First smoke pretty good, but a few questions


 
M

M Martin

New member
I got a WSM 18 for fathers day. I smoked baby backs on my first smoke last weekend. Overall it turned out pretty good. I will go thru my methods and then ask some questions. I used the minion method, using a full chimney of cold coals and then put 3/4 chimney hot coals on top of it. It seemed to work well and I had no problems holding temps between 230 and 240 for the entire smoke. I used a weber rib rack for two racks of ribs and smoked them on the top rack. No peeking for 4 hours, then put apple juice on at 4 hours and let smoke for about 45 more minutes. Lastly, I put on the sauce and let them cook about 15 more minutes. One of the racks was great, pulled away from the bone and was nice and tender. The other rack seemed to not be quite done yet. Kind of rubbery and alot harder to clean it to the bone.

Should I have cooked longer? Was my temperature range ok? I am thinking about trying to hold 225 tomorrow. I will be preparing 4 racks for a family get together an I will be utilizing the lower rack. Anything I should be aware of when using the lower rack? I am confident they will turn out good, but I would like to have them turn out a little better if possible.

Thanks ahead of time for any input.
 
The 2nd rack should of been cooked longer until it was tender. For temps, rather than going lower I'd go higher, around 275. I've found that cooking at a lower temp has a tendacy to dry out the ribs. At 275 it usually takes me about 6 hours for the ribs to be ready. Is the top grate being used. If not, just use the top grate as it's easier to access.
 
Should I have cooked longer? <span class="ev_code_RED">yes.</span>
Was my temperature range ok? <span class="ev_code_RED">yes.</span>
Anything I should be aware of when using the lower rack? <span class="ev_code_RED">not really.</span>

Time does not dictate the doneness of your ribs... best to test doneness by inserting a toothpick or therm probe between bones, if enters easily with no resistance, they should be done.
I like to pick up the rack on one end with tongs to see if the ribs "break apart"...
if so, they're done.
Another method to check doneness is, pull apart two bones... least resistance, means they're done.

...and Welcome to the forum!
 
Thanks for your help.

I was also thinking about "foiling" for the last hour or so. Is there a real advantage to doing that?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by M Martin:
Thanks for your help.

I was also thinking about "foiling" for the last hour or so. Is there a real advantage to doing that? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

As Bob S said it will speed it up, but it will also soften your bark up to a paste almost. The only time I foil is for timing reasons and even then I un-foil at the end to re-form the bark.

I like 250 for most ribs, nothing wrong with higher though. No benefit to lower.
 
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