What's the secret to nice mahagony colored ribs? Mine tend to come out too dark for my liking. Too much sugar in the rub? The flavor's been good, but the visual aspect isn't what I"m looking for.
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I saw recommendations for a "set it and forget it" type of system a couple of pages ago. I came across this one and it seems to be a much lower price with reviews being really good.

http://store.pitmasteriq.com/iq110.html
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I'd say less dark smoke, more clear burn, but the way the bradley works, I'm not sure you can control that. Also, different smoke woods will leave a different colored bark, for example hickory leaves a darker tint on the outside than say, apple, which leaves things a lighter bronze.
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Interesting. I honestly can't remember the last time I did ribs in the Bradley. Maybe I'm thinking back to my old stick burner setup. I'll keep that in mind about the types of wood. I usually stick to the lighter woods for pork, with probably Oak being the heaviest. The hickory and mesquite are for things like chicken when I want the quick smoke flavor but not totally cooking in the Bradley.
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I have learned with all things throwaway, ALWAYS double what you think. My dad
taught me that when boiling crabs. He said with all the ingredients, put in what you
think it should be and then double it. ALWAYS came out perfect that way. And by
throwaway, I mean you pour out the water for seafood, and you do not cook the brine/
marinade for the bacon.....

Man this thread is ripping today. This was a reply to Chainsaw's question about garlic.
Now on another page, lol. Guess I typed for too long.
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So, my brand new 22.5" WSM arrived today. In a matter of 15 minutes, I had the thing assembled and working on my chimney. (I wish I had known about the chimney years ago-would have saved me a lot of cussing and charcoal fluid). I couldn't believe how damn big that thing was.

I have 2 pork butts on the middle level and a pork loin on top ready to see how my first batch goes. I'm using about a 50/50 combination of mesquite and hickory as well. Will post pics of the end results later tonight.

I'm nervous as hell as to how it'll turn out as I've never done this before.
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Wow, you didn't waste any time. I'm hoping to do my inaugural cook on my 18.5" (that I got in Feb) this weekend.
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It's 71 degrees and I've been craving some pulled pork like crazy. I just couldn't help myself. :-):

Now I just need to be patient for another 5 hours I'm guessing before it's ready to pull off.
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:-)
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Found that pulled pork makes a decent carnitas substitute. Took some and added to a cold stainless pan (non-stick might work too). Put over a med-low flame and let it gradually heat. After a while it starts to carmelize. The natural fat still left in the pork should be enough to keep it from sticking. Turn every so often, brown to desired doneness. Put on some corn tortillas with some cilantro and onions and a bit of hot sauce.
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Did you rub the inside of the smoker down with a fat/lard first?
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No, reading around on the virtual weber site, it said there wasn't any seasoning necessary and it just takes a few times of firing it to start building it up. Otherwise, I would have done whatever was necessary to season it.
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Here's my first loin off the grill. I pretty much did this without a thermometer cuz the one I have is pretty much junk. 2 loins around 4.5 # each were on about 2h45m right round 225 give or take for the most part. Very moist and good smoke flavor.
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Looking good Duane. Nice smoke ring.
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Nice looking work for your first cook. :-)
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I managed to put it in foil for about 15 minutes before tearing into one of the cuts. :-)

Gonna try to be real patient with the butts though. I figure those will be coming off around 11pm tonight or so. Wondering if I can wrap with foil, place in cooler, and leave just like that overnight before ripping it apart.
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Been there, done that. :-)

Absolutely. Just wrap them up in a few layers of HD foil, and stick them in a cooler and use kitchen towels to take up the empty airspace and the butts will stay warm for many hours. Exactly how many hours is hard to say and kind of depends a bit on how big they are and how well the cooler keeps heat, but I've held some smaller ones (like 4-5lbs) in a crappy disposable styrofoam cooler for about 3-4 hours, pulled them out and after tearing off 3-4 layers of foil, they're still plenty hot and even steaming a bit.

If you want, you can pre-warm the cooler by filling it with hot tap water and throwing the towels in the clothes dryer on high for a few minutes.

Probably want to put a few folded towels down under the butts or the heat could warp the cooler liner.
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Both cuts were about 15.5 # total. They're on the bottom rack and the smoker for the most part has held in the 230 range give or take a little. Probably will flip them over at the 4 hour mark.

Thanks for cooler warming suggestions! It's a 28 qt Coleman my wife just got so it's about perfect size to throw in a couple of butts and a loin.
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I can't say that I've ever noticed a difference in the butts that I flipped/turned versus the ones I haven't, so I don't bother to filp/turn them anymore unless I'm using a cooker that I know to have very uneven heating.

Thank Brent (smokin' gator) I think I got the cooler warming trick idea from him.
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Plus butts don't like to be flipped, lol. My favorite part, that fat/meat strip on the bottom sticks like crazy.
Some people say, fine, no one in their right mind would EAT that, but I do. I like the way the fat nearly all
renders out and leaves that bacony flap of burnt meat I adore. Nice smoke ring, Duane, that's not easy on
a pork loin.
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