John K BBQ
TVWBB Wizard
It's been too long since I had a ribs n' chicken night so I went for it yesterday. I had two racks of St. Louis cut spare ribs and one chicken (about a 4.5 pounder). I removed the silver skin from the ribs and seasoned them up with some Blues Hog Sweet and Savory - the chicken got the same treatment. I didn't use any oil or slather any mustard. The Blues Hog rub had plenty of salt in it so I used it by itself. Here's the ribs before I put them on the WSM I didn't get any before pics of the chicken, but I do have some "after pics"
I put the ribs in the fridge and started prepping the WSM. I had some left over/unburnt lump in the charcoal ring, so I made by doughnut and arranged some hickory chunks directly on the grate so they'd be underneath the lit charcoal. My target temp was 275 to 300F, and time at that temperature is about 4 to 5 hours max, so I didn't bother filling to the top of the ring. I dumped about 7/8 of a large chimney in the middle, and put the smoker together will all the vents (bottom and top) wide open.
I didn't get a good pick of my gateway hanging rig, but here's a pic of my ribs hanging in the cook chamber just above the fire dial, which I have hanging from stainless steel chains attached to the brackets that are designed to hold the lower grate. I like having this fire dial in there to act like the "flavorizer" bars do in the Genesis - the fat renders onto the fire dial rather than the coals to limit flare ups. Of course, there are holes in the fire dial but if you put the ribs closer to the middle the hanger you can sort of limit the drip thru.
I dropped by Thermoworks temperature probe down thru the lid's vent holes to help monitor temperature (probably had it about 6" down in there). It read about 40F more than the dome thermometer for most of the cook. Here it says 263 but during the cook it stayed between 290 and 310. I eventually closed the top vent by about 1/3 to 1/2 closed. It was a really hot/humid day here in St. Louis - easily 95F most of the afternoon. That lump charcoal was burning really hot. I think the older fuel in there was probably Rockwood... the stuff I put in the chimney was Fogo.
Here are the ribs - finished in 4 hours. Chicken was "well done" after about 3 hours (170 in the breast and 185F in the thighs).
I tented all the meats with foil and covered with a thick kitchen town and everything rested for about an hour. I had a hungry crew so I didn't get any more pics until I went back for 2nds. Ribs turned out really well, some of my best in recent memory. Good texture, tender, but not falling off. Blues Hog Sweet and Savory rub is also highly recommended. Chicken turned out really well. Good flavor, and the dark meat was super tender & juicy, but skin was not crisp at all, but then again, I didn't really take any steps to dry the skin or get that crispy skin result. Overall, I really do like the hanging method. I could have easily fit 4 to 6 more racks or another chicken or two.
Here's some homemade tater salad - got this recipe from Brian Lagerstrom's Youtube Channel, I followed it to a tee, and it was awesome, with really not that much fuss. I made the homemade mayo and the whole 9 yards. I think the key to success is lots of dill and the "hand mixing" technique where you smash a few of the taters while mixing it up. Dear wifey said this was the best tater salad she's ever had.... she's too citi-fied to ever say tater salad, but maybe I'll start rubbing off on her someday
. The recipe/screen shot is at the bottom. Baked beans I made were good, but not awesome, so no pic there...
Here's the tater salad recipe, I went pretty heavy on the black pepper, maybe 3/4 of a teaspoon. 15 grams of dill is quite a bit. I used two blister packs and was a little shy of the 15 gram mark.
Home made mayo in case you want to "do it all the way"
Here's a link to the video if you want to watch Brian make it. I like his videos, his instructions are always very clear. Thanks for lookin
I put the ribs in the fridge and started prepping the WSM. I had some left over/unburnt lump in the charcoal ring, so I made by doughnut and arranged some hickory chunks directly on the grate so they'd be underneath the lit charcoal. My target temp was 275 to 300F, and time at that temperature is about 4 to 5 hours max, so I didn't bother filling to the top of the ring. I dumped about 7/8 of a large chimney in the middle, and put the smoker together will all the vents (bottom and top) wide open.
I didn't get a good pick of my gateway hanging rig, but here's a pic of my ribs hanging in the cook chamber just above the fire dial, which I have hanging from stainless steel chains attached to the brackets that are designed to hold the lower grate. I like having this fire dial in there to act like the "flavorizer" bars do in the Genesis - the fat renders onto the fire dial rather than the coals to limit flare ups. Of course, there are holes in the fire dial but if you put the ribs closer to the middle the hanger you can sort of limit the drip thru.
I dropped by Thermoworks temperature probe down thru the lid's vent holes to help monitor temperature (probably had it about 6" down in there). It read about 40F more than the dome thermometer for most of the cook. Here it says 263 but during the cook it stayed between 290 and 310. I eventually closed the top vent by about 1/3 to 1/2 closed. It was a really hot/humid day here in St. Louis - easily 95F most of the afternoon. That lump charcoal was burning really hot. I think the older fuel in there was probably Rockwood... the stuff I put in the chimney was Fogo.
Here are the ribs - finished in 4 hours. Chicken was "well done" after about 3 hours (170 in the breast and 185F in the thighs).
I tented all the meats with foil and covered with a thick kitchen town and everything rested for about an hour. I had a hungry crew so I didn't get any more pics until I went back for 2nds. Ribs turned out really well, some of my best in recent memory. Good texture, tender, but not falling off. Blues Hog Sweet and Savory rub is also highly recommended. Chicken turned out really well. Good flavor, and the dark meat was super tender & juicy, but skin was not crisp at all, but then again, I didn't really take any steps to dry the skin or get that crispy skin result. Overall, I really do like the hanging method. I could have easily fit 4 to 6 more racks or another chicken or two.
Here's some homemade tater salad - got this recipe from Brian Lagerstrom's Youtube Channel, I followed it to a tee, and it was awesome, with really not that much fuss. I made the homemade mayo and the whole 9 yards. I think the key to success is lots of dill and the "hand mixing" technique where you smash a few of the taters while mixing it up. Dear wifey said this was the best tater salad she's ever had.... she's too citi-fied to ever say tater salad, but maybe I'll start rubbing off on her someday
. The recipe/screen shot is at the bottom. Baked beans I made were good, but not awesome, so no pic there...Here's the tater salad recipe, I went pretty heavy on the black pepper, maybe 3/4 of a teaspoon. 15 grams of dill is quite a bit. I used two blister packs and was a little shy of the 15 gram mark.
Home made mayo in case you want to "do it all the way"
Here's a link to the video if you want to watch Brian make it. I like his videos, his instructions are always very clear. Thanks for lookin
