First real cook on the XXL - Ribs and Chicken

Last weekend's hot dogs don't really count on my scorecard. Invited the neighbors over for chicken and ribs. 

Started with a rack of SLC spares from Costco:


Had a shaker with some Meadow Creek Gourmet BBQ rub. Their rubs tend to be a bit too salty for ribs, so I cut it with fine ground coffee, honey powder and paprika and on the XXL.


After a couple hours, dome temp was reading ~ 300*. However, the ribs didn't look like they were cooking that high, so I got my Maverick out to see what the grid temp. As I suspected, quite a variance between dome and grid.

Glare makes it hard to see, but grid was 268* and dome was 310*, which was good. My end goal was based on 250*-275* cooking temp, not 300*

A bit later, I added the chicken:

I did fix the drip pan so it was centered after taking the photo.

Since the XL was idle and temps were good for cold smoking, put the AMPS in the XL


And then loaded it up with almonds


Then I decided to fool around with where I might want to put an outdoor TV.  


Still haven't decided for sure, but I think it might end up in the far corner rather than between the windows.

Baked the bread that had been rising and proofing, used the kitchen clock for this.


Ribs finished about an hour and a half before they were needed:


In for FTC while the chicken finished.

Then I decided to move the fire pit on the patio to see how I liked it there


Made for a pleasant afternoon, had a few beers watching football and staying warm. Pretty awesome weather here in PA for December.

Chicken finished up pretty much right on schedule and got the ribs out of the cooler.


Also made a pan of Costco Mac and Cheese


Ribs:

The rub combo was really good. Not sure I'll be able to get the proportions the same again if I try though.

Chicken breast was nice and moist:

Rub for the chicken was a mix of the rub I used for the ribs and Montreal Chicken. No way I get that the same, and that's a shame, it was great.

Pulled the almonds off the XL and put on some Jarlsberg cheese:

To cap it off, my neighbor brought an espresso stout his brother brought him from Oregon. Never had it before, but it was a pretty decent stout, I'd buy it if I saw it in a store.


I know, I know, I could have done the chicken and ribs on the XL, but I just wanted to fire the XXL and give it a go. The temp variance between the dome and grid even after a few hours of cooking was interesting. Pretty sure the dome temp on this thing is useless. Will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to even out completely. With this much air volume, not sure it will ever even out.

Also found out that having a fire pit on the patio is probably not workable. The smoke from the fire pit finds its way in the basement via the fireplace vent. The entire basement now smells like cherry smoke. I don't really mind, but my wife seems to think this is not a good thing. I think I'll look out for a deal on a propane fire table. 

Anyway, it was fun finally putting the XXL to work, after sitting in the garage since June.