First Smoke - Loin Back Ribs

[Glenn Baumgarth]

First experience with using a smoker (got the WSM 22.5 for Father's Day - went and bought it myself and thanked the family later). Wanted to follow a simple recipe so I tried the Best Ribs in the Universe recipe on this site.

Went to BBQ Galore for wood but they only had little slivers for oak so used cherry and hickory chunks. Followed the rub recipe exactly and the rest pretty much to a T except used Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ Sauce instead of the KC Masterpiece/Honey mix suggested (we absolutely love Sweet Baby Rays!!!).

Used the standard method for heat - one lit chimney and one unlit and put the wood chunks on top. Waited an hour to add the ribs. WSM did great at maintaining the temp between 230 and 240 according to lid thermometer (haven't checked accuracy yet with boiling water). I'm in Phoenix, AZ so not sure if it was the WSM keeping the temps even or if it was the fact that it was 108 degrees that day. Opened at the 3 hour mark to flip the ribs and then opened all of the vents but the temp never got above 255 (any suggestions on how to get the temp higher for the last hour?). Just used water in the pan that came with the unit. Could that have been the issue? Didn't add any foil or use a clay pot base.

Took them off after a total of 4.5 hours then added the sauce. Turned out very tender and had great bark. Smoke tasted and smelled great. I loved the spice with the cayenne pepper, but was a little spicy for the rest of the family's taste. The rub came through pretty strong - especially the salt. A little too much for my taste. I will probably cut the salt and accent in the rub (and reluctantly the cayenne pepper) in half next time and see how that goes.

Overall a great experience (I'm hooked) and will be trying my next ribs this weekend. Great message board...thanks to all for your input and helpful tips.

Happy Smokin'

Glenn

 

[Bob Mann]

Hello Glenn and welcome aboard.

Sounds like your first cook went well, congrats!

Bob

 

[r benash]

Sounds like you did just fine, congrats. A good tip as far as the salt is to leave it out of the recipe.

You simply add the salt by it self first to the surface, you don't need much, but simply to taste. Let it sit for a few minutes.

This will "sweat" the meat and bring moisture to the surface. You then add your rub, which will stick nicely due to the salt being added first. No need for mustard slather or anything like that.

I do this with all the meat cuts that I am going to use rub on.

Old tip from Kevin Kruger that I've incorporated a few years ago with great results.

 

[Wolgast]

Congrats!

Try this one on ribs next time:

Jane Cherry wanted to try a different butt rub for Smoke Day, so I suggested this:

1/2 c light or dark Muscovado sugar or Turbinado
1/4 c Ancho chili powder
1/2 c hot New Mexico chili powder
1/3 c onion powder
1/3 c garlic powder
1/4 c dried thyme
2 T marjoram
1 T ground coriander
1 T ground cumin
1T ground black pepper
2 t allspice
2 t cinnamon
2 t celery seed
2 t ginger

Blend everything.

As always, I do not include salt in my rub mixtures.

I prefer to apply a nice even amount of Kosher salt to my meat, wait several minutes for the surface of the meat to become moist (often I salt first, then mix the rub while the meat sits), then apply the rub generously.

(cred goes to Mr Kruger)