First smoke on my 18.5 - baby back ribs


 
S

Scott Jeff

New member
Let me first preface this by saying, this is the first thing I've tried to smoke in over 10 years, the last thing being ribs on a gas grill using just a small wood chip box.

Few things I learned on first smoke:
- Use more charcoal in chimney starter. Only used about 40 kingsford briquets and it took the smoker about an hour to get up to 225.
- Used Apple wood chunks, will probably use another type next time
- May cut ribs next time to get them to fit better on the smoker. Tried using rib rack but didn't work well.
- I LOVE my WSM!

Started the prep by taking the membrane off of some ribs I purchased from local grocery store. Next time I will go to a butcher shop that I have recently found, so that I can get some that were not previously frozen. Also will need to get a better rub...used Fiesta pork rub. Rubbed down the ribs and put in refrigerator over night.
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Used the chimney starter to get the fire going...first time I've used one. I only put about 40 briquettes in the starter, and poured them over an almost full ring of charcoal, and then added 4 blocks of Apple Wood that comes in a bag by Weber. No water in the pan, but wrapped it with foil. I put the ribs on at the same time. Putting all three racks on the top grate. I tried using a rib rack but they just didn't fit right. These were a little long, and the ends got done a little to much, but otherwise no problem. Grabbed my beer and sat back.

This smoke brought to you by Abita beer...HA!
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It took awhile for the smoker to reach the 225 that I wanted. I think mainly because I didn't use enough briquettes in the chimney. All vents were open and took a little over an hour to reach. Therefore I let them smoke for a little over 2 hours before I took them off.

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After little over 2 hours
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I wrapped all three in their own foil and poured a little apple juice in the foil, then put back on the smoker. I periodically sprayed with apple juice. Left them on for a little over an hour.

Took them out of the foil and back on smoker where I put some Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce on them, and left them on the smoker for maybe 30-45 min, saucing every now and then.
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The finished product:
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The wife was second guessing me the night before..."Why are you putting seasoning on them now? My dad doesn't do that"......her dad does one of the best briskets I've ever had by the way, but I told her to hold all comments until the finished product.

She also kept asking about the smoke because she said it was coming in the house some, it really wasn't, but we have a 2 month old so she was just being cautious.

She loved the ribs....and at the end of the night asked what I was going to smoke next. HA!

Give me any tips for next time you guys can think of.
 
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Scott, great job on your ribs! The color and pull-back is good, and since your wife loved them, what more could you ask for? :cool:

You won't tips, though? For thick and meaty back ribs on an 18.5", I'd cut the slabs in half and use both grates, thicker halves on the top grate. A bit of a hassle, but they'll cook more evenly, you'll get better air flow, and it's not really too much trouble. That's why the bullet has two grates, and by the way, you can access smaller things on the bottom grate via the door. I have a grate tool with a hook on one end so I can spin the grate around. Oh, and as to air flow, all that cold meat makes it hard for your gauge get a reading on what's actually happening down at the grate. Trust me. You were probably already at 225* when the gauge was only at 200*. You started with PLENTY of lit.

I prefer to make my own rubs, and there's some good recipes here on the site. Personally, I like ones that have brown sugar in them. I hear a lot of folks say that rubbing the night before makes for a "hammy" rib so I just season after skinning, day of my smoke. Speaking of which, apple is as good as any wood for smoking ribs with. Sometimes it's not what kind of wood, but how you use it, though. If you want to spritz, go for it, but honestly, I think that's more needed on offset smokers, which have a lot more air flow. I just wrap then when they look good, and then let the liquid I put in the foil do it's job.

Oh, on the Abita, they're not bad, but personally, I'd avoid those Andygators for any cook-intensive smokes. :confused:

Again, fantastic job on your first back ribs!
Dave
 
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Keep doing what you did...they looked perfect. It takes me about 30-45 min to bring up my smoker to 225-250 depending on weather.
 
Great looking job on the ribs Scott! Looks like you broke the 18.5 in just fine.

Pretty much agree with what Dave said. When you can, definitely get a thermo with a probe so you can check grate temps, especially if you end up using 2 grates.

Also, you shouldnt have to use that much lit charcoal to get the temp up. I often use only 20-25 on top of unlit. If it is not coming up fast enough and you already have the vents open, you can open the door. Trust me it will come up quick (learned that the hard way) then you can close the door and adjust the vents when it gets near the temps.

Also, I have seen it done on here but not tried it.... when you have full racks on the 18.5 (which is what I have also) you can foil the grate just around the edges to keep them from burning.

Keep up the good work, you will only love the smoker more each time you use it
 
Great looking ribs. Why didn't you like the apple? Not enough smoke flavour? Doesn't Sweet Baby Rays have smoke flavour added to it. I've never really understood using a sauce with smoke flavour after we go to all the trouble of BBQ'n our food with a variety of different woods.
 
Good looking ribs! I know it's very commercial and available everywhere, but I will admit I do like Sweet Baby Ray's!
 
"Give me any tips for next time you guys can think of."

Me-thinks YOU should be giving out tips after looking at those baby's!
Nicely done Sir.:wsm:

Tim
 
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