My ribs are tasting the same????


 
J

Joel Oliva

TVWBB Member
Ok I was finally successful with the pulled pork. Now I have a different problem. I've only made baby back ribs twice on my smoker and both used totally different recipes and I believe i used the same smoke chunks which was White Oak and cherry. Now when my family and I took a bite of the ribs I made a few days ago, we all were surprised it tasted exactly the same as the very first time I had made ribs. I believe it must be the smoke flavor over powering the rub and seasonings. The seasoning and rub I used this past weekend was waaaay different than the first time.

Has anyone ever ran into the same problem as I have? What good is the smoker if its making the same taste each time? I'm thinking of reverting to my Weber Gold OTG for ribs now. Any takes anyone?
 
Joel, I'll bite. In cooking, to me, consistency is usually a good thing. Unless of course it's consistently bad. Do your ribs taste like the pulled pork? Or do they taste like ribs? Proper application of spices are thought to enhance the flavor of the food, ribs, in this case. If you and your family like the ribs then....? If you want a different taste cook lamb, or beef, or rabbit or brisket. Or try cookin' your ribs with no smoke wood and see if you like it better. Just cause many use smoke wood doesn't mean you have too!

If you really find that you don't like the WSM, I am sure that we can find a deserving home for it!

Mark
 
As I don't recall ever having ribs taste the same way twice (I always make different rubs) I can only assume that your inclination is correct: the smoke is overpowering the rubs and the meat.

Use less wood (how much are you using?). Or, as mark suggests, try none at all.

The cooker doesn't really matter. Set-up can - and how the cooker cooks. But minor adjustments can change those dynamics.
 
I can recall using 3 fist size chunks. I think i'll try not to use wood next time and see how that taste. How do yours come out? The first time I used BRITU and didn't think much of it (might be the smoke). The second time I used Famous Daves Award winning famous Rib Rub. It tasted the same as my first one so I didn't think much of it either.

Such a rookie aren't I? The coolest thing about being a rookie is that I get to learn first hand from all the pros.
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Such a rookie aren't I?
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Joel,
Every one of us was a rookie when we started out! We learn from our experiences and the experiences that others post here. Later on, you will be advising other rookies. Just enjoy your "learnings".

Ray
 
Originally posted by Joel Oliva:
The first time I used BRITU and didn't think much of it (might be the smoke). The second time I used Famous Daves Award winning famous Rib Rub.
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I don't know the ingredient list for Famous Dave's Rub recipe but I wouldn't be surprised if it was very close to the BRITU recipe...
 
Joel, when I look at the ingredients list of most rubs and sauces, I find the same things being used. The proportions may differ or one may add this or that, but by and large they pretty much are all the same. When I was in Texas tasting their Brisket the predominate rub was salt and pepper, even I could make that.

Remember your'e not the rookie you once were, every time you do it you get further away from rookidom.

Mark
 
Rookidom...hahaha luv it!

I went to Famous Daves restaurant and tried his ribs and i fell in luv with it that I bought his book that had the recipe and his spices from his BBQ shop inside the restaurant and it ended up tasting like my first time making ribs on the WSM. His seemed more as if he cooked it on the grill over high heat towards the end of the cook and basted it with his BBQ sauce turning the ribs back and forth. I bought his DVD and he did smoke it on his OTG for sometime and then added a ton of coals and smothered the ribs with BBQ and kept turning the ribs back and forth under high heat. I gotta tellya...it had an awesome taste at his restaurant. I think I may just be using too much smoke chunks. I probably shouldn't use the chunks at all until I know my ribs well before adding any smoke to it. Would you guys agree? Even when I used to make ribs in the oven it had an awesome taste. I want to be able to make ribs in the smoker it being even more of an awesome taste than in the oven or on a OTG.
 
Joel, all other things being =, cooking indirect on a OTG and cooking on the WSM should produce about the same texture and moisture. I believe that using the WSM allows more smoke to fill a greater air space and hence the meat is exposed to smoke longer than the OTG. However this is just my theory and I have never been able to stick my head inside either cooker to substantiate this theory.

Finishing the ribs over hot coals can be done on either cooker.

I hope that you can duplicate famous Dave's taste if that is what you like. Keep workin at it.

Mark
 
I'm with Mark. Lots of rubs and sauces are quite similar. (Don't get me started on how bland and boring I find Texas barbecue to be.)

Me, I'm not a fan of saucing ribs while they cook. If you like that style then go for it. I do think 3 chunks is too much - it is for me, anyway. I use the equivalent of 1 chunk, but I cut into 5-6 pieces first. Try less wood.
 
I think sensitivity to smoke can differ among us. What might be too smoky for some may be just right or even not enough for others. I know that when I Que my wife and friends find my meat has a nice but not over-smoky taste whereas I barely taste the smoke at all. As said above, try with less or no wood and see what you think.
 
Joel,

First, where are you buying your ribs, and what type of ribs. Enhanced ribs could be the issue.

Having consistently good end results depend on doing and using consistent things. Find a good (quality, price & availability) ribs supplier and stick with that product.

Second, I do not care for many commercial rubs. Most use very high amounts of salt as a filler since it is cheaper than the other spices. I would suggest finding a simple homemade rub that you like and stick with it. You could buy 2 racks and cut them in half and try 4 different rubs you think you may like.

There are many rib rubs listed throughout this forum. You can also request someone provide you with a rub by listing what flavors your like.

I make my own rubs because I want to control what goes in, I never want to run out, and I want to keep my costs as low as possible. This habit is costly enough in meat & smokers, no need to have the wife inquiring more than needed. Also, if you make a rub and don’t care for it, you don’t feel so bad about throwing it out when it costs nothing compared to commercial rubs.

Third, work on the type and amount of wood you want to use. I would start with a lower amount of just 1 wood type. Start out with 1 fist size chunk and see how it goes. Not enough smoke, add ½ fist chunk for the next cook.

Only change 1 thing at a time though. As mentioned above, you can try many different rubs at once but in 1 cook, you can only go with 1 wood amount & combination. I would find the rub first, and then work on the wood choice.

As for the test cooks for rubs, I would use 1 fist chunk of your white oak.

Make sure to take notes and a log for each cook while you are learning. Several times I have pulled previous notes or logs and thought I did something and really it was something different. And make sure to not only write down what you did before and during the cook, but your opinions afterward. This will help you make the adjustments needed, make consistent product, and become a better cook.
 
Joel, I hope you won't decide to give up your WSM until you've given it at least a year and following Josh input (and the others). I was thinking the same after a few cooks on the WSM. I like cooking on my grill with wood chunks and it's a lot less work intensive. But after more and more cooks, I keep finding that the WSM does what my grill won't. Over time the work intensity goes down as you get experience. And the ribs I got out of my WSM recently were head and shoulders different that on my grill. (Granted my grill is gas -- that's why I've decided to keep both, I can do what I want when I want.)

I had good rib results with both natural and enhanced ribs. They were quite different and I used briquettes with one and lump with the other (2 - 3 half fist sized chunks with both). Both had my same rub, but the first was too heavy (a little salty) and the second was just sprinkled (excellent flavor but not terribly deep if you know what I mean). But I have 6 loin back rib racks waiting to be done and I can hardly wait -- these are probably my favorite smoker meat and with some experimenting I found the technique that I personally like. Just keep at it and best of luck.

Rich
 
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