Thoughts on First Cook


 
S

Sam Chambers

New member
I got my 18.5" WSM, and after Weber sent the correct straps (the ones in the box were for a 22"), I fired it up for the first time on July 4.

I decided to do some spare ribs, St. Louis cut, using a hybrid of the 3-2-1 method and Johnny Trigg's recipe, with McCormick's Pork Rub (since I already had some).

I used a full ring of regular Kingsford and the Minion Method, with 20 lit coals. Added a couple chunks of hickory and apple for smoke. monitored temps with the Weber thermometer and my Maverick ET732. (I tested the Weber using boiling water, and found it appears to run 5-8 degrees under actual.)

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>I was surprised how long it took for the WSM to get up to temp. Maybe that's normal with the Minion Method?

<LI>Temps went up and down until I got it dialed in. It's so nice to be able to adjust the temp, which was near impossible from my previous smoker - an El Cheapo Brinkmann.

<LI>Smoked for 3 hours on top rack, with no peeking (Mistake #1). Temps were between 250-275, but stabilized closer to the top of that range. (Mistake #2)

<LI>When I took them off to foil, it looked like they were already done. Foiled with squeeze Parkay, brown sugar, Tiger sauce, and a little more rub.

<LI>Back on the smoker for almost 2 hours in the foil. Temps were around 275 the whole time.

<LI>Out of the foil, then back on the smoker. They were obviously done, so I basted with sauce and left 'em on for 15 minutes.
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They tasted very good, but were way overdone. I'm thinking that the combination of too high a temp and too long in the smoker were the culprits.

Any thoughts? What would you suggest changing next time?
 
Sounds like you did a LOT more right than many do on a first cook with a WSM, but yes, you almost certainly left them on too long.

I don't think it was necessarily a mistake to let them go the first 3 hours without peeking. Three hours is the first time I raise the lid when I do ribs at 225-235F.

The biggest problem was the 2 hours foiled at 250-275. I typically do mine at around 225-235, and 1 hour foiled is almost too long. I KNOW it's called the 3-2-1 method, but most folks I've heard from only foil for around 1 hour.

After that, it sounds like you recovered well and got them off as fast as you could.

At those temperatures, you might check them at around 2.5 hours. If the color looks about right, next I would only foil them for around 45 minutes to an hour. After they're out of the foil, just keep an eye on them until they're done (probably in the 30-45 minute range. I watch for the meat to pull back from the bones a bit and use the toothpick/probe test as my check for tenderness).

You have obviously done this before and did a good job for your first cook on a new WSM. It won't take many more attempts for you to get a feel for timing at your preferred temperature range.
 
Some guys/gals may disagree with me, but I think the first few rib cooks new barbecuetionists do should be done without foil so that they can kind of get an idea of how they cook without any "help" from the foil.
 
This is almost the same comment as I just made in another post but I agree with Tom and Mark. Before this site my ribs were good...now they are well beyond good. The advice I got as a newbie here...cook at 230 for 4-4 1/2 hours with a water pan, no foil. I did mine Meathead Memphis style(dry rub) and they were amazing! Like Tom says get to know what you can do without foil. I may try foil, I may not because I really liked what I cooked and so did the family. We don't eat ribs that often.
 
When you say way over done, are you basing that on the coloor, falling of the bone, or way past that and dry.
 
All of the above, Jeff. They were very dark color, almost like a Boston Butt smoked for 12 hours. Not that nice mahogany color I was looking for. The slabs fell apart when I took them off to put them in the foil. They were very dry before foiling, but better after.

So, they were overcooked any way you look at it.
 
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