did the chicken legs and thighs in the morning and the ribs and sides in the afternoon. Kelley and the girls just happen to come over just before lunch and then decided they needed to come back after nap time.

Chicken Legs and Thighs

1. Bought pre-seasoned leg quarters from HEB as they were on sale. Did not add any seasoning so they would not be too “spicy” for the girls.
2. Prewarmed the new-to-me MES40 to 250
3. After 30 minutes added 5 legs and 5 thighs on top 2 grates with the AMNZTS 1/2 full of Pit Master (hictory+cherry+maple). Tried to lite with torch but it did not take although it smoked for a little while.
4. 1 hr 15 min later notice it was not smoking so re-lite with torch and it stayed lite.
5. 1 hr 40 min had a good thin smoke from the exhaust port.
6. 2 hr 15 minutes the IT of the legs was 195 and the thighs was 190. Removed them and covered with foil.
7. Mary liked the lighter smoke level and the meat had a good smoke taste and was very moist.
8. Emptied the AMNZTS into a pie pan to save the unburned plugs. Less than half had burned in the about 1 hour they had burned.

Baby Back (BB) and Country-Style Pork Ribs (CSR) with sides

1. The day before:
   1. Sprinkled the CSRs with Stubbs Hot Pork Rub lightly as the girls would likely be eating with us.
   2. Sprinkled the BBs with Kosher salt.
2. About an hour before the smoke sprinkled lightly the BBs with Memphis Rub by Meathead. Ambient temp was in the low 70s all day with the humidity over 90%.
3. 0 Hours = 10:10 AM, April 17, 2016 after the chicken as recorded above.  Preheated the MES40, gen 2.5, to 225 for about 45 minutes. Put BBs on top rack and CSRs on 2nd rack from the top.
4. 2 hours = 12:10 PM – between start and now temp stayed steady and I added pecan chips twice and opened and spritz with water/apple-cider-vinegar twice then again when opened this time. Door glass is fully coated with condensation. Glad I did not fill tray with water as door glass was coated with condensation. Raised temp to 250 and soon had a better stream of smoke although lite but noticeable.
5. 3.5 hrs = 2:40 PM – Checked IT temp with Thermoworks instant read probe and found thick end of BB was at 195 but thin end was only 175. [Maybe due to thick end being over the heating element. The ribs bent but seem tough during the bend test. So left then on for a little longer. [Should have taken them out as they dried out some and were chewy.]
6. SIDES: At this time added two ears of corn that had been slathered with melted butter, sprinkled lightly with The Best Cajun Seasoning–from The Best Stop in Scott LA. The cobs were wrapped with bacon then drizzled again with cajun seasoning. See separate post here.
7. 4 hrs 20 mins – Removed BBs as the bones are protruding and it fell in half when moving it to the tray.

Both ribs were well cooked with a lot of smoky taste.

4/18/2016 – Mary warmed a few CSR’s in the microwave and they were good. Should have taken them out of the smoker sooner.