Brad Olson
TVWBB Diamond Member
Yesterday (Sunday) I did ribs (single slab of loin backs) for the first time on my WSM. I went with a simple rub (1 tbsp. each of salt, pepper, and paprika, a little dried minced garlic and 1 tsp. brown sugar) and a yellow mustard slather. Royal Oak briquettes with 3 big hickory chunks and 2 smaller apple chunks. For most of the cook my 6" through-the-vent thermometer showed 250-265 and I used water in the stock pan. After 2 hours I sprayed every 30 minutes with a 1:1 mix of cider and cider vinegar, and it took a little over 4 hours total for them to be done; while the meat never really pulled back from the bones the rack was done according to the droop test, and as the bark was really developed I called them done. I used the top rack and left the bottom rack out since it was just the 2 of us.
I have a bad habit of rubbing my ribs as heavily as I rub my butts and this has gotten me a number of "they're too salty" comments in the past. This time I went much lighter and it made a huge difference for the better, although this time I heard "they're too peppery". I can see halving the pepper amount next time as they did have a bit of a bite. The bark was chewy but the meat (Farmland All Natural pork) was tender and juicy, and the smoke ring went almost all the way through. Definitely a good outcome this time.
Brad
I have a bad habit of rubbing my ribs as heavily as I rub my butts and this has gotten me a number of "they're too salty" comments in the past. This time I went much lighter and it made a huge difference for the better, although this time I heard "they're too peppery". I can see halving the pepper amount next time as they did have a bit of a bite. The bark was chewy but the meat (Farmland All Natural pork) was tender and juicy, and the smoke ring went almost all the way through. Definitely a good outcome this time.
Brad
