BARDSLJR

Good tip, Dono, thanks!

I'll be there. Anyone else going?

Hey, guys (and gals), I am back, for better or worse, after a misadventure relating to my change of email addresses. The University finally took away my old email that I had used for nearly 20 years and now my new and permanent email, should you need it, is "[email protected]." But on to ribs: one is always trying to make sure they are tender and juicy, and done but not dry. One wants to have a good ratio of smokiness without being overpowering. So my latest adjustments: 1) It take my 32" KK, using the Fireboard controller, pretty much an hour to ramp up from cold to my target temperature, 225*. In the meanwhile, there is all that nice smoke....why not use it? We know that the meat absorbs the smoke better when the surface is cold, and virtually stops absorbing smoke when the surface temperature reaches 135 or so. Why wait till the smoker is at final cooking temperature (225) to put the meat in? I use apple wood for ribs, anyway,it is a good match for pork ribs, though apple and is sweeter and LIGHTER than some other wood choices. Why not put the meat in early and give it a longer extended time for exposure to the smoke? (Also more air turbulence passing through during the ramp-up period than when the KK has settled at 225 and the Fireboard is just giving it a little push from the fan now and then.) I am using the 2/1/1 method (of course), and I start the clock for the first segment when I hit 225*. 2) Moist cooking during the second segment is to my thinking, maybe the most important stage for getting the meat cooked through AND keeping it moist. I had started some time ago cooking during this hour with the meat side down. Now I also include a liberal sprinkling of dark brown sugar in the foil where the meat side will be placed, a couple of large pats of unsalted butter, and , and very liberal spritzing of water up and down the foil. I also turn the temp up to 235* for this hour. 3) I turn the temp back down to 225* for the last hour, when the ribs come out of the foil for finishing (though admittedly, it takes some time for the temp to fall.) Yesterdays ribs were a success, and I would have taken photos but it was snowing quite a bit off and on. Yes, in beautiful, "300 sunny days a year" Denver we are having a weather s**tshow" of a weekend, 4 to 8" of snow around town, high of maybe 30 today......The sun comes out and it disappears fast , by Wednesday it will be mid 50's again (48* for Halloween Tuesday), and we will be back to beautiful fall weather. This is MOST unusual. It's nice to be back.Thank you, Dennis, for all the help.

Well, if you recall, in our last episode, my Fireboard 2 had a failure, and was showing the battery totally depleted. The unit would turn on, but then itself off again in less than a minute. After about 20 tries, I got the unit to re-set and was able to charge the battery up fully. So I put it away until this last weekend, three weeks later, when I intended to do some babyback ribs. But guess what? No battery and it wouldn't charge at all this time. So I would have ride bareback, so to speak, go commando (where did that phrase originate from, anyway?)....go old school. Wing it. I had to control the temps myself, manually. AND I would need a new temperature gauge, since the Fireboard sensor had been providing that function for the last two years. So a trip to Home Depot.....and I was in business. Happily, I can report that although there were a few ups and downs, overall I managed to keep the temps within a decent cooking range, and got really good results: see photo. So the unit went back to Fireboard Labs in Kansas, and I am really happy to report that their service is just GREAT! Scott Myers at Fireboard stayed in touch with me by email throughout the process, acknowledging the receipt of the unit, informing me about progress, and finally when it was done. Best, the problem was just a bad battery, and the whole fix only cost $20, and it should be on its way back right now. Can't say enough good things about Fireboard Labs. Looking forward to doing some pork shoulder next.

Dennis, so sorry to hear about the shoulder (I am a tennis player and am around a lot of rotator cuff patients). That particular injury usually has, I'm afraid, a pretty extended recovery and rehab period. The only wisdom I can pass along from my friends is hit the rehab hard and really work it in the early stages, do everything they tell you to do, and don't get behind in your pain medications.

I don’t know what I did, but after about 10 tries trying to hold the button down for 15 seconds to do a reset on the system, the reset FINALLY took, and after that I was able to recharge the battery and it all appears to be working normally now. I don’t know what I did- it seemed like I tried the same thing about 10 times, and finally, it just took. Of course, it is a piece of electronic equipment and doesn’t have a personality, so that can’t be right. But there you have it. It is working now, and I didn’t have to send it back to Fireboard in Kansas, and that is all I care about. I had a prompt email back from Fireboard yesterday and they were happy to repair it, and there was fee is it was out of warranty (it was) and he said cost would be between $30-60, depending. I am just glad I didn't have to send it back and the problem appears for now to be resolved. Thanks for all the helpful tips!

Well, I tried the reset routine, but no change. It still turns off in 5 seconds (yes, it is plugged in). It's been plugged in since Saturday morning and is still showing an empty battery, so I am guessing it will go back to the factory today for a new one.

This is really helpful, thanks. Fingers crossed.

Also, this might be problematic given that the unit will only stay on 3-5 seconds before it turns itself off again.....

GREAT idea! Does anyone out there know how to do a factory reset on the Fireboard 2? It's not obvious to me.

yes, and I checked all the connections. It is getting power, but the battery does not appear to be charging.

Thanks, will do

I would second Tony B on the DIzzy Pig Dizzy Dust. I lay my ribs out after unpacking them, pat them dry with a paper towel, and season evenly and generously with Dizzy Dust. I used to give the Dizzy Dust about an hour before cooking to really sink into the meat, and this is probably preferred, but you can also spritz the ribs with a spray of liquid over the dry rub and achieve the same effect.

Very strange. My Fireboard 2 is plugged in and getting power, but the battery icon shoes "empty" and it keeps turning itself off after a few seconds (BTW, I am in the middle of cooking babybacks.....URK!....am going to have finish this one bareback. Anyone else have any experience like this? Any suggestions? I hate to spend $250 to replace it unless it is really necessary.

I believe the FireBoard is weather-proof, too, according to the box instructions. I don't know about the Guru.

Fort Worth Light (it was hugely popular on the CASI circuit, Top Hat were go-to's for me. Also Acme and El Rey and Chimayo.

Tyrus, most Texans and most CASI (competitive) chili cooks would say that chili with anything but meat (in other words, no beans) in it is not really "chili". It might be something, and it might be something good to eat, but it is not really "chili". Chili is meat, spices, broth or water, and maybe some tomato sauce or paste. No beans. And if it is made with chicken or turkey or beans/vegetables, it is not "chili". Not that the others can't be good to eat, no one is saying that. Tony, you're right, Penzey's also has generally very high quality spices. Pendery's my go-to, though. For a commercial chili blend, I still think Gebhardt's, a very old brand, is the best.

You're so right. The thing I like best about the Fireboard - besides it works better for me than the Guru did- is that it connects through the internet and is accessible on your phone app from practically anywhere. The Guru, as I remember, is bluetooth with limited range. Cooking an entire brisket to make your chili? Wow, you are hard-core. Love to hear your chili recipe: I used to compete in the chilli cookoffs in Texas and Louisiana in the late 80's- early 90s. Pendery's in Fort Worth was my go-to for high quality spices and pure ground roast chile's.

PS, If you give me your contact info, I will be happy to send you my now unused BBQ Guru, if you want it.

Brett, I had all kinds of issues with my BBQ Guru, switched to a Fireboard, and I have been very happy with it, FWIW. Also, it uploads your data through the Cloud, so you can access from anywhere as you go through your daily grind. With my BBQ Guru, I had to be within range of my house. Just my experience, FWIW.

Well, I am pleased to report that it came out REALLY well. (My two neighbors who got 1/3rd each think so, too.) Photos attached. It cooked for a total of 9 hours, 40 minutes, most of that at 250 until the last 2 1/2 hours, when I built an aluminum foil "boat" underneath it and left the top open- I got this idea from a recent article in Texas Monthly Magazine by Daniel Vaughn. It worked pretty well. I raised the temp to 275 and later to 295 for the last hour. It all came out pretty great. Used a heavy rub of coarse sea salt and coarse pepper and a lighter coating of Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust. The result was a nice, crunchy, salty, peppery bark.

Costco FINALLY, after a several months' absence, got a few Prime briskets back in, so I grabbed one and am doing it today (photo of brisket, trimmed and rubbed). As an additional positive note, this one started out as 13.9 lbs- the ones I had been getting last spring were mammoth, like 18-19lbs, and took forever to cook. I trimmed it last night and took a little more than 3 lbs of mostly hard fat off it, so we are now somewhere in the 10-lb range. Ironically, we just had brisket Monday night, a Christmas gift from a friend, sent from Perrini Ranch: at the ranch, they do their briskets old-school, over an open pit, with coals from mesquite logs shoveled under the briskets, like in Lockhart. I think I prefer the Austin-style, using indirect heat with the hot air current passing over the brisket and infusing smoke, but the Perrini Ranch product was VERY good- nice mesquite smoke, heavy black pepper, EXCELLENT quality meat: though a little firmer and maybe drier than the Austin style? In any case, we just finished having brisket on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (main course, on salad, as tacos, in that order), so my daughter's family can be excused for declining this brisket, and two of my neighbors on the block will be the beneficiaries/ test audience. We achieved 250* around 8AM, so I project it will come off somewhere around 4-5PM tonight. Updates to follow.

Agree on the Thermoworks probe- quite stoutly built. BTW, I had a BBQ Guru and after numerous fails with it, switched to the Fireboard and it has worked flawlessly. Really happy with this.

Actually,this makes a lot of sense. The flat is a pretty lean cut- and this one was "choice" as Costco doesn't seem to be offering "prime" brisket right now. I was happy with the overall flavor, but it could have been a bit more moist, and I did everything I could do to enhance moisture-butcher paper wrap, watched temperature,etc.

And here's the final results: I didn’t want to do a whole 15-lb brisket because that would mean me starting it at midnight, going to bed and worrying about monitoring the temperature overnight (because something can ALWAYS go wrong if you are not watching it). With the 6lb flat, it was only the lean portion of the brisket, but I started it about 10AM and took it off at 6:30, rested it for an hour, and then sliced it. (Photos). It actually turned out pretty well: nicely moist, not dried out, and good flavor. I had rubbed it with Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and coarse ground pepper. The bark did not turn out quite as I had hoped- I think it was the Lawry’s- will experiment next time with just plain old coarse sea salt and pepper. I didn’t have any post oak and since I wanted a stronger smoke, so I used mesquite, and that part turned out quite well. The sliced meat looks a little grayish in this photo, and I attribute that to this particular flat- it was choice grade, as Costco didn’t have any prime out in the cooler. In any case, it was perfectly tender and moist- I took it off to rest it (1 hour, wrapped and tented) when the temp probe showed 200*, and I think allowing for measurement error, it was just right. We sliced it like a London Broil and ate it with homemade mashed potatoes and vegetables- yum.