The difference between good ribs and really great ribs is that extra hour or 2 of cooking. I have been cooking ribs for many years now and I will never cook them less than 6 hours..that includes 2 1/2 hrs. in foil. My pit temp is a constant 225? at grate level and I now cook baby backs as I have a good price source and they are far less hassle for me.
I know what you mean when you say the ends pull back much more than the middle. That is one very small inconvenience of the WSM...most racks of ribs measure 20-21" and the grate is only 18 1/2". That means your ends must hang over the circumference of the water pan and they will burn pretty quickly.
Here is how to avoid that......Buy a rib rack. Cut your racks in half and place them in the rib rack. You can fit 5 half racks in the rib rack(4 slots and one leaning on the end), take the 6th half rack and place on top of the other racks. This works like a charm and the meat will get both smoke and cooked. This allows you to get 6 racks on the WSM...3 top and 3 bottom....without any hassles.
If you choose to foil, simply foil them as one full rack and then you can stack them on top of each other.
Jerry.......
Here is the BRITU recipe. There is much that is misunderstood about this METHOD. It really is a method as opposed to a recipe. The rub is pretty much a no-frills rub that needs a very sweet sauce to compliment. Hence the KC Masterpiece plus honey. Many complain it is too salty, but chances are they are not using the correct sauce
There is much more to the technique than just the rub....the temps must be varied throughout the cook..start at 225? and then raise it from there, etc.
You just need a LIGHT sprinkling of this rub!! Do not apply a heavy coating!
Here is the ENTIRE technique that includes the recipe for the rub....
Best Ribs in the Universe
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Posted by Ray Basso on May 03, 1999 at 16:22:01:
I talked to Mike Scrutchfield last night and he gave me permission to post this. He said that while this is a really good and a prize-winner he now has one that's better.
This recipe and cooking procedure won the prestigious title "Best Ribs in the Universe" at the 1993 American Royal Bar-B-Que contest as the Overall Grand Champion. They also took "Reserve Grand Champion" at the 1994 American Royal. This is the largest Bar-B-Que contest in the World. Enjoy!
Meat: IBP Brand Loin Baby Back Ribs. 13/4 - 2 lb. Size. Membrane on the inner (Stomach) side removed. All excess fat trimmed.
Dry Rub: Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store unused in moisture proof container
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Non-Iodized Table Salt
? Cup Brown Sugar (Dried out lightly by exposing on cookie sheet room temp. several hours, or slightly warmed
5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
4 Teaspoons MSG (Accent)
4 Teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
4 Teaspoons Black Pepper freshly ground (important)
4 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
4 Teaspoons Onion Powder
Sprinkle Meat 2 hours before cooking with rub and allow meat to come to room temperature. Do not over-season. A good overall dusting of the spices is all that's needed. The spices will become a nice red liquid coating after sitting for about an hour, if you used the proper amount.
Basic Cooking procedure: Smoke ribs in a "Water Pan" smoker i.e. Brinkman, or Weber "Smoky Mountain Cooker" (the best) Start Charcoal (7-10lbs.) and 4 chunks of White Oak and 2 chunks of Cherry wood (about the size of a tennis ball) at least 1 hour before cooking meat. All fuel should be started in a chimney style starter, no starter fluid and all the charcoal must be grey/white hot. Remove all bark from wood chunks, do not soak. Very little smoke will be visible. Don't worry about that you'll get the flavor. Use straight water in the water pan and keep it full during the entire cooking process. Control oven temperature of cooker by regulating the bottom vents only. Never, ever, completely close the top vent! If you don't have one, put a thermometer on your cooker. Cook ribs for 3 hours fairly cool at 225 degrees on rib racks. After 3 hours lift the lid for the first time, flip the slabs end for end, and upside down, and open all the vents on the smoker wide open. Temperature of the cooker should rise into the 250 to 275 degree range. Peek every ? hour to monitor doneness. Ribs will be finished when fairly brown in color, and the meat has pulled down on the long bones at least ? of an inch. (usually another 1 or 2 hours) Remove from cooker and sauce both sides before cutting individual ribs. I like K. C. Masterpiece BBQ sauce sweetened even more. ( 5 parts sauce, 1 part Honey), and so do the Judges! This basic cooking procedure is probably the most important of all, and works very well with other meats as well. Forget about how much smoke is coming out of the cooker, if you've got the wood you like in there burning up cleanly, the flavor will be in the meat. Smoke is nothing more that a smoke screen, and any coming out of the top of the cooker is flavor lost!
