Memorial Day ribs in the rain

[Frank H]

I've been promising to smoke ribs on the WSM for some friends and family for a while now and ,long story short, we decided to roll Memorial Day weenie roast into Rib- a- palooza 2016
so ! Wouldn't you know , it rained buckets starting at 6AM and I had to relocate the smoker out by the garage to keep it dry...luckily the afternoon hours were sunny and we were able to eat outside.

I had 3 racks of baby backs and one rack of spares to smoke. Rubbed half of them up with just SPOG and half with Rufus Teague meat rub ( which I like a lot )

Space turned out to be a huge issue. No way could I lay everything out on the grates....just too much meat. So I had to cut the racks in half and squeeze them into two rib racks. I wasn't happy about it at the time but it actually worked out fine. It was just kind of aggravating doing it on the fly....next time I'll just plan to do it and save myself some heartburn. The ribs came out really well. They were done in 3 hours which surprised me but there was no denying the probe test. We had beans , cornbread , Mac salad and green salad. Hot dogs for the kids and ice cream and brownies for dessert sorry about the lack of pix but you know how it goes.

and finally a plated pic....tonights leftovers...

 

[Rich Dahl]

Ribs look good Frank. I know the lack of room thing, I just had a small brisket flat on my 18.5 and ran out of real estate don't know how I'm going to cook the full brisket I've got in the freezer.

 

[Frank H]

Ribs look good Frank. I know the lack of room thing, I just had a small brisket flat on my 18.5 and ran out of real estate don't know how I'm going to cook the full brisket I've got in the freezer.

Thanks Rich.
I know....you hate to cut stuff in Half , and I'm wondering if that was why my ribs were done so early.
but I have seen many guys cutting a big brisket in two and doing top and bottom shelf on the 18.5.... I know I split a big ol turkey one time and did that and it came out pretty good. Well , good luck with it.

 

[Robert-R]

The ribs look super. Good job.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Great looking Memorial Day cook Frank. Those ribs look delicious. I'm with you, last minute problems can sure cause stress and take some of the fun out. Been there myself.

 

[Michael C.]

Great lookin' ribs here in challenging weather! You nailed it, they looks great with that nice smoke ring .

 

[Barb D]

Frank, those ribs and sides look fantastic. Glad you were able to enjoy most of the day try.

 

[Frank H]

The ribs look super. Good job.

Great looking Memorial Day cook Frank. Those ribs look delicious. I'm with you, last minute problems can sure cause stress and take some of the fun out. Been there myself.

Great lookin' ribs here in challenging weather! You nailed it, they looks great with that nice smoke ring .

Frank, those ribs and sides look fantastic. Glad you were able to enjoy most of the day try.

thanks , people. hope you all had a great weekend too.

 

[WB Zipf]

Love the commitment to great BBQ, you won't let some rain stop you!

Great looking ribs, and glad to read the rib rack worked out for you, I have never got them to work for me.

 

[Frank H]

Love the commitment to great BBQ, you won't let some rain stop you!

Great looking ribs, and glad to read the rib rack worked out for you, I have never got them to work for me.

thanks , man. Yes the rib racks were less than ideal. after some maneuvering and some colorful language , They basically became a way to sort of prop up the meat on edge. Anyway , all's well that ends well.

 

[ChadVKealey]

thanks , man. Yes the rib racks were less than ideal. after some maneuvering and some colorful language , They basically became a way to sort of prop up the meat on edge. Anyway , all's well that ends well.

I've got the same rib rack and find the bars a just a bit too close together for the thickness of ribs I usually cook, but it was so much easier to clean up than the one I had before. For the 3 or 4 times a year I'll use it, it does the job.

BTW, those ribs look great, esp for a 3 hour cook! What temp were you running? Some of my best ribs were done in my old kettle at 325-350 in about 3-4 hours.

 

[Frank H]

BTW, those ribs look great, esp for a 3 hour cook! What temp were you running? Some of my best ribs were done in my old kettle at 325-350 in about 3-4 hours.

For most of the time the temp gauge said 250-275 but I always suspect it's a bit hotter in there. And I agree ...you can do great ribs hot and fast. The Rendezevous in Memphis is famous for their ribs cooked in 1 hour.