Ribs, Pork Butt, Chicken Thighs and Beans - what's not to like?

[unixadm]

I bought a Southern Pride SP-1000 last year on a factory trailer and don't get to use it very often. I decided to giver her a wash yesterday, install my new propane setup and do a test burn to make sure everything was good to go. She ran like a top so today I decided to cook a small load for friends/family. One rack of ribs for my buddy, two racks for dinner, a small pork butt for snacking and some hog apple beans for a side. I'm going to toss on some boneless/skinless chicken thighs which were rubbed down with EVO and then dusted lightly front/back with some Game Bird rub. I'll toss those on after the other meat is done and resting in a cooler.

I'm using Oakridge rubs on everything. I'm cooking on 100% wood (oak was used to get some coals) and I'm using cherry logs with some pecan chunks thrown in for good measure. It's amazing how efficient this pit runs considering it's size. Holds a temp of a max of six degrees off it's set point. Cooking at a set point of 235 degrees which is about 250 degrees in the middle of the pit.

After an hour or so:
http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery3/var...ride-sp-1000-ooking/IMG_2500.JPG?m=1432614459

More to come as time processes. I'm spraying the ribs/pork butt with apple juice mixed with a little water every 30-45 minutes.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Very nice. I have heard nothing but good things about Southern Pride

 

[unixadm]

Yeah - it cooks really nice. Throw a split in about every hour or so - that's it.

A little over two hours in:

 

[unixadm]

I bumped up the temp to 270 for the chicken and now that it's done, 290 to finish off the pork butt in the steam pan. I put some apple juice, more rub and a 1/4 stick of unsalted butter in there. Beans were very good - gonna be a feast for dinner.

 

[HOG FAN]

That all looks killer!

 

[bbqwilly]

Looks great. I love that smoker

 

[unixadm]

Well I just got home after taking my food over to my parents house. Also dropped some by my buddies house. Everyone loved it. These were the best ribs I've ever made. Dominator rib rub, about four hours at 250 degrees, occasional spray of apple juice. I then wrapped them in commercial plastic wrap and put them in a heated cooler for 2.5-3 hours afterwards under some towels. They sliced absolutely perfectly, perfect texture, tender but not falling off the bone and great flavor. I've made a lot of ribs but I give these a solid A.

I've owned a lot of smokers but this Southern Pride on 100% wood is really hard to beat. Everything was moist and packed with smoke flavor. Overall it was a good day.

 

[Titch]

Food looks great, so does your smoker.
What's the Gas running?

 

[code3rrt]

Great looking spread!

KC

 

[lantern]

How does that badboy run on 100% wood? Does the gas get the coals rocking and then you cut the gas off? Then the temp control works via fans like a BBQ guru?

 

[unixadm]

Food looks great, so does your smoker.
What's the Gas running?

The gas runs a 150k BTU burner inside of the firebox. However I only use it to start the pit and bring it up to temperature. After that, I use 100% wood.

How does that badboy run on 100% wood? Does the gas get the coals rocking and then you cut the gas off? Then the temp control works via fans like a BBQ guru?

The pit will run on 100% wood if you install a competition switch. I just looked at the schematic for the burner and determined how I could bypass the Honeywell burner control module. You essentially are taking away the 24 volt power feed into the controller, but the draft fan is still actuated by 120V. So like you mentioned, it operates just like a BBQ Guru, Stoker, etc. It normally drifts about 6-7 degrees. I did the same thing on my Ole Hickory CTO - smaller burner assembly but the same wiring. You can turn off the gas like others have mentioned but that will not prevent the controller from trying to first ignite the pilot. That will run the high voltage igniter nearly continually which I'm sure isn't good for the burner assembly.

One thing you have to pay attention to is the fuel load. If you put too much wood then it will exceed the set point, so I find about a split every 45-60 minutes does the job. I can tell if the recovery to the set point is getting slow that it's time for a split. On the controller there is a little LED indicator when it's calling for the burner to be on, so if I see that on and the temp not climbing then I know it needs fuel. If you want to set it and forget it, then just leave the gas on and cook. If I was doing a lot of cooking then I'd switch the orifices to natural gas and hook it up to my home gas supply. I am also considering installing smaller burner orifices (say 75-100k BTU) to save fuel yet still allow for a set it and forget it. The recovery just won't be as fast to the set point but since I normally run logs, it's not a big deal.