St. Louie Lesson in Wet/Dry

[Dave Russell]

Opposing forces are always at work. The Missus likes her St. Louis ribs dry, but my nephews want 'em glazed. Also, against my better judgement, I wanted to try cooking with a dry pan, trying a basting spray and then butcher paper to control the bark. So I spritzed every 20-25 minutes starting at the 1:45 mark, cooking at about 250* as usual until wrapping. AJ/oil was spritzed on the top rack ribs to be glazed, and a beer/olive oil/lemon J. basting spray with a tad of heinz 57 on the slabs on the bottom rack, to be left dry. All were wrapped in butcher paper at the 3 hr. mark, and then I raised the temp up to around 275*.

Dry ribs ready to be sliced

Glazed ribs almost ready, except for the stubborn rack closest to the camera

Well, the ribs turned out pretty good, but the cook did confirm some things. First of all, although I prefer foiling back ribs, my favorite way to smoke spares is still with water at about 250*, or vents mostly or wide open and cooking almost as fast as the water pan will allow in my cooker. (Generally, I can get 3lb St. Louies done in five hours.)

Also, we didn't notice any flavor added to the dry ribs from the beer basting spray. That was kind of a surprise, especially since I sprayed them when checking and before resting. No surprise that the butcher paper helped control the bark without steaming it, but it doesn't even out cooking like foil. And for that matter, compared to cooking dry, I think that water in the pan gets me a bit more consistent rack, end to end. Even though I raised the temp after wrapping, I'd venture to guess that these ribs would have all been done about half an hour earlier if I'd cooked as usual and left the dern dome and door on most of the cook. Still, they were good, and I somehow managed to keep all these thoughts to myself at the dinner table.

Thanks for checking out my cook.
Dave

 

[NeilH]

Dave these look good enough for breakfast right now. Nice looking cook and details.

 

[Bob Sample]

When I started smoking I read a lot and tried many different things but now I'm happy with the way my ribs and food come out so I stick to my method. The only new cooking technique I've added to my repertoire in the past 10 years is the HH method for brisket.

Your ribs look great.

 

[Frank H]

Still, they were good, and I somehow managed to keep all these thoughts to myself at the dinner table. Dave

I laughed out loud when I read that ...my wife always says " you know , you're the ONLY one who criticizes your BBQ"
That is a riot.... Good lookin ribs , brother.

 

[Dave Russell]

Dave these look good enough for breakfast right now. Nice looking cook and details.

Neil, I woke up 3-something and couldn't get back to sleep....but have you seen my older posts? They're quite lengthy, to say the least. Since posting pics, I'm trying my best to just stick to the most pertinent details. It's hard when you're a detail kind of guy!

 

[NeilH]

Neil, I woke up 3-something and couldn't get back to sleep....but have you seen my older posts? They're quite lengthy, to say the least. Since posting pics, I'm trying my best to just stick to the most pertinent details. It's hard when you're a detail kind of guy!

No complaints here. I need all the advice I can get. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dave Russell]

When I started smoking I read a lot and tried many different things but now I'm happy with the way my ribs and food come out so I stick to my method. The only new cooking technique I've added to my repertoire in the past 10 years is the HH method for brisket.

Your ribs look great.

Bob, the thing is, I still love learning and trying new things, even if it's going back and trying something I've done before on a different kind of cooker...with a twist, butcher paper in this case. And let me tell ya, butcher paper is fantastic for brisket..... but even BP-wrapping A. Franklin foils spares. On the wsm though, I guess spares are my last "water-in-the-pan" hold-out. Just too much trouble and inefficient to wrap 'em with anything if I can get 'em how I want 'em, old school Weber way with a steaming pan.

I much appreciate the kind words, especially coming from someone who's been at this as long or longer than I have.

Have a good 'un!
Dave

 

[Dave Russell]

I laughed out loud when I read that ...my wife always says " you know , you're the ONLY one who criticizes your BBQ"
That is a riot.... Good lookin ribs , brother.

Frank, I kind of figured someone could relate.

Thanks, man. Have a good weekend!
Dave

 

[Andy Beers]

They look great

 

[Bob Sample]

Dave I love trying new recipes and things and I'll try different techniques with different things but when it comes to my standards like ribs and pp I figure you shouldn't mess with perfection

 

[J Hoke]

We did a contest this weekend and I cooked the spares without water and I'm a water in the pan guy for spares. I thought they sucked, but we took 6th in ribs.
I did have one of the 3 slabs we cooked get way too dark and I don't think that would have happened with water. It was a tough contest for us Weber guys, wind was blowing 15-25.
My old wsm was amazing. My controller broke and it was old school for the 18. It chugged right along at 275 without any attention but the 22's, even with controllers were requiring constant attention not to mention the fuel consumption.
If I was as good as Harry, I'd figure out how to use all 18's, but there isn't any way with the size of the briskets we cook. Don't know how he does it. I do, he is really really good.
Going try the butcher paper wrap sometime on the ribs. Done briskets but not ribs. Sounds interesting.

 

[Gary S]

I've always enjoyed reading your posts Dave, always something in them of value. I was never as satisfied with my ribs as I am now after buying a WSM. I'm with you on the water pan 100% for ribs cooks.
I'm learning that cooking technique is as individual as the individual. There are some general principles and after that it's the end result to the people you're feeding that matters the most.

 

[Dave Russell]

We did a contest this weekend and I cooked the spares without water and I'm a water in the pan guy for spares. I thought they sucked, but we took 6th in ribs.
I did have one of the 3 slabs we cooked get way too dark and I don't think that would have happened with water. It was a tough contest for us Weber guys, wind was blowing 15-25.
My old wsm was amazing. My controller broke and it was old school for the 18. It chugged right along at 275 without any attention but the 22's, even with controllers were requiring constant attention not to mention the fuel consumption.
If I was as good as Harry, I'd figure out how to use all 18's, but there isn't any way with the size of the briskets we cook. Don't know how he does it. I do, he is really really good.
Going try the butcher paper wrap sometime on the ribs. Done briskets but not ribs. Sounds interesting.

J, thanks for posting about y'all's comp, and 6th in ribs means they must've been pretty good!

I've gotten some good St louies before cooking 225 and spritzing on my old UDS, foiled brinkman pan as a diverter. I've also had as many that came out dry, though, same method. But if I cook with water on the wsm, or cook dry and foil 'em, the results are quite consistent. Of course, water is just easier.

Thanks again!
Dave

 

[Dave Russell]

I've always enjoyed reading your posts Dave, always something in them of value. I was never as satisfied with my ribs as I am now after buying a WSM. I'm with you on the water pan 100% for ribs cooks.
I'm learning that cooking technique is as individual as the individual. There are some general principles and after that it's the end result to the people you're feeding that matters the most.

Amen, brother, and thanks.

Know what I'm thinking about doing? I'm wondering if after replacing the grill straps so that the pan would be lower...would it be possible to have a rib hanging set-up where the hooks hung from a frame, supported on the top grate tabs? In other words, the upper ends of the slabs would hang from a little higher than the top grate level. Just my mind wandering after seeing those overcooked slab ends...

Regards,
Dave

 

[Gary S]

Anything is possible, too bad we live so far away. There are a few different ways your idea could be developed. This is an example of getting up into the dome. There is a lot of room in the dome of the 22 as your know.

http://www.smoke-ez.com/ Notice the rack #2. It would not have to be configured exactly like you see but two of those racks, one at each grill level would acomplish what I think you are thinking.

You really don't have to replace the grill straps, just lengthen them.

 

[Dave Russell]

Something like the Smoke Ez top rack was exactly what I have in mind.

Years ago, I saw in a BBQ book how a famous pit master from the Memphis area, if not mistaken, was hanging his ribs in his smoker. And lately, I've seen a couple posts here and there about hanging them, and know that some guys are hanging ribs by the end in the UDS. We'll see.

 

[Gary S]

Yea the trick is to get the right diameter for the wsm and then the height of each unit. We both know there is a ton of height in the 22 compared to the 18.5.

 

[Dave Russell]

Yea the trick is to get the right diameter for the wsm and then the height of each unit. We both know there is a ton of height in the 22 compared to the 18.5.

I took a tape measure outside when we got back from the theater. I wouldn't want to drop the pan anymore than 2.5" or so, 3" tops. That's probably all it would take to not only give hanging room for the hooks and ribs, but also to be able to fit three racks of butts on with a little space between. I'm kind of surprised that Cajun Bandit or somebody isn't already selling replacement grill straps and this rib hook support rack I'm envisioning. Like you mentioned, basically very similar to the Smoke EZ rack, just the right dimensions. I bet if it was done right, you could hang at least sixteen slabs and have them cook quite evenly, no problem.

 

[Gary H. NJ]

I laughed out loud when I read that ...my wife always says " you know , you're the ONLY one who criticizes your BBQ"
That is a riot.... Good lookin ribs , brother.

It's true. I guess we're here at the forum because we don't just want BBQ, we want the best BBQ we can make. Thanks for sharing the experience Dave. As time goes on, I get simpler and simpler with my approach to Q. I never spritz, and I don't use water in the pan. I make my dry rubs with a little of this and a little of that and give it all a whirl in the spice grinder. My sauce is another matter...