Wood Help

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Hello all. It has been a while since my last post and I hope that everyone is making some great Q.
I have been doing ribs for a couple of years. I just got my WSM last Christmas, and have made some excellent ribs. The problem is that I am not getting enough of a smokey flavor to them. I will detail my method.
First I trim my ribs. Then I wash them in apple cider vinegar. Then I rub them and let them sit overnight. I take them out an hour or so before I cook. I light a full chimney of kingsford and wait until it is white and ashed over. I add this to the charcoal ring, and then pour more coals over them. This is where I add my wood. Usually three of four pieces of apple, of hickory, or mesquite. When the remainder of the coals are white, I add my ribs. Is this the correct method? I am going to switch to the Minion method, but when do I add the wood? Any help would be appreciated.
 
I believe you want to put your meat(s) on, then the smoke wood. Are they chucks or chips, wet or dry? I think most use chunks, as they will smoke over a longer time period, though in a thread earlier, there was some very interesting info on how meat takes up smoke - basically stopping beyond 140*. Hope that helps and I'm sure there will be others.

BeerBoy
 
'Afternoon Derek:
As you suggested, switching to the Minion Method will most definitely help and as David has said, the chronology of events dictate placing the meat on the grill prior to adding your wood chunks (assuming the coals are ready!) In the past and before I became a Minion convert, I basically followed the same procedures you've described but waiting for an additional hour + for all the coals to turn gray before adding wood chunks and meat. While I ultimately got a decent product, the cost of smoking food became prohibitive since there is a direct correlation between one's beer supply and the amount of time required to smoke! Let's just say that my wife (the budget keeper) greatly encouraged me to make the above changes or find another hobby! They work?..I'm still enjoying my ration of beer and smoking on my WSM!
?.John
 
Thanks guys,
I'll definitely be switching to the minion method. I believe that I read somewhere that if my WSM is running correctly that there should be no smoke coming out of it. That is why I waited to put my ribs on. I use lump wood, but am trying to avoid an overpowering smoke taste. I got this with my first cook on my WSM and have been gunshy ever since.

John,
I need to develope a problem like yours. My general problem is that my little boy is watching everything that I do. So It usually ends up being a two beer smoke session. Last time I did ribs, my buddy brought over a few Macanudos. We each enjoyed a fine cigar and a few beers while the ribs were cooking. Well now, my three year old walks around the house using his Lincoln logs as a cigar! My wife just rolls her eyes at me!

[This message has been edited by Derek (edited 08-08-2001).]
 
I pour lit coals over the top of the charcoal in firering and place the wood on.
I also place the meat on at this time straight from the frig. I use fruitwoods most of the time because thats what is the easiest to get. By placing the wood on right away and the meat from the frig I get more smokering. While cooking in competition I'm competing against offsets (smokering is much easier to produce) and smokering will help with the score.
Jim
 
Jim,
When I want to get smoke (ring and flavor) to rival my offset, I put down a layer of charcoal, then a layer of wood chips, Another layer of charcoal, then chips etc.
I use about 3/4 of a bag of chips then use the Minion method, (I wonder why they call it that). Excellent smoke ring and flavor.
db
 
Switch to the Minion method. Your smoke wood is seperated from the heat source by the unlit charcoal. By the time it gets hot enough to smoke, you're probaly past the temperature where the meat "takes" the most smoke.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll let you know how it turns out for me. Happy Qing!
 
Kind of a late reply, but here goes: I use a modified Minion Method, with the lit coals placed in a pile on one side of the charcoal pan and the unlit ones surrounding them. Then I add small chunks of wood to the burning coals, and place a few more around over the unlit ones. This way, as the fire progresses through the charcoal, it encounters small wood chunks as it goes, so there is always a little bit of wood burning along with the charcoal.
 
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