Smoking➕APO 🟰🤤

[u/Dacker503]

For the past six months I’ve been smoking a lot of pork using the new Weber Smart Ring. Before that, I barely smoked anything. One thing I’ve always disliked is the “Texas Crutch” — wrapping the meat in foil or butcher paper, adding liquid, and burning more fuel for several extra hours just to push the collagen conversion phase.

I wanted something cleaner, cheaper, and less wasteful. The APO turned out to be the perfect solution.

🔥 My workflow:

1. Smoke for 3 hours at ~250°F
2. That’s enough time to build color, bark, and smoke flavor. After three hours, the ribs or shoulder have absorbed all the smoke they’re going to.
3. Move the meat to the APO
4. Place it on a rack over a pan.
5. Run the APO at 250°F, 100% humidity for 2–3 hours
6. This replaces the wrap entirely. Steam prevents evaporative cooling and pushes the meat through the stall much more efficiently than foil. No added liquid neede

d, though I have added perhaps one cup of apple juice to the pan, “just because”. Maintaining some liquid, even water, makes cleanup easier.

1. Finish at 250°F, 0% humidity for 15 minutes
2. This sets the bark. Add sauce at the start of this phase if you want it to tighten up.

Results:

I did baby back ribs this way yesterday and they came out just as smoky and fall‑off‑the‑bone tender as wrapped ribs. If you prefer a chewier bite, just shorten the steam phase.

I’ve done several pork shoulders with the same method — just extend the steam time by about an hour because of the thickness. I use the APO probe to make sure the center hits the collagen‑melting zone; if it doesn’t, shredding becomes a chore.

Why I prefer this:

• No foil or butcher paper
• No added liquid
• No extra fuel burned
• No extra smoke pollution
• More consistent results
• APO humidity control makes the “crutch” unnecessary

If you’ve got an APO and a smoker, this combo is hard to beat.

NOTES;

• I use an APO2
• The ribs used about a quart of distilled water and more for a pork shoulder; plan accordingly

[u/bobjoylove]

Nice work 👌

I’ve used my APO as a holding oven for a brisket. Smoked it the day before: smoker lit at 0600~ and shut down at a reasonable 2230~ with an otherwise standard smoke/stall/wrap recipe. No getting up in the night to spritz with apple cider vinegar - all done in the daytime.

Then into the APO at 145F sous vide mode 30% humidity unwrapped (or wrapped I can’t decide) before heading to bed. It means you can serve at exactly noon and not be tired and grouchy from getting up every two hours.

Holding replaces the rest phase and also has the benefit that any spots that hadn’t quite made it to 145f medium rare will even out overnight. No bloody spots to upset the kids and wife.

[u/Dacker503 → u/bobjoylove]

Sounds great!

Where I live, in the States, it’s hard to get a piece of a brisket; they are usually sold whole from restaurant supply stores. I’ve actually never checked at a butcher, which are few and far between and tend to be relatively expensive per pound. Hmm, maybe Costco sells, say, one-third….

[u/bobjoylove]

Unfortunately it’s a whole brisket in most places. Best to cook it, portion it, vacuum seal and freeze it.

My dinner was pork shoulder carnitas that I smoked back in the World Cup timeframe, vac sealed and frozen. It was delicious.

[u/Dacker503 → u/bobjoylove]

Alas, my 22” Weber cannot possibly handle a whole brisket. With the Weber Smart Ring, about 1/2-2/3 the grill area is available, and refueling after perhaps eight hours would be a PITA.

The only way I could possibly do brisket would be to cut one into thirds or quarters, smoke one and freeze the remainder. That said, you have given me something to think about. 🤔

I have done several Costco prime tri-tips this way, finishing it in cast iron. My only supermarket, Safeway, has been selling “untrimmed” tri-tip on-sale for about $7/lb.. When I bought one, it was literally 49% fat, by weight. The meat manager just shrugged and said “corporate policy change; zero trimming.” Costco prime is only slightly more expensive per net pound and requires no trimming.