Feedback Requested on First Baby Back Ribs Smoke


 

Chris OH

New member
Hello all,

I'm Chris, and I'm new to the world of barbecuing, as I've had the 18" WSM less than a week now. This site has been invaluable so far to a novice like me, and I'd like to get some feedback on what went wrong with a couple hiccups I experienced during my first baby back rib smoke on New Year's Day. This was the second smoke I've done, as I started with the Basic Barbecued Chicken recipe (which went fine), and I followed the Basic Baby Back Ribs recipe to a tee (minus my own rub and sauce).

I'm in Cincinnati, and it was a very cold day (single digits) with approximately a nine MPH wind. Shortly after lunch, I hooked my Thermopro TP-08 probe thermometer to the smoker (only the smoker probe) and dumped a full Weber chimney of unlit Kingsford Blue into the charcoal bowl topped with half a chimney of lit coals. I used three chunks of apple and one chunk of hickory wood. Through approximately two hours, everything appeared fine; the temperatures ranged between ~230 and 250. About two hours in, however, the grate temperature started a continuous drop; once it got below 200 degrees, I went out and gave each leg a light kick in case the charcoal had ashed over and opened the vents to approximately half way (up from a third open as the recipe suggests). I had filled the water pan about 2/3rds full to start (thinking that would be enough), but I saw that it wasn't, as the pan seemed to be completely empty, so I refilled it. That combination of things seemed to help, as after about 30 minutes, I got back into the 225-230 range.

After another 45 minutes to an hour, the temperature started rapidly dropping again, and when I went to check on the charcoal, I saw that it was nearly empty which surprised me. This was around approximately four hours in to the cook. I was able to successfully get through it by refilling it with half a chimney of lit coals, and the ribs tasted great. Overall, it took approximately six hours to smoke a rack and a half. Based on this information, any feedback you have would be appreciated - particularly why the fuel ran out before it was done, as I had expected a chimney and a half to be more than enough. Was it the conditions or something else that could have contributed to this?

Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have, and I look forward to interacting with everyone now that I'm on board with my new WSM.
 
skip the water, it only delays the reaction between the air/fuel mixture, especially when you're still experimenting with it. The only thing the water does, IMHO, is add to the adsorption (more smoke particles might stick to the meat).

Specific to your cook, how much did you start with? A full ring? A full chimney? Minion method? All of that, again IMHO, and the outside temp (again IMHO), really don't matter much.

Air/fuel supply & availability is most important imo.

Start with a flaming hot full ring, & slightly starve it for air, and you can run a steady predictable temp, or start with a minion method & a ton of air: either way you can run that same predictable desired temp.

Edit:>>> BTW, welcome to TVWBB!!!!!!
 
Thanks for the feedback - I started with a full chimney and a half. The half chimney was lit and dumped on top of a full chimney of unlit coals.

I forgot to mention in my original post that towards the end, likely the second time I ran into a dropping temperature, I opened all the vents fully, and that's how I ended the cook.
 
Welcome chris. Im in cincy also. I agree with clint. I always fill my charcoal ring full, any coal that dont get burned in the cook can be extinguised and reused for the next cook. In cold temps as we have now, you will use more fuel than normal.this is a good time of year to make cold smokes like jerky or smoked cheese. Just a bit more fuel useage at these temps but you can do it for sure. I also never use water. It seems to be one more thing to worry about without any noticable difference imho.
 
Chris, welcome to the addiction!! As stated above, skip the water in the pan. Cover the top of the pan with foil and never look back. Like Brian suggested, I always fill my charcoal ring full. It's better to have more than you need, and what is left over can always be reused. As you gain experience, I might suggest adding more lit coals to begin with. You'll get up to temp faster, and as the smoker nears your target temp, you can (again, this comes with learning and feeling comfortable with how your smoker operates) set the vents accordingly so as to have the smoker settle in on a desired temp. Good luck, and again,
Welcome to the addiction
Tim
 
The water in the pan contributes to this issue, but a lot of people run with water with no problems. I think it's easier to get the hang of temperature control early on with water. I think your main issue is just the temperature being that cold. You will burn fuel a lot faster on a very cold day to maintain the same temps that you could on a hot day with less fuel. A full ring of charcoal might be overkill, but you might try a half ring for a baby back cook for instance. Good luck!
 
Hello all,

I'm Chris, and I'm new to the world of barbecuing, as I've had the 18" WSM less than a week now. This site has been invaluable so far to a novice like me, and I'd like to get some feedback on what went wrong with a couple hiccups I experienced during my first baby back rib smoke on New Year's Day. This was the second smoke I've done, as I started with the Basic Barbecued Chicken recipe (which went fine), and I followed the Basic Baby Back Ribs recipe to a tee (minus my own rub and sauce).

I'm in Cincinnati, and it was a very cold day (single digits) with approximately a nine MPH wind. Shortly after lunch, I hooked my Thermopro TP-08 probe thermometer to the smoker (only the smoker probe) and dumped a full Weber chimney of unlit Kingsford Blue into the charcoal bowl topped with half a chimney of lit coals. I used three chunks of apple and one chunk of hickory wood. Through approximately two hours, everything appeared fine; the temperatures ranged between ~230 and 250. About two hours in, however, the grate temperature started a continuous drop; once it got below 200 degrees, I went out and gave each leg a light kick in case the charcoal had ashed over and opened the vents to approximately half way (up from a third open as the recipe suggests). I had filled the water pan about 2/3rds full to start (thinking that would be enough), but I saw that it wasn't, as the pan seemed to be completely empty, so I refilled it. That combination of things seemed to help, as after about 30 minutes, I got back into the 225-230 range.

After another 45 minutes to an hour, the temperature started rapidly dropping again, and when I went to check on the charcoal, I saw that it was nearly empty which surprised me. This was around approximately four hours in to the cook. I was able to successfully get through it by refilling it with half a chimney of lit coals, and the ribs tasted great. Overall, it took approximately six hours to smoke a rack and a half. Based on this information, any feedback you have would be appreciated - particularly why the fuel ran out before it was done, as I had expected a chimney and a half to be more than enough. Was it the conditions or something else that could have contributed to this?

Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have, and I look forward to interacting with everyone now that I'm on board with my new WSM.

Welcome to the site: Every cook will be an experiment for a while. The outside temperature, consider that a challenge & learning experience. Warmer weather will also be a new experience. Low and slow baby back ribs here a 4240 feet above sea level takes about 6 hours. Your ribs tasted great...........great news........now fine tune the next cook. I always use water in the pan, filled to the top, for low and slow. Fill the charcoal ring to the top, close all the vents after the cook to extinguish the fire and use for the next cook. Without a stoker you will have to keep an eye on the grate temp (lid temp) and fiddle with the bottom vents for the entire cook. With temps dropping, I've opened the door and poked the charcoal a time or two in order to keep the fire going. The extra air (O2) getting in aids to combustion combined with the poke.

An interesting side note: At 4240 feet above sea level the boiling point of water is lower, about 204 degrees F. This affects the amount of water in the pan for low & slow. The temperature often quoted for safe to eat is different, the stall temps are different, when using a probe in the meat. Watching the meat probe, 189 degrees F is all she wrote for baby back ribs. Trying for a higher temp means dry meat.

CraigH in La Pine,
 
As you can tell, there's part of the tribe that says don't use water and part that says to use water. I fall in the latter, but mostly because I just haven't played around without it. On that score, reasonable people can differ. Using it increases your charcoal consumption, just like cold air does. But, the critical piece for next time is the amount of coal you put in. A chimney and a half is only enough for a few hours. With a whole load of charcoal, I can easily get 13 hours out of it. So, when I am doing something like ribs, I go with a half charcoal ring full and then 25 lit coals...which is plenty to get me 6 hours with some left over. Like others suggested, save the unused part for next time. The biggest thing is that it tasted good. So, you did good.
 
First off, WELCOME! Second, you mentioned adding water...was it hot or cold? If you use water it should be HOT. If you add cold water it absorbs heat until it gets hot, keeping the temps low.
 
Welcome aboard! I'm near Dayton and did a small brisket on New Years Eve where the temp was just about the same as on NY Day. If you want to use water I cannot offer much help; I've been smoking for a couple years and used water during my first several attempts but then fell into the camp of those who do not use water. I do what others have mentioned where I fill the charcoal chamber with what I assume will be more than enough fuel and once I'm finished I close all vents and save the reusable coals for a later time (usually in the Kettle). I will say this, however; if 250'ish is my goal I only light between 8-12 coals rather than lighting half a chimney. Since it was so cold, I lit 12 on my NYE smoke and the pit was 250+ in less than 25 minutes. Good luck!
 
Thanks for more feedback - the more, the better. It seems clear that I didn't start with enough fuel (particularly given the conditions), so in the future, I'll definitely be more cognizant of that.

It sounds like the suggestions are pretty split on the use/don't use water dilemma. My intent was to use it in the beginning while I was learning to help keep temperatures down and move away from it once I got comfortable. I'm keeping an open mind on that, though; whatever involves less overall work (adusting the temperatures more without using water vs. not having to clean up the pan) would be my preference. Since this set of directions recommended water, I didn't foil the inside of the pan, and I've got a huge mess to clean up once it melts. The pan is currently about 3/4ths full of water and drippings; once it melts, is my best bet to try to skim the fat from the water, dispose of that in the garbage and drain the liquid down the sink?

As far as the water temperature I used, I started with cold water as the directions specified. Once I realized the pan I was, I refilled it with hot water. Given the conditions, is it safe to assume I should have started with hot water in the first place?

Finally, if I do use too much charcoal to the point I have leftover for next time, what's the best way to reuse it? Just leave it in the ring and throw it back in the chimney when I light coals for the next cook?
 

 

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