First WSM Smoke Tomorrow


 
J

Jonny

TVWBB Member
So i am picking up my WSM 22 5" tomorrow morning and i just had a couple questions. I'm going to be cooking ribs and maybe some of these abt's i have been hearing so much about. couple of questions. Does it make a difference which rack I cook on ie top or bottom.
Can i do ribs on the bottom and cook those abts on top since they have less k time?
Whats the story with foiling should i do that to pork ribs and beef ribs? or just beef becouse they get so tough? I'll be doing a rub is there any benefit to rubbing them tonight or will a couple hours in the rub before cooking be better?

i think thats everything for now.. wish me luck
 
holey smokes jonny, you sound all panic'd an'oll... first of all, go get a cold beer and relax a bit.
your ribs will benefit from being rubbed up tonight and restin' with oll that goodness keepin' it company over the dark hours in your fridge. Butt you don't hafta. If you don't wanna.
Now, How many racks of ribs you cookin'? I see you got the bigboyWSM so you probably are gonna do two or so.IF you're not and only one is in heat, whatever, do it on the top rack ALONG with your turds.
IF youre doing MORE than one rack, if you ain't got the room, move the longer cook to the bottom rack an' the short cook to the top.
Are ya following me? Am i making sense?
Beef ribs, in my experience, have taken LESS time than pork ribs... and I do not foil.
butt you can. I believe foiling is a crutch. I like to walk AND run with no help.
butt that's all my opinion. FWIW
icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck Jonny!
 
Hey Hey Jonny,

I'm fairly new to the WSM (18" on my side) but I'll throw my hat in on the ribs.
Rubbing prep - you'll find pretty much 2 schools, those that rub early (night before) and those that rub late (while the WSM is setting up). In my opinion, I used to rub early but now rub late as I find the rub can overpower the meat on something smaller than a butt if left on too long. Now, as another variable to confuse, this really depends on the rub ingredients. Kevin K seems to be the mixologist on here so maybe he will weigh in.
As far as top or bottom grate, if you only need one, use the top because it is convenient. If you need both, higher maintenance on top, lower on the bottow just for accessibility.
Foiling - Way too contentious. I foil when I feel a gut need based on the meat and the cook. I've never done beef ribs but pork tends to get a little overdone in foil if cooked and then foiled too long. My guests love the "fall off the bone feel" but I always think they're a little overdone.
Finally, the one thing I am now certain of is, give yourself enough time to cook until the meat is DONE. It is a far better thing to have to foil and toss in a cooler for a few hours than have your guest or family fill up on sides while you sweat the last 10 degrees to doneness.
Only my opinions and note that Jim probably has more condiments in his fridge than I have cooks.

Good luck !

James
 
Jonny, I'd keep it real simple for my first cook. With that big 22" WSM you can pack plenty on the top grate.I hardly ever use foil on my ribs unless I want to get them done faster. Pick a recipe and a cooking procedure you want to follow and stay with it all the way through. You can tweek next time. Keep your temps steady and make small adjustments to the vents when needed and you'll be fine. Enjoy the journey
icon_biggrin.gif
 
Welcome to the madness! Trial and error experience is the name of the game. This forum provides so much useful info that your passage from a newby to an accomplished Q artist can be very brief.

I used to foil ribs but no longer do so. Once you get used to dialing in a temp and holding it you will find that things get easier. I continue to use water as a crutch for butts and ribs but went dry for Moinks and am thinking of trying a high heat brisket.

A couple of suggestions: Find a technique that yields the results you are looking for and then seek to perfect it. Consider getting an automatic temp controller, (it makes things a lot easier).
 
I do like toys i have already been looking at them on the forum.. i'll see how this first cook goes... 2hrs in so far so good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top