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Post by hoovarmin on Jul 29, 2014 12:12:06 GMT -5
I just received (and used) my Smokenator and Hovergrill combo. I love it, but have some questions. First, it only came with one grate, which I assumed goes on the bottom to support the Smokenator. Should there be one included to hover over the food grate as well? Also, the website says that when the food grate is at 225 the lower grate will be just under 200 and the upper around 200. Isn't that too low a temp, or am I mistaken?
Thanks, Dave |
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Post by ncsmoker on Jul 29, 2014 16:52:17 GMT -5
Hi Dave your kit should have come with an instruction booklet. It will show how to mount the SN. It hooks on the supports for the Weber cooking grill and sets on the coals grill. Then the legs of the Hovergrill sets on the Weber cooking grill. Here are the instructions from the SN site www.smokenator.com/instructions.aspx as an example. When using the Hovergrill it is recommended you rotate the meats occasionally every couple of hrs. is fine and front to back. Lots of pitmasters cook at 200 so don't worry about that temp. Keep the main grate at 225 and the hover grate will actually be warmer as it is 3" above the main grill. Where are you measuring your temp and what are you using to measure it with. Hope this helps you and feel free to ask questions lots of people to help you here. NC |
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Post by rangerone on Jul 29, 2014 21:43:26 GMT -5
Hello Dave, and welcome to the forum. NC is an excellent resource here, and he will provide you with great advice, just as he has done for myself. Another source to see how to setup and use the Smokenator is a video made by the creator of the Smokenator found here. It will also show the Hover Grill as well. If you google or YouTube search for "Smokenator", you will find many other examples that you may find useful as well. I have watched many of them and they have given me some good ideas. Be sure to let us know how you make out with your Smokenator! Allan |
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Post by hoovarmin on Jul 30, 2014 8:08:24 GMT -5
Hi NC and rangerone, thanks so much for the replies. I will most definitely check out the videos - great tip.
I'm using the latest Maverick to measure temps on the main food grate and one in the meat with butts and such (not with ribs).
By the way, even not really knowing what I am doing the ribs I cooked over the weekend turned out really terrific, but there was charring on the ends even though I maintained temps between 225 and 250. Can't wait to master this!
Dave
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Post by ncsmoker on Jul 30, 2014 18:14:46 GMT -5
Hi Dave what type ribs did you do, baby backs or St. Louis style and was the charring on the meat or the bones. I am going to guess the meat was charred and you used baby backs.
I am going to wait to hear back from you. You have a good setup with the Maverick. Also do you have the Silver or Gold Weber. It helps to know which to make recommendations. I have used both over the last 30 some years in smoking with the 22" Webers and accessories and now have the Gold with the SN.
NC
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Post by hoovarmin on Jul 31, 2014 10:50:34 GMT -5
NC,
I don't think mine is Gold or Silver - its the most basic kettle with the plate to catch ashes that I have to remove and dump. I'm thinking of upgrading to Gold very soon.
I had 1 and a half racks of baby backs, and 2 racks of St. Louis. The charring was mainly on the ends of the St. Louis. I used a rib rack and the ends of the St. Louis were almost touching the sides of the Kettle. I'll trim the racks next time. I'm also getting a new rib rack - I think the one I had interfered somewhat with the dome. It's the one Weber sells that you can turn over and it holds a chicken.
Dave
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Post by ncsmoker on Jul 31, 2014 21:38:55 GMT -5
Hi Dave you have the standard Silver. I went through three of them before getting the Gold last year. Love it for the ease of adjusting the bottom vents as well as the top vent. For heat control you did pretty good with your ribs. A range of 225-250 over 4-6 hours is very acceptable.
I don't like rib racks for the reason you found. They hold the ends to close to the hot metal and can char the meat. What I do is cut the ribs in pieces of 4 to 6 ribs so I can easily move them around on the main grill and hovergrill. I can do 3-4 racks of St. Louis's doing this. Or if you want to use the racks make sure you turn them often away from the coals to the cooler side. The main thing to learn is rotate end to end away from the heat, since all the heat in the SN is all in one area. As you learn and start doing other things it will be more important to turn larger pieces of meat end for end away from the heat every couple of hours to even out the cook time.
The big thing again is keep a dairy and keep experimenting with your Weber. Things change every time you smoke and you need to be able to adjust to them on a small smoker like the Weber and the SN.
NC
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Post by hoovarmin on Aug 1, 2014 7:50:52 GMT -5
NC, thank you. I don't think I'll use racks again after reading your reply. I like the idea of cutting them into large pieces. Next time I cook I'm going to do it your way.
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Post by ncsmoker on Aug 1, 2014 19:27:18 GMT -5
Final tip is I don't know what part of the country your in or how you like your ribs but just finish them with or without sauce and cut them into one rib pieces on a big platter. Makes a showy presentation!
Also the test for doneness is the same pick up a piece of the ribs and the meat should break away at the bone in the center of the piece
Take care and keep on practicing.
NC.
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