Riblets

[smokinpooh]

Im fairly new to smoking, til now I mostly grilled. I was able to get my hands on some Farmland Pork Riblets and would like to know the best way to prepare them...temp, time, wrapped/unwrapped, liquid/no liquid, etc? Im using an Outdoor Gourmet Triton grill with offset firebox. Its pretty thin metal, made in China so it loses heat fairly easy. I put a gasket on both lids, chamber and firebox to keep as much of the heat and smoke from escaping as possible. I also extended the exhaust vent down as close to the grate as possible and made a makeshift baffle to even out the heat in the chamber the best I could. Im planning on using charcoal and apple wood chunks as the fuel source. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Smokinpooh , hello . Haven't had the pleasure , Stan here ...

Ribs are 'fairly ' east to do if you follow some tips . Yours are Riblets so you'll have to keep an eye on the (IMT) temp. (above 165*F or as done as you want , I like mine around 185*F ) or toothpick tender (can't do the bend test with these). I cook @ 225*F average . and "GUESTIMATE" time to doneness ,appox. 6 hrs. for Spares and 5 for BB's . I don't wrap and cook no foil until done then wrap and towel.

Sounds like you are set with the Mods . you did , watch your temps. and use the time as ONLY a judgement .

Have fun and . . .

 

[smokinpooh]

Thank you for the tips oldschoolbbq. I built a charcoal basket for the firebox, approx. 12x8x11h, should I fill that thing all the way up or just about half?

 

[padronman]

Thank you for the tips oldschoolbbq. I built a charcoal basket for the firebox, approx. 12x8x11h, should I fill that thing all the way up or just about half?

Depends on the heat generated by the fire box.  Im an Electric user so I don't know how much Charcoal gets you to 250F (or whatever temp you wanna use). 

Post a pic of the riblets.......those should take less time than say babybacks and or spares.   You may only have a 2 to 3 hour smoke so 1/2 a chamber may be enough.

Scott

 

[ibbones]

I'm about to throw some riblets in the smoker and am hoping it does not take longer than two hours.  These things (or at least the one's I have) are paper thin and mostly flat bone.  Not much meat but they sure are good to eat.

How did yours finish out?

 

[smokinpooh]

Thanks for the tip guys. ibbones-mine wont be at the distributor until Monday so Im shooting for Tuesday to fire these bad boys off? How di yours turn out? I think I got my plan down. Im going to do two 5lb batches. Im going to use the McCormick Grill Mates Sweet & Smokey Rub and Cowboy Rub. Should I marinate or brine these?

 

[chef willie]

Will be liking to see some pics....riblets are starting to hit the shelves around here as well and I understand some Chinese restaurants are starting to use them as stand-ins for their ribs, especially on buffet style setups to cut costs.....Willie

 

[smokinpooh]

Will post pics of the entire process and end result. Theyre not on the shelves in Oklahoma. Ive looked everywhere. Finally went straight to a distributor and bought the directly from him.

 

[ibbones]

Thanks for the tip guys. ibbones-mine wont be at the distributor until Monday so Im shooting for Tuesday to fire these bad boys off? How di yours turn out?

They were really good.  But when cooking something that's as thick as a nickel, it does not take long.  Overcooking is easy (yep, guess what I did).  Some were sort of thick and some were really thin so there were some tough spots.

Good luck on yours.