Pork Rib Roast-

That's what the label said. Five nice chunks of pork. Good looking fat. Nice meat. I liked the texture. Four pieces had bone in. I judged a two hour cooking time, and set up for that.

My spices were a blend of Dollar Tree Zesty Seasoned Salt, Black Pepper, and table salt in equal portions. I blended them in a little shaker we had around the kitchen. The meat was rubbed with oil, and the seasoning applied. I think it applied more evenly than with sprinkling by hand. I was generous, but not as extreme as the last two barbecues. Those tasted just a bit salty.

I got the fire going, and the meat on the cooking grill. I monitored at the usual 30 minute intervals, adding coals and wood chips as I went along. I did some reading during this time, and enjoyed the afternoon.

The results were quite tasty. The meat was as good as it had looked. The fat had cooked down, and flavored the meat very nicely.

My only particular note is to be generous with the fuel. With the Silver Smoker, I have learned that the temperature declines if the fuel is not abundant. I would advise loading on the fuel, and adjusting the temperature with the vents if necessary.

I still have not found a good source for charcoal in bulk. So far I have been satisfied with the performance of the Kingsford brand of charcoal. I get more consistent temperatures with this product than the lump charcoal, and it is more readily available.

One thought for the future is to set out the charcoal in some small buckets to aid in adding fuel. Do a check, dump in the prepared bucket of fuel. No digging in the bag, no pouring from the bag and getting too much in the fire box.

So far I have not been pre-lighting my charcoal when I add it to the fire box. I just dump in the unlit charcoal and move it around. Since the firebox is offset from the cooking chamber, I don't have to shape the fire as much as would be necessary on a kettle grill.

I am due for some new gloves. I will probably get some good gloves in the next few weeks.

Well, that's all for now. I think I am ready to begin experimenting a bit. I seem to have the basics down, and it is time to have some real fun!

Pork Rib Roast-

Pork Rib Roast. Linda picked it up because it was well priced. When I opened the package, I decided we had gotten a good deal. Seven nice chunks of pig, with an excellent balance between fat and flesh. Only one piece had any significant bone. Two pieces had a beautiful back of fat. Yes, this looked good.

Yesterday I fired up my coals, and got ready to cook. Kingsford Hickory briquettes, started in a starter chimney using rubbing alcohol in a small can as my ignition source. While the charcoal got going I went to the kitchen to prepare the meat.

A nice coating of oil, which in this case is a blend of olive oil and canola oil. I blended Zesty Seasoned salt, salt, and pepper in a bowl and gave the pieces of meat a good rub. Then I took them to the fire. After pouring the coals out from the starting chimney, I set the meat up in the cooking chamber. I placed the thermometer probe in the most distant piece from fire, and started cooking.

I figured that the meat would take at least three hours to cook. The pieces were pretty evenly shaped, and about an inch and a half thick. There was not a lot of connective tissue to break down, so I did not figure for more than four hours of cooking time.

My chair was conveniently placed for enjoying the next few hours. I had my book, and a very nice day. Every thirty minutes I checked the fire, and the cooking chamber temperature. A few briquettes every check, and a handful of hickory chips.

After two hours my temperature inside the meat was 140 degrees. I turned the meat, just rotating each piece in place. Things were looking good.

Thirty minutes later we were at 150 degrees. I checked the fire, and decided that the coals were going well enough for the finish. I added some hickory chips, but no new charcoal. In retrospect, I should have put on another handful.

After another thirty minutes the temperature was still at 150 degrees inside the meat. I needed more heat. I have not yet gotten a bellows, but I found something as good. A battery powered air pump for my air bed. I applied it for a couple of minutes. The temperature bumped two degrees. I applied it a few more minutes. We got 154 degrees.

I waited fifteen minutes, and checked the coals. They were still nice and hot. I checked my thermometer. The meat was at 156 degrees. I ran the air pump for a bit, and we bumped to 158 degrees. I started cleaning up. We were almost there.

Moments later the alarm went off. We were at temperature. I advised Linda that we could put the corn into the boiling water. The beans were already hot. I had a look at the meat. It looked good. Once the corn was ready, so was our meat. I took it off the barbecue and took it up to the kitchen.

Everyone had all they wanted. It was delicious. Great with the beans and corn. Tender and flavorful. I still had lots left over. I wrapped it up for the next day, and placed it in the refrigerator.

Today, I had barbecue pork spaghetti for lunch. Chopped the pork fine, and added it to a jar spaghetti sauce. Quite good. Dinner was chopped pork in the beans. Also quite tasty.

On the whole, a good experiences. Oh, yes. Yesterday's beer was A&W root beer.