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Guest
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My first attempt at babyback ribs came yesterday. I followed the Britu recipe to the letter except for the MSG which I omited. I smoked 3 full racks using a rib rack on the top rack on my WSM.
At 12:45 I started 20 brickets with the starter chimney. When they ashed over I added them to a full ring of unlit kingford. I added three chunks of oak and 2 of cherry for smoke and filled the water pan with hot water.
At 2PM the Lid temp came up to 240 (as measured thru the lid opposite the vent) so it was time to toss on the ribs. Double checked the grill temp with a Polder thru a potato and it stayed around 220.
At 4PM (2 hours later) I added water thru the door. At 5PM (3 hours)I took off the lid for the first time to turn the ribs end for end. The meat had already pulled back from the ribs about 1/2" to 3/4" and looked done but what do I know since this was my first stab at ribs. I closed the lid and all the vents for the next 15 minutes till the lid temp came back down to 250 then reopened one vent 1/3. (Seems normal for my WSM 2 vents closed on open 1/3 hold 240-250 deg.)
I pulled the ribs off at 6PM (4hours) after giving them the tug test. They pulled apart pretty easily. The smoke ring went all the way through and they had a wonderful smoke flavor. The ribs were a hit with my family except the women folk though they were a little too spicy hot.
I am my own worse critic. I liked the flavor but the ribs were a little to dry for me. The meat did not just fall off the bone so I don't think they were over cooked. The lid temp never went over the 250 other than a few minutes after taking off the lid to turn the meat. (I removed the lid thermometer and rechecked its calibration in boiling water after the cook.) Grill temps stayed 220-225.
At the three hour mark I really wanted to baste them with apple juice but the recipe didn't call for it so I didn't. Would that have helped or am I doing something else wrong? Or is it possible that I did everything correctly and just got some ribs that were going to be dry no matter what?
At 12:45 I started 20 brickets with the starter chimney. When they ashed over I added them to a full ring of unlit kingford. I added three chunks of oak and 2 of cherry for smoke and filled the water pan with hot water.
At 2PM the Lid temp came up to 240 (as measured thru the lid opposite the vent) so it was time to toss on the ribs. Double checked the grill temp with a Polder thru a potato and it stayed around 220.
At 4PM (2 hours later) I added water thru the door. At 5PM (3 hours)I took off the lid for the first time to turn the ribs end for end. The meat had already pulled back from the ribs about 1/2" to 3/4" and looked done but what do I know since this was my first stab at ribs. I closed the lid and all the vents for the next 15 minutes till the lid temp came back down to 250 then reopened one vent 1/3. (Seems normal for my WSM 2 vents closed on open 1/3 hold 240-250 deg.)
I pulled the ribs off at 6PM (4hours) after giving them the tug test. They pulled apart pretty easily. The smoke ring went all the way through and they had a wonderful smoke flavor. The ribs were a hit with my family except the women folk though they were a little too spicy hot.
I am my own worse critic. I liked the flavor but the ribs were a little to dry for me. The meat did not just fall off the bone so I don't think they were over cooked. The lid temp never went over the 250 other than a few minutes after taking off the lid to turn the meat. (I removed the lid thermometer and rechecked its calibration in boiling water after the cook.) Grill temps stayed 220-225.
At the three hour mark I really wanted to baste them with apple juice but the recipe didn't call for it so I didn't. Would that have helped or am I doing something else wrong? Or is it possible that I did everything correctly and just got some ribs that were going to be dry no matter what?