First attempt at BB Ribs on the WSM 18

[JBomar TN]

I smoked 4 racks this weekend, but only one rack turned out tender. I'm thinking it may have been this brand of ribs from Piggly Wiggly. I welcome any thoughts or suggestions on my next attempt. I have had 4 or 5 successful smokes on my 22 in kettle. I figure if I could have left them on for another hour, I would have been in business but it was time to eat. Here is how it went down:
2 rolled racks on bottom and 2 flat on top.
Did not flip top rack ribs and meat was not pulled back on bones
Cooked at approx 225 for 5 hours with 2 chunks of hickory. Full pan of water.
Full chimney of uncooked briquets and 60% chimney of lit briquets. Minion method.
Lower vents stayed about 30% open and top vent at 50%.
Bought ribs from pig wiggly
1 rack on top was decent. The rest were tough.

Next attempt will try to smoke with 3 chunks of wood.
Half pan of water.
Higher average heat ~ 250/275, at least during last half of cooking.
Allow for 6 hours to cook.

 

[ChuckO]

Not a bad cook, I bet they tasted good

Maintaining a "water level" is not a method of maintaing heat. The Defuser is create an indirect heat source and stablize tempature
From my experience, six hours is almost two hours too much. Around the four hour mark, you're probably nearly done, if not done. The best method to test doneness, is use a toothpick and check for tenderness

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

At new avarage T of 250/275 6 hours are definitively tooooo much!

 

[Tony R]

They look great.

 

[JBomar TN]

Ok. I was thinking of 250-275 for the last 2-3 hours until done. So if I go 250-275, I should plan on 4-5 hours cook time?

 

[ChuckO]

Prolly won't see 5 hours. Soon as you see the meat start to pull back, start checking for tenderness (using a toothpick) You can be done at the 4 hour mark, or earlier, just depends on how think the ribs are

If you're basting as your going, check for tenderness as you baste that way you'll feel the change in tenderness

 

[JBomar TN]

So, reckon why after 5 hours at 225, they weren't quite up to par? Could it have been sub par ribs?

 

[ChuckO]

Could have been. Lately I've been buying Hormel ribbs, there was a time I wouldn't have anything made by Hormel. What I'd reconmend is just going through this forum

http://tvwbb.com/forumdisplay.php?72-Photo-Gallery

And duplicate what you see and like. That's a good method

 

[Joe F]

So, reckon why after 5 hours at 225, they weren't quite up to par? Could it have been sub par ribs?

Dome thermometers can be off by a bunch and they can't tell you what grate temp is.
I'm thinkin' that you may have been running cooler than 225 grate temp.

Here's some nice pullback...

 

[Rick Body]

Like Joe said, if your using the dome thermo you may be well off grate temp. I have seen a 50 degree difference both higher and lower.

Also for me, anything I cook at 225 takes FOREVER. I do almost all my q' at 275, though I have been dropping down to 260 some.

Its really hard to put an exact time on it, so better to start early if you can and put them in a cooler if done early. And if they are not done when its getting closer to dinner time, you can always foil them and they will tenderize and cook faster. For BB's I never foil for more than 30-45 mins though

 

[JBomar TN]

Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely go hotter next time.

 

[Grant Narita]

I over cooked my first two attempts. I was cooking around 260-275 for around four hours... So 5-6 hours would be too long at that temp. It also seems to depend on the thickness of the ribs.. The thinner ones were overlooked and the thicker ones were better.