Ribs - Questions from the latest smoke


 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Depends on the lump and oxygen availability.

I Minion all cooks, even high heat ones. I use briquettes for the lit regardless of what's in the ring. For high heat cooks I start with 22-25 briquettes; for low/slows about 12 - or less. Unless I'm cooking at a high elevation or in cold weather I do not use more.

Starting with a lot of lit defeats the mains purposes of a Minion start - a slow, controlled igniting of the unlit effecting a slow temp rise, and less fuel use.

If your temps are hotter than planned - or cooler - you need to adjust your timing. Fixating on some specific notion of cook time has left many a cook disappointed. If you focus on the meat and not the time you can get great results every cook.

If you really need to lower temps choke the draft. Then wait for the effect. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin,

If I'm just doing 3 racks of ribs high heat, how much charcoal in the ring should I need?
 
I like to go with enough to not worry about it, so a bit more than half a ring. Whatever is left gets extinguished when I close up the cooker after the ribs are done and used for the next cook.
 
I have used 1/2 ring of charcoal for ribs for years and it works whether doing 3 or 5 racks in the 18" WSM. This allows me to cook at the traditional BRITU recipe of holding 225 for 3 hours and opening all vents to get temp up to 275 for up to 2 hours.

Looking at the original post in this thread, let me add a few things or reinforce some things others have said.

1. When using the Minion method, start with maybe 15-20 lit coals on top of the unlit. Leave all vents fully open. When temp in lid gets to 200, close the bottom vents and leave the top vent open. The cooker should rise to about 225 - 235. If the cooker continues to go hot, partially close the top vent to choke the fire. After 10 - 20 minutes, the temp should settle down and the top vent can be opened back up fully.

2. WSM's are sensitive to ambient temps and being in direct sunlight. If cooking in the summer in full sunlight, the cooker will use less charcoal, while in the winter, it will take more to maintain temps. So, when I cook butts in the summer on my back patio, I rarely have to open the bottom vents for most of the cook session.

3. For me, 3-2-1 method for ribs tends to overcook them, the 2 hours in foil is too much. It's been a while since I have used that method, but I think I use 2-1-1 and hold a steady 225 deg. Definitely, no more than 1 hour in foil for me. Keep experimenting and gaining experience to see what works best for you. The 3-2-1 method was developed by Stogie to hold a steady 225 deg during the entire 6 hour cook. If your cooking temp was a lot higher than that, then you would shorten your cooking time accordingly.

4. When I first started, I logged the data for a lot of cooking sessions to understand how my WSM operated. Probably recorded lid temps every 1/2 hour along with vent position. I would mount thermometers in lid and on cooking grate. My cooker typically reads 15 - 25 degrees hotter on the lid thermometer vs the one on the grate.

Good luck and have fun! You are cooking on the best valued cooker available.
 
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