Smoking ribs in the cold

[Eric Simon]

Steve's post inspired me to share some pictures of what has been my most successful rib smoke so far.

I started with two racks of spares (from the local supermarket, previously frozen unfortunately, nothing special), prepped them (trim, removed membrane), marinaded (with Dijon + balsamic) and gave them a heavy dose of homemade rub:

I used about 1/2 ring of Kingsford plus a mix of wood (one hickory, one oak, and some fruit woods). No trouble getting the smoker up to 225:

I used the Stoker to run a 3/2/1 schedule (putting maple sugar, butter, and apple juice in the foil), spraying with apple juice and adding more rub a few times:

Here is how they looked before and after the first 3 hours:

And here is how they looked after 6 hours of cooking (and some resting in foil):

I was quite pleased with the flavor and the texture. They could have been neater (more even across the top) and I would have liked more bark. But the family definitely enjoyed them!

Thanks for looking! Any/all advice appreciated.

 

[Brad Benski]

Eric,
Great cook. You'll have no problems with that Brisket for the Superbowl

 

[Clark Deutscher]

That looks great!

IF I'm looking for a crisp crust I usually remove the middle section and put the ribs over direct heat towards the end. Gets them nice and crisp on the outside!

Clark

 

[Jim Lampe]

Good Lookin' Ribs there Eric!
If the family loves em, no changes required

 

[PAT K]

Beautiful!!

 

[Steve Colby]

Those ribs look great.

 

[Millsy]

It looked like you where going to turn them in for comp.

 

[Wayne Surat]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Millsy:
It looked like you where going to turn them in for comp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was thinking the same thing - those look amazing Eric, nice work!

 

[Eric Simon]

Thanks for the kind words.

I am working my way towards entering a comp this June. This process was definitely a rehearsal, and the first time I felt like I was in the right ballpark. I'll be trying it again: 4 racks of spares for the Superbowl...

 

[Another Bob B]

Hey Eric - Though all your pictures were great, I have to say the best were of the smiles and messy faces on the kids. That tells the whole story my friend and you can't have any better judges than that. lol. Great looking cook. Bob B

 

[elmo]

Great looking Ribs Eric and I agree with Another Bob B

elmo

 

[Gary H. NJ]

Those look sauce-under-the-fingernails good! Nice work.