Best way to smoke ribs on OTS?


 
Gary H. NJ

Gary H. NJ

TVWBB Platinum Member
My buddy is doing baby backs on a One Touch over the weekend. What's the best way to smoke them? I'm looking for info specifically for the grill situation... Spread the coals to the sides, or snake method? Pictures to aid are welcome too. Thanks in advance.
 
I used to smoke in this method before I got a WSM. Put the coals all to one side using the snake method. Put your smoke wood on and put the meat on the opposite side of the grill grates. Either that or put a pile of unlit coals banked to one side and then add 6 or so lit coals on top of them. Kind of like the minion method but on a much smaller scale. He may well need to had fuel during the cook using either method. He will have to almost completely close off the bottom vents to keep the temperature down. But I left the top vent wide open.

Make sure the vent opening is over the meat and away from the coals so that the smoke is drawn over the meat before exiting the grill. I used to use a water pan on the bottom grate next to the coals. I havn't cooked in this method since I switched to the WSM however and I no longer use water in my WSM. So my guess is that the water pan in the kettle will either 1)do nothing as is my guess, or 2) keep the temperature down.

Sorry but I don't have any pictures. Tell your friend good luck.

And then after he cooks with this method a time or two be a really good buddy and drive him to the nearest store that sells WSM's so he can buy one. :wsm:
 
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For low and slow on the kettle, I like this style setup. The fire bricks keep direct heat off the meat and let you cook more like a smoker. Foil on the charcoal grate under the meat side helps too, as does a water pan (that will also catch drips). If you close the bottom vents and use a Minion style start, you can keep those temps low. May have to close the top vent a bit if needed.

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Chris in Louisiana said:
For low and slow on the kettle, I like this style setup. The fire bricks keep direct heat off the meat and let you cook more like a smoker. Foil on the charcoal grate under the meat side helps too, as does a water pan (that will also catch drips). If you close the bottom vents and use a Minion style start, you can keep those temps low. May have to close the top vent a bit if needed.

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+1 this is exactly how I used to do it. It works well and he shouldn't have to add any fuel. I could get a 12 hour cook using this method no problem.
 
I have done this method (as outlined by Chris in Louisiana) many times with excellent results. The only difference, I got two THIN fire bricks, as they take up less room in the grill. You can get them from a local supplier. When I was in Salt Lake City visiting my daughter and son-in-law, I found the fire bricks at a Fireplace shop. They are NOT expensive. If you find a large masonry supply, they'll only cost you a couple of bucks each. A retailer will get about double that. They only last forever...:rolleyes:.

I found that I could keep the temperature as low as 275 degrees at the grate. It takes a bit more management than the WSM but I didn't HAVE a WSM at the time (now I do).

Ribs and pulled pork are done very well on the grill, by the way.

My son still does his that way and he smokes a good bit using the same method.

FWIW
Dale5
 
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