Babyback cook


 
Kevin, that smoke ring is incredible. Just curious....how do you go about getting such a thick one on such a small portion of meat like the baby back? Do you add some extra wood chunks and throw the ribs on right when the smoke is billowing? I can't ever seem to get a smoke ring that thick for whatever reason. I tend to let my smoke die down a bit before putting the ribs on though.....so maybe that's the reason?

Thanks!
Pat
 
Pat-- I use my 'regular' amount of wood, the equivalent of about 1.5 fist-sized chunks which I hatchet smaller (about 4-5 pieces per fist-sized chunk). The wood gets scattered over the unlit, the lit gets scattered over when it's ready, I assemble then immediately load in the meat.

Ken- That was actually a hot side dish but could certainly be served cold (with a slight mod). Iirc, I simply sautéed a finely minced shallot or two in a 50-50 butter-evoo mix till soft, added some white wine (probably about 1/2 c) and let it reduce to maybe 2 Tbls or so. The peas I cooked separately. The pasta I cooked separately and I would have saved 3/4 c of the pasta cooking water when the pasta was drained, as I always do. I would then have tossed the pasta with the peas and shallot-wine reduction and added some of the reserved cooking water and probably a knob of butter and tossed over low heat. When the pasta had absorbed the sauce I would have added a little more of the reserved cooking water, adjusted salt and added white pepper, and sprinkled in some freshly grated cheese. (For a chilled version I would finish with a little evoo and allow to cool, then mix with the cooled peas and chill. For serving, I would adjust seasoning, add a little more evoo if needed, and fold in the grated parm.)
 
Thanks Kevin, I don't know why I assumed it was a pasta salad instead of a hot dish -- but yeah it will work either way. That recipe (or actually it's more of a method ) sounds great, I can't wait to try it.
 
Great looking ribs Kevin.One question.If you used 22-25 light,how much unlit did you use for a 2hr22mins cook? Going to try a HH this weekend. Thanks for any help.
 
Nice, Steve! Thanks, Tim. And thanks, Chuck. I generally put at least 3/4 of a ring in; often I just fill it. No worries about amount and, when finished and the cooker closed up, excess lit is extinguished, unlit remains that way, and all can be used on a future grill or WSM cook.
 
I wonder if I'm the one in a million that always starts out with new charcoal.Everytime I look at the used coal I think i'm going to have a lot of problems,so why ask for it. I could be making a big costly mistake. How do other WSM people feel?
 
Originally posted by Chuck Dugas:
I wonder if I'm the one in a million that always starts out with new charcoal.Everytime I look at the used coal I think i'm going to have a lot of problems,so why ask for it. I could be making a big costly mistake. How do other WSM people feel?
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I poke around the coals with old dirty tongs that I use only to handle charcoal to get the ash to fall through the grate. What is left is very useable.
 
Thanks Bob.

Darrell-- Kinda sorta. I tend to favor a least one fruit component (I often use two different juices) and it (or at least one) I prefer to be sour-ish. Ruby red grapefruit, tamarind, pomegranate - those sorts of things. I find a the sour (with residual sweetness) present in all of these to work well with the sweet of most rubs (though mine aren't terribly sweet) and the pepper, chile and warm spices in this and many other rubs I make. The chicken stock in this blend adds some additional meaty notes. I occasionally include it. Often I combine a sour juice with a sweet one (tamarind with pineapple is a favorite as is calmondin with apple).

One thing I always do is reduce the juice(s) somewhat before use. This removes some of the water, thereby concentrating the flavor.
 
I tried Kevin's technique on a rack of loin ribs last night and I must say, it's OUTSTANDING! I rubbed up my ribs with BBQ 3000 and cooked them around 325-350 for the first 90 minutes and then foiled with some Chardonnay (just happened to be what I had laying around) for 45 minutes at 350-375. They were done to perfection with the same great smoke ring as seen in Kevin's pictures. Some of the best ribs I've done and they only took 2:15 to finish.
 
Glad you liked the approach, Jerry. Pretty easy, no?

Sorry I missed your question, Darrell. No, I don't care for lemon as an addition to foiling liquid. I do like it to add brightness to many glazes though.
 
Kevin - I always look for your posts for opinions or replies and have to say I was very pleased to hear about your rib cook and see your pics. Wow! Thanks for sharing. Very nice job with a great description. Bob Bailey
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