First Attempt at Ribs

Started my first Smoking experience yesterday and I decided that I needed to log my smoking endeavors. Normally, I would have done this in a spiral bound notebook but unfortunately I can not find a spare. So obviously the next step is to create a blog.

I purchased my first Smoker yesterday settling on the Brinkmann. Eventually I will buy the full size Weber Smoky Mountain, but since I have never smoked before I decided a 60 dollar investment would be better.

I started out yesterday using BBQ Galore Mesquite Charcoal calibrating the grill till it was 225 F. This was my first mistake. Even though the Smoker was at ideal smoking temperature by the time I added the water pan which was only luke warm (going to boil the water next time) and the cold meat (NEED TO DO ROOM TEMP) by the time I added the meat it dropped the temperature of the smoker to 180.

This is where I made my second mistake I added unlit coals to the the fire. I have had issues in the past getting these coals to lite and I should have known that they would take forever to light. Eventually I got smart and I started pre lighting the coals in the chimney smoker. We finally got the temp up to 225 and was able to keep it there.

We had to stir the coals a few times and had to add pre lit coals 2 more times. We also added 1 additional piece of apple wood. So we were able to get things really cooking around 1:30 and we pulled the ribs off at 6.

The ribs were done but would have done better to cook them for one more hour. The ribs were not quite pull off the bone. The cut nicely and did pull of the bone with a little bit more work. So I think 1 more hour would have been key.

So a little bit of back ground info: Bought the Saint Louis Spare ribs from Frys, they are a little too fatty for my taste. Next time I am going to try one of the local butchers to see if the ribs are a little better, used Mesquite Lump Charcoal, I am going to switch to Kingsford briquets. I know that they will be a lot easier to work with. I used apple wood, I would have preferred to measure it but unfortunately I did not have a scale so I had to wing it. I chose 2 fist size chunks and guessed that they were around 4 oz a piece. My husband with out asking me added an additional piece 2 hours in. Luckily it did not overpower the meat.

We kept the smoker between 180 to 225, with the last 4 hours being mostly 215.

Now for flavoring, it is pretty simple to say that I cheated. I bought Famous Daves Rib rub. I will be making my own rub in the future because that is the only way that I can modify the rub to fit my taste. But I will say that Famous Daves Rib Rub is really good.

So over all I have been really happy with how they turned out. I know the modifications I am going to make next time and I am really starting to enjoy the hobby.

So my plans for this week. Start curing some bacon on Wednesday and do a pork butt on Friday. Since I have to work on Friday I am going to utilize my husband since he does not have school or work that day.