Grate temp. and question for Stogie


 
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Larry Evers

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Going to do BB Ribs Sunday. Have read a bunch of entries on the subject. Question for Stogie. You said you were a bit anal about temp. Well, I am anal too I guess. You said it was extremely important to have a constant temp. of 225 at grate level. Since I installed a themometer at the top of my WSM, then the temp. there would be 237-240, right????

Also, you said to baste a few times during the cook. Baste with BBQ sauce?
Thanks Stogie!

Saw a picture of you and your family on another site. Great looking family!
 
Stogie uses 225? a lot of us uses higher temps than that, I use aprox 250?, the last two comps we were in (Red Hook PNW Reg Champ and Oregon State Champ) we scored a 179 and 1st place and a 177 for 3rd in Oregon. I understand there are others that use 275? pit temps and do very well also.
What I'm saying is there are a number of ways to make it work, at 250 pit temp and no foil has done very well for us for a few years now.
If you dome temps is reading from 235 to 265 your in the range to make it work.
Jim
 
I made the effort a while back to check the temps at various points in my WSM. When the dome reads 250, I am 237 at the top grate and 226 at the lower grate. Both internal probes were supported by a potato so they were not touching metal.

I tend to target between 235 and 250 at the dome, which makes me cook a little lower than Stogie at times and a little higher at times. Course, he does better in ribs than I do at the cookoffs so maybe I should listen closer to his ideas.

Anyway, play around some, and see what works for you. And remember, each slab is different, not just baby backs versus spares, it also matters how you trim them, st louis style, etc and also how the butcher trims them. I had a spare rib in Madison last weekend that had nearly an inch of meat on top of the ribs. I trimmed it off, as there was a layer of fat between the extra meat and the normal rib meat. If I had left it on, I would have had some of the ribs done and some still raw where the meat was thickest

Good luck

Dale
 
Hi Larry!

If you are following my rib technique, then you must maintain a steady 225?. That is why my ribs will take 6 hours to finish....plus I put them on immediately after starting the WSM.

I would imagine the dome temps would be in the range you mentioned, though I have never checked the difference between dome and grill level.

Jim is correct in that any temp between 225-275? will work....just be aware that the higher the temp, the quicker they will cook.

I would never, ever claim my way to be the best way, it's just how I was taught. I learned to cook all my meats at 225?, so I stick with that temp. The analness part is my way of "triumphing" over the Gods of fire! LOL

I baste with 2/3 parts juice(any citric juice works, I use cherry) and 1/3 part veggie oil.

Thanks for the compliments on the family! Amazing how a big schmuck like me can "luck out" with the cute family, eh? LOL

I am doing a big rib cook this weekend for a group of neighbors(it's a going away party, but the person going away is NOT invited!! Just our way of celebrating losing someone that is NOT near and dear to our hearts!), 2 WSM's loaded with 8 slabs each, plus beans, cornbread, slaw and desert.

Good luck to ya!
 
Couldn't find any BB's so I'm doing Spares. I'm looking at about 9 hours at 250 vent temp. I'm torn betwn. the foil/not foil. My wife likes her ribs falling-off-the-bone done so I guess that's the way I'll try it. Thanks for all the input. What a great site!
Larry
 
Why 9 hours? That sounds like a long time to at 250. My experience is that you would be looking at around 6 hours. Temp and tenderness are a whole lot more important than time in my opinion.
 
Well, I was going by Stogie's rib technique taken from an entry in May. 9 hours @ 225. I said 250 because at 250 dome the top grate will be approx. 237 while the lower grate will be approx. 226. I'm also putting the meat on immediately after lighting it. I guess the 250 will be the max. Does that sound about right???????
Thanks for you input!
Larry /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif
 
Larry...

Just as my BB's take 6 hours, my spares take 9 hrs. Now keep in mind, those are the HUGE bronto spares that have been trimmed to a St. Louis cut. After trimming, the weight will be upwards of 3 1/2 - 4 lbs./slab of ribs.
 
Stogie
I have never been able to keep them on that long.
I cook spares running between 235 to 250 at the dome and 6 maybe 6 1/2 hours is what it takes me, that's using the techniques I use for competition.
I plan on 6 hours if they do look like they are going to need more time that's when foil maybe used.
Jim
 
Hi Jim!

I know...that is what everybody else tells me. I can't figure this out!

When folks try to follow my technique, they claim all the meat falls off the bones and is left in the foil. That has NEVER happened to me! I can count on my BB's being done in exactly 6 hours....I don't even bother with fudging times anymore.

Same with spares.....I cooked them for 5 years and not once did I ever get them done before 8-9 hours. I have no idea why this is.

What do you think? This continues to baffle me. Perhaps the air in Indiana?? LOL
 
Yep, it must be the lower elevations in the midwest that does it. Actually, my ribs at Madison, after 3 hours on the grate and one hour in the foil had receded up the bone nearly an inch. Had to use all three slabs to get 8 attractive turn-in pieces.

My temps were running about 242 the whole cook. Maybe I am do for another thermometer calibration party. Total cooking time was 4 hours plus 15 minutes to try and get a little glaze on the sauce.

Hey Jim, just got off the phone with Bob Lyons. He has me pretty well convinced to go to the Texas State Brisket Championship in Terlingua, TX on November 1st. I was thinking about doing something wild and cooking in a cinderblock cooker. Just stop by the local Home Depot to get the necessary parts, set her up for 24 hours of cooking over oak wood and see what happens.

You or Jack going to that event?

Dale
 
Stogie
I can't come up with anything but maybe elevation, I have cooked in Tenn a number of times but I still get spares done about 6 hours.
It's got to be something about your technique, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Dale
Terlingua is a full day from no where, there is nothing there but chili cooks and scorpions.
Jim
 
Well it's obvious you all know what you're doing. And it's obvious that there are certainly several ways to make "it" happen. The thing to do is try and see what happens. The problem is that the meat is so expensive and the company is waiting for the best ever ribs. I've got 3 slabs of spares at a total weight of 13.7 lbs. Guess I'll go 6 hours with no foil. Gezzzz!
Larry /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
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