Jason M. Park
TVWBB Super Fan
I just got back form a camping/fishing trip where I brought with me my kettle for some slow cooking. (no, I still don't have the WSM) The ribs turned out as dry as dry can be, crispy, in fact.
The Plan... I brought with me a rack of beef ribs (6 bones, cryo-vac, somewhat trimmed, but still rather meaty) and 2 racks of baby backs (also cryo-vac, no solution added, somewhat smaller racks) I was planning on the beef ribs taking 6 hours, and adding the babybacks after one hour, giving them 5 hours. Also was going to add 4 freshly caught rainbow trout and 2 small russet potatoes after 3 hours.
The Cook... I was able to keep the fire right at the proper temps all day, 225-250. Weather was hot, about 90 degrees, but somewhat breezy, the cooker was in partial shade all day.
The Results... were awuful. All the ribs were nearly devoid of moisture, 100% crispy in some places. The trout were good as were the baked potatoes, but the ribs were ruined. I have done 5 hour baby backs several times with perfect results, what went wrong?
So far, I am thinking either my thermometer went wacko on me, OR the altitude of where we were camping, which was about 3800'. Perhaps a combination of both? Anyone who has experience with smoking and camping, please help! I want to make this failure a "learning experience..."
The Plan... I brought with me a rack of beef ribs (6 bones, cryo-vac, somewhat trimmed, but still rather meaty) and 2 racks of baby backs (also cryo-vac, no solution added, somewhat smaller racks) I was planning on the beef ribs taking 6 hours, and adding the babybacks after one hour, giving them 5 hours. Also was going to add 4 freshly caught rainbow trout and 2 small russet potatoes after 3 hours.
The Cook... I was able to keep the fire right at the proper temps all day, 225-250. Weather was hot, about 90 degrees, but somewhat breezy, the cooker was in partial shade all day.
The Results... were awuful. All the ribs were nearly devoid of moisture, 100% crispy in some places. The trout were good as were the baked potatoes, but the ribs were ruined. I have done 5 hour baby backs several times with perfect results, what went wrong?
So far, I am thinking either my thermometer went wacko on me, OR the altitude of where we were camping, which was about 3800'. Perhaps a combination of both? Anyone who has experience with smoking and camping, please help! I want to make this failure a "learning experience..."