1st smoke this Saturday, and need some tips. Please help!!


 
P

Paul Bright

New member
Hi guys,

I am attempting my first smoke this weekend (2-3 racks of ribs)and would love to have some tips on what I can do. I am planning on rubbing and wrapping the night before. Then putting them on for 5-6 hours between 225 and 250. I am considering doing the 3 hrs smoke, 2 hrs wrapping in foil with apple juice, then finish on the coals with some sauce. I am using 10 lbs of K competition an only have wood chips (oak, hickory, apple mix) that were given to me as a present. Do I have enoungh charcoal for this if I do the minion meathod? should I dump a half full chimney of hot coals? how much chips should I use? should I layer them in or dump on top? I only have an older meat thermometer, so I can only rely on the lid. How accurate is this temp to use? I am cooking bbq for the in-laws and want to make a great impression. Thanks guys!!
 
Paul I wouldn't trust the lid thermometer. Do yourself a favour and go get a thermometer at the grocery store. I can buy a digital Maverick for about $12 dollars at mine. You still want to make sure it's accurate by testing it with boiling water. Don't submerge the entire probe since where the wire enters the probe it probably isn't water proof.

Soak the wood chips for 1/2hr and put them in a foil pouch that has a couple holes poked in it. You can add more throughout the cook by tossing another pouch on the coals through the door. When I do this the pouch is roughly the size of a sausage roll. Use heavy duty tin foil.

You should have enough charcoal but it never hurts to have extra just in case.

I wouldn't add the rub the night before unless it is a salt free rub. I always rub mine just before I put them on. The flavour of the rub doesn't rally penetrate the meat and salt can make your ribs hammy tasting if left on for too long. Especially if they are enhanced or seasoned ribs.
 
Are they back ribs or spare ribs?

-Back ribs take me about 3-4 hours. Spare ribs about 4-5.

-Spare ribs should be trimmed to "St. Louis cut" first.

-Be sure to peel the membrane off the bone side of the ribs before you rub them.

- Most of us use wood chunks, not chips, but since you've got chips, I'd make up several foil pouches of aluminum foil, poke a few holes in them, and as the smoke runs out from the last pouch, toss in another. You only really need about 2 hours (or less) of light to moderate smoke though.

The best advice I can give you though, is to read everything here:

http://www.amazingribs.com/rec...t_BBQ_ribs_ever.html

It helped me make my best ribs ever. Good luck!

PS I think 10# of briquetes is waay more than enough.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I am going to have st louis style ribs. Should I skip the foiling step, and just smoke them for 5-6 hours? Does it make a huge difference? If I foil them, how long should I cook them in the foil? I will make 3 packets of the wood chips, should I soak them?
 
No need to soak the chips. I don't foil, but a lot of people do. If this is your first time, you may just want to keep it simple.

Also, NO PEEKING while it's cooking. If you don't foil, you probably don't need to lift the lid for the first 3-4 hours. Lifting the lid cools the meat, and heats up the fire. Not what you want for low and slow.
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Paul, my advice is to smoke your ribs till they arrive at the color you want. If you have a lot of sugar in your rub they will darken up faster than if not so much sugar. At the point they are pleasing to the eye, test for tenderness with a tooth pick. If they are not tender, I foil, mostly to stop the color change. This will allow the ribs to continue to cook. When I foil I usually will drizzle some honey and butter on the ribs. Cook till tender, My experience is that about 1 hr will do it, just check every 1/2 hr. After they are tender remove from foil and put back on the grate to firm up the surface. If you want you can add a glaze at that point and cook till it sets.

The only other suggestion I would make is perhaps cooking at around 270 instead of 230. Your choice.

Hope it all turns out.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Should I skip the foiling step, and just smoke them for 5-6 hours? Does it make a huge difference? If I foil them, how long should I cook them in the foil? I will make 3 packets of the wood chips, should I soak them? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

my 2 cents:

set yourself up with 6-7 hours of time.

minion your start and shoot for dome temps 250-275*. Don't worry about low and slow here or precise vent control. If you've never cooked a rack of ribs before you need to see what it takes to get to tender. You only get to tender by getting heat into the ribs. l/s can extend the process beyond what you're expecting, especially if your temp is lower than the dome is reading.

cook them for 3-4 hours until you have a nice, tight surface with a dark color (not black). Wrap the racks in foil and put them back on for 1-1.5 hours.

Check the foil after 1 hour (depending on your temp). Look for: 1/4" pull back from the bone, inserted tooth pick goes in like butter, racks are floppy. Check every 30 min if they aren't tender.

If tender, open the foil to bleed some heat, rewrap and drop the racks into a clean, empty cooler. Hold them for as long as you need until dinner (which shouldn't be more than an hour).

Keep the wsm going, and 30 min before dinner, unwrap the ribs, sauce them and get them back on until its time to serve. You can easily do this step in an oven, that way you can transport them in the cooler ad reheat them at a friends house.

I can justify most of my methods so let me know if you need clarification.
 
When should I put the meat on? after I dump the coals, or dump the coals, assemble and wait for temp?

Thank you for all of the tips!! I will post pictures when they're done.
 
Paul, for ribs, I let the cooker come up to temp 1st. For Brisket I put the meat on as the cooker comes to temp to make for a better smoke ring. Chicken up to temp 1st, Butt same as brisket. In the end it really doesn't matter as far as the taste goes. There are those who like a "clean" smoke and they wait till the smoke settles to a nice blue.
Try it both ways and see which you like.

Mark
 
The only advise I can give on your first cook is don't expect perfect. Take mediocre or not bad. Sit back, drink a few beers and have fun with it. Until you get a few smokes under your belt you won't get it. Reading is good but its a lot of info to soak in and then it will get confusing.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">In the end it really doesn't matter as far as the taste goes. There are those who like a "clean" smoke and they wait till the smoke settles to a nice blue.
Try it both ways and see which you like. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

if you got the time, pour the lit on top, assemble, and wait until it comes to temp and you see little if any smoke coming out. visible smoke is never good. But for your first go it's of little consequence. Same goes for soaking and foiling the chips, stuff to consider down the road, but for now, focus on tender.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've never heard 'visibile smoke is never good' before! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

visible smoke is thick and white and not the preferred flavor. During normal wsm operation, the vents are usually choked down and the fire is starved for oxygen. On start up the fire won't be hot enough to sustain a clean burn. I find it usually take 45-60 min before I don't see smoke anymore (time depends on the number of lit coals added). Once the fire is hot, any smoke will be thin and blue and practically invisible.

The idea that you want smoke billowing out of the wsm is something I disagree with it.
 
Paul,

Put it directly on the coals when you assemble the smoker. It will take a little time for the packet to heat up and smolder. If you throw the chips directly on the coals (without the foil packet) they burn instantly, but also burn out quickly.
 
Paul, when to add smoke wood to your coal ring is a good question. It all has to do with when you put the meat in the cooker. If you wait 30 min or so for temps to come up before adding meat then I think you would also wait 20 min before putting your foil pak on the coals. If you put your meat on directly after cooker assembly and fire then smoke wood at the same time. Just my opinion, yours and others may differ.

Mark
 
Thank you guys for all of your help!!! The ribs turned out great!! I ended up smoking them for 3.5 hrs,at a dome temp 230-260. I then pulled them off and wrapped them into a tinfoil pan with a little apple juice for 45 mins. Then finished them with a little sauce right over the coals. I wish I had pics, but the ribs were long gone by the time I though about it.
 
Paul, glad the ribs turned out. However someone once said, " if there aint no pics, it didn't happen"
Don't be discouraged tho, this is your opportunity for your SECOND smoke. With pics of course, there is only soooo much leway, here.
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Congratulations on your first smoke! I just smoked for the first time for a large group this weekend (family reunion) and it worked out great for me.
 
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