Wyevale garden centre, went for a game of mini golf with dinosaurs
Did you beat them?
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My handicap suffered
Oh cool, anything that takes away the faff… 
Innit. That’s what made me think about buying now.
Day off today, so meat must be smoked! I got hold of some monster short rib:
Simple salt and pepper rub:
I think they’ll take 7 hours ish at 110° and looking for 92° ish internal temp. Cling film over the thermometer to keep the rain off.
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Maybe I need a good slap but I find it really exciting to lift the lid for the first time, the smell is always killer for a start!
4 hours or so in and coming along. A bit of a spritz with a mixture of water, white wine vinegar, soy and sugar and will give them another in another hour or so. Temp currently at 78°C. They feel springy but don’t completely yield, yet…
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I see you have a second water tray above the existing water tray…
…are you channeling double platter or something? 
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Nothing exceeds like excess.
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So, lots to learn here; the ribs stalled and because I had committed myself to a few things today I probably didn’t realise this for a while. I would have wrapped them earlier if I had been here. Once wrapped they climbed quickly to the finishing temp. They ended up really tender in the middle but a bit chewy on the outside. I had a look just now at a cook book I have here and it says to set the smoker to 140° which is a bit higher than I had it. Maybe then they would power through the stall. Things to try out… they tasted fantastic though and I’m getting the ‘smoke ring’ ( which I dont think is actually caused by smoke). They were deeply smokey and very beefy! I made some cheat’s Gochujang mayo ( no time to make the mayo myself), chucked some Korean Gochujang chilli paste into some Hellmanns. I can confirm that it is epic with beef. The reduction was made from the smokey drippings in the top ‘platter’ plus other stuff. 
!
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Can you explain the what & why of ’ stalling’?
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Basically at around 68-70° C ( internal temp) the break down of fats/ collagen etc, causes the meat to sweat and cool down, or at least ‘stall’ and remain at the same temp. This can go on for some time. Small cuts don’t necessarily do it but when they do, they dry out through evaporation. The work around is to wrap tightly in foil with a bit of liquid.
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Don’t tell me you decided to make yourself a coffee while the meat was cooking? 
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I’ve bloody run out! The horror. There is one place to get decent bean locally but I couldn’t deal with the retail dystopia that is Ashford Designer Outlet Centre. Traffic, parking, PEOPLE. 
Yep. Latent heat of evaporation, basically.
You can over cook without reaching the required internal temp. 
That would be a function of the evaporation though? Evaporation starts way below 100°C, so you need to ensure that you get to, and maintain the desired internal temp asap?
Not an expert and very much learning but I guess that it depends on what cut you are cooking/smoking. For instance; Leg of lamb is best, medium at most. I would think that it probably needs cooking fast and if you wanted to cook slow, to take advantage of triggering enzymes to help tenderize it, you would need to lower the cooker temp to maybe 75°c to move slowly to a lowish finishing temp (60° ish) and just above the point where you are providing an ideal environment to propogate nasties!
Short ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, pork ribs, etc, etc, have a lot of fat and connective tissue which needs slow, low, even cooking to break down. These cuts are tough if you cook fast but do it right slowly with a relatively high finishing temp and they are much more flavourful than leaner pieces of meat.
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Chicken last night, smoked for about an hour and a half over briquettes and mesquite. Left to cool for a bit, then 15 mins in a very hot oven to crisp the skin. Bloody good! Super juicy. Bbq bean thing with sweet potato and yoghurt, mash and salad.
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Today’s cook is beef featherblade, a cheap cut from the shoulder. It has a tough band of connective tissue running through it which needs a low and slow strategy to get the best out of it. I’ve rubbed it in a mixture of salt, pepper, Colman’s mustard powder, sweet smoked paprika and soft Brown sugar. It’ll proably take 10 hours or so at 110°. Cherry for the smoke.
I flipped it fat side up before closing the lid.
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