Smoking Brines

[Gumbo]

I'd be really careful cooking traditional BBQ cuts in a little chief or similar smoker. Although I have several smokers and even cater and sometimes compete in BBQ comps, I still use my little chief for smoking cheese and jerky. It's just easier.

But if you are wanting to smoke ribs, pork butts, brisket, etc, then you need more heat. If you cook at too low of a temp, the meat will remain in the danger zone and you'll risk ruining the meat and making yourself sick. If your dead set on cooking ribs in your little chief, cook them for two hours in the smoker, adding chips as needed to keep the smoke moving. Then remove, wrap in foil, add some butter, and return to the 250* oven for three hours. Unwrap the foil, apply more rub, and return to the oven for another hour or longer, until the meat pulls back from the bone or if you pick up half a rack with tongs, it breaks. If it just bends it's not done. Or my favorite methood is to cut off the end two ribs and sample.

Just use the little chief to get some smoke on them, then use your oven to do the actual cooking. I cook spares a lot and in my offset they're done in about 4-5 hours.
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