First Weber Smoke and some questions!


 
N

Neil

New member
Hi all,

This past Saturday I setup and used my WSM for the very first time. Very exciting indeed. On the menu were 3 pork loins ribs purchased from Costco. Being in NY, it took longer than expected to find Kingsford charcoal in the dead of winter.This used up a large portion of my morning and forced me forego my rub ideas and use a generic spice rub. (Used "Bone Lickin' Sauce" rib rub.)

First off, despite it being short-ish smoke session, we used the minion method to get things going. The ribs were set in place on a vertical rib rack 30 minutes after lit coals were added to charcoal pan. Hot tap water was added to water pan. Amazingly, the temps held at a steady 250 throughout most of the cooking time. Very impressive. Our goal was to do a 5-6 hour cook with temp parameters of 250-275.(No foiling.) I employed two half-fist sized chunks of hickory and a half-fist chunk of red oak. After the 4 and 5 hour mark I did spritz 'em with apple cider.

Ultimately the ribs came out perfect in terms of bite and texture. Taste was very bland (probably due to the rub) and there was a very heavy smoke flavor. Somewhat disappointing, but my brother thought they were delicious.

Any thoughts on the heavy smoke flavoring? Is it a charcoal issue? They were not match light briquettes - just regular ole Kingsford. Too much wood?

Here are some pics from my camera of the whole ordeal!

Pics from my bud's iPhone.
 
Although the amount of wood does not seem to be too much, the answer may lie in the type of wood used. Nutwoods are typically considered stronger than fruitwoods. Consider, too, that the ratio of surface meat to total meat in a rib is much greater than that of, say, a pork butt roast. When pulling pork butt, the smoky outer meat is mixed in with the interior meat that received no smoke, making for an evening-out of the applied smoke throughout the final product. With ribs, what you put on the outside is in every bite, be it rub, sauce, or smoke.
 
Neil
Hickory and Red Oak are strong smoke flavors, those that like farting smokerings after eating BBQ would love it. You may just want to cut back on wood and add a little more each cook until you find the smoke level you like.

Jim
 
Yes Hickory is a srong wood and the Oak is not that mild also. I much prefer fruit wood for ribs but if I had to use Hicory I'd just use one chunk. All this has been mentioned above, ribs have a great deal of surface area and very little mass. Cut back on the wood if you are using a strong one, and all should be swell.
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Neil,
I would chock it up to a learning experience. I have found that everyone likes a different amount of smoke. I have had people that said that there wasn't enough smoke flavor and at the same barbecue another person said that there was too much. You have to figure out the level of smoke that you like and build from there.
 
Thanks for affirming what I had thought to be the issue. Either way, I'll be smoking again this coming weekend to polish up the technique. This time I will make my own rub along with the famous BRITU rub and see what's what.

(If it wasn't already obvious, this forum and site have been an invaluable resource in regards to information and knowledge. Thanks so much for everything!)

I'll post again next weekend with the tweaked results!
 
Neil, you've received some good advice so far. I agree that everyone's perfect smoke level is different. Now in my case, if I'm doing spares I use 3 red oak and 3 cherry pieces, each about the size of a tennis ball, for me, this is perfect. Next time I'd take the hickory out of the picture and throw in a fruit wood with your red oak. Maybe start with one of each and see what you think.

Good luck on your next smoke!
 
I have a WSM as probably my last smoker.

In regards to fruit wood, I've been given a stack of grapefruit wood. It's green so have not tried any. I've never heard of anyone using grapefruit. Any one have any experience here? Normally, I use hickery chuncks with, primarily, lump.

Thanks

Earl
 
Yes, quite a bit of experience with it. I like it a lot--along with all the other citrus woods. It is mild and light. Augment with a nut wood if you'd like more depth. I like it solo with poultry and fish.
 
I was in Bass Pro Shop today and saw some cherry and Apple chips in a bag. Will Cherry and Apple wood chips work ok in the WSM? Locally i can only find hickory and mesquite chunks. The chips were very small, like they would burn up quickly in the wsm fire.
I think they were made for putting in foil and using in a gasser or electric smoker.
I'd like to have some chunks but i can't find in the stores here.
 
Jerry,

You can soak the chips in water, then put them in a heavy duty aluminum foil pouch and poke a lot of holes in the pouch, top and bottom.

That's what I'm doing to get rid of some of the chips I have left over from before I found and bought chunks.
 
Thanks Steve,
I'll try that.Just can't find any chunks around here. Not many apple or cherry growers around this neck of the woods, (i dont think)
 
I am your typical New Englander BBQ'r. Gotta be Apple Wood. It only took one try with it and it was great. If you get a chance to get some apple chunk try it and make the Paul Kirk Maple Sugar rub for the ribs. MMM MMM Good.
 
Hey Neal,

Looks like it all worked out well and nice job on the pics, congrats! Question, would you mind emailing me a few more pictures and maybe a few close up’s of your thermometer set up and any info if possible? I’m tired of the old wine cork method and I’m not comfortable drilling a hole in the lid yet and yours looks like a nice little set-up. Thanks in advance and here’s my work email address. keil@sparkcreativeinc.com
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul Balzotti:
........ Paul Kirk Maple Sugar rub for the ribs. MMM MMM Good. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey Paul,

Is this posted on the board somewhere? I couldn't find it!
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If not, how about posting it? It sounds yummy, and I just happen to have some maple sugar.

Thanks,

JimT
 
Toby,

It is a bit hard to see in the pics, but I do use the cork method in regards to thermometer placement. The unit I purchased has a metal 'resting' piece that also plays a role in keeping it upright.(HERE) All in all, nothing fancy until I get my smoking skills straight. Modifications next!
 
Neil - other wiser cooks have posted their take, and I can't find too much to add. I have done a good number of rib smokes on horizontal, and now on my WSM.

Pics were great. I should start posting pics from cooks as well.

As far as bland flavor and the heavy smoke. My opinion is a little different, or at least I have some additional questions.

I think the blandness did have a lot to do with the rub and duration and application of the rub. How long were the ribs allowed to sit with the rub? Couple hours, overnight etc. The type/base of a rub in my view is a huge factor in what one can expect to be absorbed into the ribs as related to time.

As far as the heavy smoke flavor with the amount of wood you said you used. Is it an oil based rub/sauce that you used. Oil in the rub that remained on the surface due to a short "marinate" interval could contribute to the oil becoming the carrier and contributed to the undesireable density of smoke flavor that you experienced.

I have done a good number of rib cooks with the amount of racks and wood you used. Three chunks of wood that size over the entire cook should not have affected the flavor so negatively in my view except for the above - or if the wood was not allowed to burn off enough before adding the ribs. Or - unless you have a lower tolerance or preference in terms of smoke flavor in the finish. You may have had too much heavy, dense (white not blue white) smoke hitting the ribs early on in the cook.

If you were getting a lot of smoke from the unlit kingsford kicking off that could also have been the smoke flavor (undesireable) you tasted and not from the wood. With only three chunks of wood I would think you should be able to tell if the smoke flavor was from the wood or from the charcoal.

Ray

WSM
Weber Performer
CG Pro SFB
 
UPDATE:

I threw on a set of St. Louis cut ribbies last weekend and had better (and worse) results. I use the BRITU rub and the flavor was great. If anything I'd use a touch less black pepper. The ribs came out a bit dry after 5.5 hour and were not at any point able to pass the "tear" test. (Unless the tear test requires a lot more energy than I would think appropriate.)

I threw on a 11-12 lb brisket (after trimming) one hour ago. I'll update that as well - hopefully with great results.
 
Originally posted by Neil:
UPDATE:

I threw on a set of St. Louis cut ribbies last weekend and had better (and worse) results. I use the BRITU rub and the flavor was great. If anything I'd use a touch less black pepper. The ribs came out a bit dry after 5.5 hour and were not at any point able to pass the "tear" test. (Unless the tear test requires a lot more energy than I would think appropriate.)

Neil, the tear test doesn't require lots of force. If you grab two bones in the middle of the slab and try to pull them apart gently, if done, the meat will tear with minimal resistance. If the ribs are not done, believe me, you won't be able to tear them.
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