Your no. 1 pork rib suggestion?


 
J

Jill D (SmokeyJill)

New member
I am bravely (stupidly) feeding 9 guests smoked ribs this weekend. Got 3 nice racks, apple and cherry smoking chunks, and I think I've got temp control down. It's my first time with ribs-and second cook with the WSM.

Please: your best tips/or mistakes not to make?

From rainy PDX... Thanks! SmokeyJill
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Having temp control down is good!

The best thing I can tell you is:

1) Find a good and proven recipe and process that has very detailed directions. I'm partial to BRITU for this, but you may have another one in mind.

2) Read and re-read the recipe and really make absolutely, positively sure you have a solid mental image of what every step of the way is going to look like and how the process will flow.

3) Make sure you have good quality, fresh ingredients the day before. Too often I've gotten ready to kick off something like this and found myself short on something.

4) Relax and have fun with your first rib cook. With a good process and everything ready to go, it should be a stress-free event with good results.

Take my advice with a grain of salt, of course. I work in computers, so I'm very process-oriented and that's how I handle just about everything. Still, you know what they say about proper planning!
 
Best Tips ...

1: Never cook something for the first time for guests.

2: 3 racks for 9 guests? Not big rib fans eh?
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I would actually suggest the simplistic approach.

Rub 'em, cook 'em @ 275°, till they pass the tear test.

The only thing you have to remember is to check them before they burn. 'bout 3.5 hrs is a good starting point.
 
Jill-

You didn't indicate whether you were planning to cook babyback or loin ribs. If you are cooking babybacks, then I agree with the above times. However if you are talking about St. Louis cut you need to tack on another two hours.
 
Jill, Welcome. I agree with all the before mentioned posts. My suggestion would be cook your ribs until you like the color. Delicious is in the eye first. If the ribs are "done" at that point you are set. If they need more time then I would suggest foiling. It will keep the color while continuing to cook. I like the probe test personally but the tear test and others are fine, just use what ever you are confident with.

Mark
 
I once was asked to rescue some ribs. Showed up and all they had was a gasser.

Prepped/trimmed them, rubbed, seared on the gasser, foiled with sauce and into the oven at 350. I told them to check them in a couple of hours. They called me that night; said they were the fall off the bone type and the best ribs they ever had.

In short, don't sweat it. Maybe cook for a couple of hours, foil if you like, and use a sweet sauce. Most people (not que folks) like their ribs on the sweet side.
 
Thank you SO much everyone

The big day is tomorrow. Status: dry rub done (ancho coffee). Sauce (sweet-I reduced a bottle of Goya malt soda for the base) done. Ribs: trimmed and membrane removed. I'm going to work off your timing advice... And if all else fails- there'll be some killer Dutch oven taters.

I will try to get some pix! I just love this site... Thx again!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">And if all else fails- there'll be some killer Dutch oven taters </div></BLOCKQUOTE>D.O. Taters are good! Heck, just eet those
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My best rib advice is this. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

I say this because most of the population prefers completely "fall off the bone" that can be hard to achieve by smoking alone. Don't get me wrong, you can make amazing ribs on the WSM but I have found to appease my wife I usually foil them for about an hour.

For back ribs I'm usually smoking for 2.5 hrs, foiling for 45-60 min and then finishing the last hour unfoiled (and sauced) for the last 45 min.
 
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