I started my prep about 8:45am.  I learned a few more valuable lessons on this latest smoke-fest.  Our meats of choice were flanken beef ribs (think Korean ribs) and beef back ribs.

I made a change by using two bottles of Charles Shaw ($2.00 Chuck) white wines in the water pan.  I went with a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2009 Pinot Grigio.  Also, I purchased a new rub, “Simmie J’s Hickory Flavor Gourmet Seasoning”.  I added a light sprinkling of sea salt as well since this rub is a tad low on salt.  I mixed 2 cups of Jack Daniel’s oak wood chips and 2 cups of Frontier brand mesquite wood chips.

Flanken Beef Ribs

My first mistake was having the meat resting on both wire racks prior to the briquettes “graying over”.  It is physically impossible to circumnavigate the racks with meat in tow around the brackets attached to the inside of the smoker.  Therefore on my next go-around I will need to have the lower rack empty and simply have the meat resting on foil and sitting on top of a cutting board for easy transfer to the rack once I re-insert it into the smoker.

Beef Back Ribs

I started smoking the meat at 10:25am.  The 2^{nd lesson} I learned was that I needed to purchase a real Maglite flashlight so I could peer into the smoker to check the liquid level in the water pan.  My current flashlight is one of those wind-up “green teamers” and you can’t see jack squat with that.

Beef Ribs

My 3^rd lesson learned was that it is pretty much impossible to “achieve heat” with a Brinkmann cost-cutter smoker.  I would later discover a website, smoking-meat.com, that educates you on how to “modify your smoker”.

Beef Ribs

My 4^th lesson learned was that while they are still darn tasty, flanken ribs aren’t ideal for smoking purposes.  They are more like a morph of a steak and a rib.  Think of those “country-style pork ribs” with lots of meat and little or no bone.  These are essentially the beef equivalent of those but much tastier and less dry.  My 2006 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon wine was a very nice companion to the meal.  It has a bit of oak, a full body, is light on fruit and pretty smooth drinking for an under $25.00 per bottle wine.

Beef Ribs

If you have trouble “achieving heat” and need to finish your ribs in order to eat “before the cows come home” (so-to-speak) go ahead and WRAP them in foil and put them on the grill on LOW heat.  Don’t simply “set” them on flat foil or the juices will “fly away”.  Turn only 2 of 4 burners on so that you have some heat-free zones.  Or, you can set them on the elevated “cooling rack” inside your grill and close the lid.  This will cook them slowly but not nearly as slowly as the cost-cutter smoker.  Also, this will give them a nice charred taste and texture that you likely weren’t able to achieve with the cost-cutter smoker.  The smoke-fest was completed at about 6:30pm via our gas grill.

Date of Visit: 7/30/2011; Restaurant:  David E’s Balcony; Key: (5 star maximum per category); Ambiance: ***1/2; Service: N/A; Food/Drink: ***1/2; Grade: B+.