First smoke

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jamesriverrifle

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 28, 2009
5
10
Help Friends, I'm smoking my first ribs tomorrow and I think I have everything ready to go, but for a couple of things. How often should I flip the ribs? I know I'm suppose to smoke low and slow; how can I tell when they're done? Thank you for your time to answer my questions. All take care and be safe.

Steve
Rhoadesville, Va
 
I don't flip my ribs. I smoke them with the bones pointing down.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey
 
jamesriverrifle
When the ribs are done you can tell by grabbing a rib bone (be careful, it will be hot or very warm), giving it a light twist and the bone should break away from the meat. If the bone is not breaking away the ribs are not done yet.
 
Smoke at 230 degree or lower for around 6 hours or until you have an internal temperature of 170. If you have not done so already, invest in a good thermometer. A probe type is good but a digital dual probe is better. One to monitor the smoker temp and the other to check the internal temp of the meat. If you have a good rub with sugar in it, stay under 230 the best you can as higher temps can turn your ribs black, and no likes eating charcoal
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Meat Hunter, I will have several racks of ribs in my smoker, do you rotate the racks from top to bottom, etc? I have a digital thermometer and I assume the probe goes in the thickest part but not touching bone, right? Thanks for your help

Steve
 
Yes, in the thickest part. As far as rotating, well I guess that depends on how much the temp varies. I would think that the smoker should hold a fairly even temp on all the racks. What type of smoker? How many slabs ya doing?
Doing what MossyMo said below works as well. If your feeding a group of people, and some ribs do get done before others, just take them, wrap them in foil, the some towels around them and put them in a cooler. They will hold their temp for quite some time.
 
Friends, it's early Sunday morning here in foggy/warm central Virginia and my ribs are now in my new Bradley digital smoker and I'm using apple as my smoke source. I have 3 racks of ribs in 3 trays and I hope the temp will be even around all 3. I just want to thank all you contributed with answers and I will let you know how they turn out.

Take care
Steve
Rhoadesville, Virginia
 
Looking forward to seeing some pics of your smoke. It's not necessary to use a thermometer on ribs as they usually aren't thick enough to get a proper reading. You can pick up a rack with your tongs in the center and the rack should bend almost double when they're done. Also check for pullback on the bones. They will be easier next time as you'll see how good the first one turn out. Experience instills confidence.
 
Smokin ribs on a early foggy Virginia morning. Man that just sounds like Heaven. Good luck on your rib smoke, I know they will come out great. Just keep yourself a good log of what you did and how you did it and the next time will be easier and easier. DON'T FORGET TO TAKE PICS OF THE RIBS WHEN THEY ARE DONE. We want to see.
 
Apple smoked ribs ... that makes my stomach growl! Hope to see some pics of those ribs before they're all gone. We enjoy pics!

What type of ribs are you smoking, baby backs or spares?
 
Good luck on the smoke. Wish I had time to fire up the smoker and do some ribs today. Put up some qview for everyone to enjoy!

Jason
 
Friends, I have my area of Virginia stunk up real good this AM. Apparently the foggy weather is keeping the smell down low and boy is that a good smell. Again, thanks all for your input and sharing your experience. I wish all of you were here to try these ribs this afternoon.
I don't have a digital camera for the requested pictures, but I will try to explain them when finished. Thanks again.

Steve
 
No digital camera!!!! Well we have to change that. Check ebay out for a good used one. Last year, our daughter lost (imagine that) my wifes one year old Sony cybershot. $600.00 camera. I found the identical one on ebay, used for under 100 bucks. Funny thing is, about a week after the one I bought arrived, the other one showed up
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Kids. Can't live with em, can't beat em.
 
What he said. ^^
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Ribs are kind of a look and feel kind of thing, not a temp thing. It is probably the only thing you will pull out of the smoker that you don't cook to temp. When they do what Bassman says, they will not be undercooked. You can use 3-2-1 as a guide for spare and 2-2-1 for baby backs. This will give you "fall off the bone" tender ribs which most people seem to love but some don't. I prefer a little "tug" to get them off the bone so I do a little less time in foil (the middle number).

Believe me, I know it's frustrating when you're first starting out and someone tells you it's a "look and feel" thing. I was in your shoes just a little over a year ago. But the great thing is the more you practice, the better you'll get . . . and the more ribs you'll get to eat.
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Oh yeah . . . no need to flip . . . and probably no need to rotate unless you are getting really wild temp differences in your smoker. A couple of digital thermos will tell you that.

Have fun and good eats.

Dave
 
Friends, Your input to my questions made my first rib smoke a hugh success. They were picture perfect, outstanding taste, and extremely tender. Actually, I never had ribs that good before. I had enough left over to vacuum pack and will have more later.

Va connoisseur I live in Orange County and to be fair I don't I would trade a rack of ribs for a camera. You may have to throw something else in.

Thanks again everyone.

Steve
 
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