As I said in the Roll Call yesterday, I planned to smoke 7 lbs (3 slabs) of baby back ribs from Costco. I am new at this and don't have a smoker, so I am working with a Weber Genesis Silver B propane grill. Let me say, heat management was tricky. I'll get to that in a second. Prepped the ribs in a pretty standard manner - here they are with some butt rub and paprika the night before.
The wood of choice today was Mesquite. I have read many people prefer Hickory or Pecan for pork, but Mesquite was all I could find at the 2 or 3 places I checked out. Luckily we did not find the taste to be too strong at all, but I will definitely be experimenting with other woods in the future.
Here is my setup with the grill:
The three foil pans I filled with boiling water. The foil packets at the bottom contain the mesquite chunks, of which there were four. I lit the front burner only and put it on low. Temperature was monitored with a probe thermometer not shown above. I aimed for 225F.
My ambient at the start was 93F, as we were in full sun. With the hood down, the temps would get up in the 240-250 range, so I'd prop the hood open a bit. When it was open, and the breezes came, the heat would go down to 200-210. So that was a struggle, finding a sweet spot. Once the grill got into some shade in the afternoon, it was easier to maintain a lower temp.
I was following a straightup 2-2-1 method. Here they are after 2 hours and about to go into foil.
I foiled each one with 2/3 cup of apple juice. Here they are after the foil:
They're back on for another hour. My wife suggested we retain the liquid from inside the foil packets for a glaze. We poured off all that had accumulated, and reduced the apple-juice / smoky pork juice on the stove inside until it was syrupy. I added a little salt, some honey, and apple cider vinegar.
I glazed periodically during the final hour and here is the final result, on and off the grill.
The results were delicious! As you can see, there's a nice smoke ring. The meat was tender, but not mushy or falling apart. The smoke flavor was prominent but not overpowering, and the seasoning was just about right, not too salty or spicy for anyone. There are a few things I will play with next time, but my wife and parents-in-law were impressed, given it was my first try.
So in conclusion, I want to thank everyone here for providing so much helpful information that I gleaned as a lurker in the last week or so, and for being so supportive and friendly once I did decide to post. I hope you all had a wonder 4th of July.
The wood of choice today was Mesquite. I have read many people prefer Hickory or Pecan for pork, but Mesquite was all I could find at the 2 or 3 places I checked out. Luckily we did not find the taste to be too strong at all, but I will definitely be experimenting with other woods in the future.
Here is my setup with the grill:
The three foil pans I filled with boiling water. The foil packets at the bottom contain the mesquite chunks, of which there were four. I lit the front burner only and put it on low. Temperature was monitored with a probe thermometer not shown above. I aimed for 225F.
My ambient at the start was 93F, as we were in full sun. With the hood down, the temps would get up in the 240-250 range, so I'd prop the hood open a bit. When it was open, and the breezes came, the heat would go down to 200-210. So that was a struggle, finding a sweet spot. Once the grill got into some shade in the afternoon, it was easier to maintain a lower temp.
I was following a straightup 2-2-1 method. Here they are after 2 hours and about to go into foil.
I foiled each one with 2/3 cup of apple juice. Here they are after the foil:
They're back on for another hour. My wife suggested we retain the liquid from inside the foil packets for a glaze. We poured off all that had accumulated, and reduced the apple-juice / smoky pork juice on the stove inside until it was syrupy. I added a little salt, some honey, and apple cider vinegar.
I glazed periodically during the final hour and here is the final result, on and off the grill.
The results were delicious! As you can see, there's a nice smoke ring. The meat was tender, but not mushy or falling apart. The smoke flavor was prominent but not overpowering, and the seasoning was just about right, not too salty or spicy for anyone. There are a few things I will play with next time, but my wife and parents-in-law were impressed, given it was my first try.
So in conclusion, I want to thank everyone here for providing so much helpful information that I gleaned as a lurker in the last week or so, and for being so supportive and friendly once I did decide to post. I hope you all had a wonder 4th of July.
