My first ribs: the postmortem


 
R

Richard Sharpe

New member
Firstly - a Happy New Year to everyone!!

I completed my first cook on the WSM yesterday. I have to thank everyone who has provided tips on this site - both directly to my posts and elsewhere. The information really was invaluable.

Anyhoo... my observations from my first run:

1. The temperature of the cooker took some time to get up to 240 at the lid - even with all vents wide open. I was using the Minion method, and the log gives full details. More on this in point 3.

2. As a first go, I was aiming for 'fall off the bone' style ribs. I wouldn't have cared if they were too mushy. I wanted to see what the WSM (and the foiling method) could do. Well - the ribs were good, but they were nowhere near 'fall off the bone'. Did I not cook long enough? Perhaps it's because the ribs came frozen?

3. During cleanup, I noticed that only one side of the foil under the water pan was black; the other side was smoke colored. Further investigation showed that the charcoal on one side of the chamber as almost untouched. This is despite me spreading the 16 hot coals from the chimney evenly on the unlit chamber at the start of the process. Perhaps this is the reason I had a few problems with the temperature dropping away a little at the end. Any comments?

4. I forgot to remove (rather I couldn't find) the membrane on one of the racks. D'oh! Came off OK after cooking though. And didn't seem to make too much difference in the results (vs membrane removed ribs)?

Full details (including cook log and photos) here:

http://www.sharpey.com/Q/Ribs.htm

(Click on the photos for bigger versions)

cheers!
Sharpey
 
Hi Richard!!!

For starters, nice log and pics on a webpage combo!!! Looks sweet. As far as the temps go, I always use the standard method and only use the minion method for long cooks. using the standard method you can always lower (and raise) your temps by closing the vents.(or opening) As far as the membrane is concerned, its the bottom layer of the ribs. Here is a thread to help.Preping Your ribs

There is also a short video to watch.


I never foil my ribs until after i take them off the smoker and let them sit for about 15 minutes until cutting them up.

Good luck... i'm on my way to the Gator Bowl to see Florida State and West Virginia!!
 
If one side of your charcoal didn't light properly, the most likely culprit is a blocked air vent. It sounds like that side might have been starved for oxygen.

-Matt
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the uneven burn. Fire is fire. When using the MM, I'd scoop out out a well in the middle of the unlit coals and dump all the lit coals into that well. If you spread the lit coals around the top too much, you may not have enough concentrated heat in one location to get enough of the unlit coals started up. That's just a theory, mind you, since I don't use my WSM w/o technology gadgetry anymore
icon_smile.gif


Did you stir the goals at any point to dislodge ash build up? Do this very gently so you don't stir up too much ash. I use a stainless steel rod (piece of scrap) as my stirrir. Generally, I just slide it in the vent holes to dig a small "tunnel" through the coal bed. This means I don't have to open the access door. Just a thought.

Great website too!
 
I'm no expert, but I don't think the Minion method is necessary when doing rubs. I believe it is designed for longer cooks. And I promise you, if you leave the ribs on the wsm in foil long enough, the meat will fall off the bones.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys. I think that <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> you may not have enough concentrated heat in one location to get enough of the unlit coals started up <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> pretty much hits the nail on the head on that point. I did stir the coals (see log) and one time it definitely helped the temp, but perhaps not enough to light all the coals.

So I guess I didn't leave the ribs in foil long enough then, huh? I figured that with the racks being on the small side (1-1.5 lbs) that a couple of hours would do. Any suggestions as to how long I should aim for next time?

cheers
Sharpey
 
Rich,

Happy New Year to you and everyone here! Now, I just want to add that I have nothing but great success with a rib recipie and method posted on this board under the subject "Competition Ribs". I call it the 3 stage method - the post I found was by Chris G. -
Competition Ribs

I agree with the former posts that the Minion Method should not be necessary for a 5 1/2 hour smoke. As a matter of fact, I am just about to put a few slabs on right now using this method. I am using a wood mix of hickory, apple and (first time for this one) mulberry. I've used the hickory/apple combo and the flavor is great. I can only hope that the mulberry will add just a touch more (I used a smaller amount of that).

Anyway, good luck and just keep tryin' - a local butcher told me the best part about smokin' as a hobby is that you get to eat your mistakes either way and you learn something each time.

Steve
 
Richard
You doing a lot more adjusting of vents than I ever would, as long as the temps are between 225 to 250 I just let it run. Give it at least a half hour before making another adjustment.
When you foiled did you add any kind of liquid?
To get falling off the bone they just needed a little more time in the foil, don't worry about of long there in the foil, just are they at the texture your looking for.
Good looking cook.
Jim
PS use the method for every cook unless I'm doing a high temp cook.
 
Hi Jim -
Many thanks for the reply. I wondered whether anyone would pick up on my 'vent tinkering'!

Actually, since the WSM was a Christmas present, I guess I was just enjoying playing around on my first run. It was good to get a feel of how the WSM responded to the various changes I made. And I was amazed at how well it kept the temperature rock solid in general. Down the road, I'm sure getting up to look at the thermometer every 15 minutes will get old very quickly...

I did add liquid at the foiling stage, although it was only a few squirts of apple juice. This possibly was not enough? Am I meant to leave the ribs swimming in liquid in the foil?
 
I agree with Jim...more time in the foil would have given you the results you were looking for. They looked great by the way! I use the MM on all cooks except poultry!

Keep at it...the next time will e better and so on! Good Job Sharpey!
icon_smile.gif
 
Richard to get the ribs falling of the bone a little more liquid would help.

Here is something to think about, BBQ is about temp ranges. When fuels is added the temp will spike a little, that is ok don't chase the temps. Even on cookers like FE pellet cookers the temps range from 10 degrees below the set temp to 20 degrees over as fuel is added to firepot. On an offset the same thing happen when you add a log.
It's OK to just relax and let the cooker do it's thing, it's the nature of cooking with charcoal and wood.
Jim
 
Richard -- do not worry about the unconsumed charcoal. I just finished a 23 hour cook using the MM. (Boston butts must have thought they were on holiday, being New Year's Day. Danm sure took their time). Little wonder that you had fuel left over after just 1/4 of the time I got out of a full load.
 
Richard, your cooking temo should be between 200-250º. It sounds like your smoker was hot enough, and I wouldn't worry about trying to get it any hotter.

You should, however, try to measure the temp at the cooking grate instead of the lid. One simple and inexpensive way to do that is to used a digital thermometer (about $15 for a Taylor at Target). Stick the probe through a block of wood or something and put it on the grate, and run the cable under the lid. Simple, easy, cheap, and effective.

You cooked your ribs for 5 hours. They probably needed 6. A general guideline for the way you cooked yours is 3-2-1; 3 hrs naked, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour naked. You managed to cut an hour off of that.

The main thing I noticed in your picture was the meat had hardly shrunk off the bones at all. You should have half or 3/4 inch of bare bones showing, and the meat should come off the bones with just a little resistance.

Still, not bad for a first time. Good luck next time.
 
Thanks once again for all the advice.

I read Steve's post with interest re: Competition Ribs. Seems that that method only smokes the ribs for 5 hours total. Has anyone ever gone longer than this? If so, which stage did you extend (presumably the foiling stage if I'm aiming for more tender ribs?)

cheers
Sharpey
 
Sharpey, as I mentioned I did two slabs yesterday using the competition recipe. I pretty much stuck to the 5 hours (just over 5 with the final stage right over the coals) The ribs were good as usual, but I did think to myself I could have left them in the foil a little longer (maybe another 1/2 hour).

One slab was leftover from a large cryopack and had been frozen in an air-tight sealed package and I didn't get the "fallin' off the bone" status I got on the "fresh" slab I picked up at the local market. Thinking the extra 1/2 hour would have helped both slabs.

But dinner was still awfully good no matter how you slice it.

Steve
 
I think you're right, Steve - frozen prolly does make a difference. All the racks that I've been able to source this side of the pond have been frozen so far, so I think I'll factor in some extra 'foil time' for tomorrow's session.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> But dinner was still awfully good no matter how you slice it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ooooh yeah!!
icon_biggrin.gif


cheers
Sharpey
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Richard Sharpe:

I read Steve's post with interest re: Competition Ribs. Seems that that method only smokes the ribs for 5 hours total. Has anyone ever gone longer than this?
Sharpey <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use Kevin Taylor's method for cooking ribs. It takes 6 hours total because it takes a while to get up to temperature when using the Minion Method. You can find Kevin's method in this thread (3 posts down from the top).
 
Keep in mind that these "5 hour" or "6 hour" rules of thumb are always approximate. Diffierent slabs will cook differently, which is why it's always a good idea to try to find as many "like" slabs (same weight / meatyness) as possible when doing ribs. I usually do pork back ribs, and some smaller slabs were done to my idea of perfection in 3.5 hours, and others took the full 6.

If you have not done so, I highly reccomend testing your thermometer for accuracy to be sure you were actually in the temp range you think you are. There is a topic here on the site about that in the tips and mods section.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top