first smoke - spare ribs

[chappy4o]

hey everyone newb here and i am embarking on my maiden smoke with my new rig. spare ribs

about the rig, i have a Brinkmann smoke n' pit that i have modded the stack, i extended my stack down to about 1-1/2 above grate level. i have the stock thermo but nothing at grate level (yet, waiting for them to come in but im cooking this weekend so no time to get em in). i have a "smart bbq" remote digital thermo and another stick thermo (digital). i will be using kingsford briquettes with wood chips for smoke.

so i am going to do a single rack of spare ribs and im looking for any pointers

1. chamber temp
2. chip flavor
3. burn method (minion etc.)
4. chip placement (smoke box, foil, direct, soaked, dry etc)
5. general idea of time it will take
6. finishing internal temp
7. anything i may have missed - pointers etc??

i plan on using jeffs naked rib rub and havent decided if i will need or want his sauce or not.

thanks everyone for any pointers or methods

Chappy

:unsure:

 

[schaydu]

Im not familiar with your particular smoker but i can help you on some of the topics

1. chamber temp-225-250
2. chip flavor. You can use what you want. I prefer pecan. Apple, cherry, hickory, mesquite, oak are some other suggestions
3. burn method (minion etc.)
4. chip placement (smoke box, foil, direct, soaked, dry etc)
5. general idea of time it will take. 6 hours if using the 3-2-1 method. 3 hours out of foil, 2 hours in foil, 1 hour out of foil. You can spray them after the first hour with some kind of spritzer
6. finishing internal temp. Dont really cooking to internal temp with ribs. Do the bend test. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/the-bend-test-for-ribs
7. anything i may have missed - The night before i soak mine in apple cider and and the juice of a couple of lemons. After abut 8 hours i rub them and let them rest for a couple of more hours. Put a little bit more rub on and into the smoker. Just have fun with it! Good luck!!!

 

[chappy4o]

Hey thanks a lot for the pointers ill let you know how it turns out.

Anyone else have any tips or anything not covered??

Thanks again

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[reents]

I soak my ribs in classic coke (original soda) and small bottle of Itilian dressing for 24 hrs than apply rub and let stand for couple hours than put mor rub on when i placed in smooker.

 

[chappy4o]

I soak my ribs in classic coke (original soda) and small bottle of Itilian dressing for 24 hrs than apply rub and let stand for couple hours than put mor rub on when i placed in smooker.

interesting, and do you notice a large difference by soaking in the soda/dressing vs. applying rub the night before

 

[chappy4o]

well got the ribs going we shall see how they turn out ill keep you posted along with Q-view

rubbed up with jeffs naked rib rub



and it begins

 

[chappy4o]

also i have found that our smoker is very tempermental and required quite a bit of attention to try to keep it at temp. by the time it gets to 230 the coals are going out and i have to add more . . . maybe should add charcoal before so they are lit and running by the time the others burn out . . . hmm anywhoo this thing is a fuel hungry pig probably because of all the leaks it has . . . oh well . . . we shall see

 

[chappy4o]

well for being a rookie and missing a few steps . . . they came out amazing . . . i have to say the big difference is jeffs rub . . . all i have to say is wow. . . . just . . . . .wow.

they didnt shrink like i have seen on here where there is a lot of bone showing but they seemed to be ok, cooked to an internal temp of 170 after spending about 6.5 hrs at an avg chamber of 190 (couldnt seem to get temps up very much more, few times made it to 230 but by then i had to open the fire box to add coals . . . oh well more experimentation i guess) also forgot to pull the bone side membrane . . . oops

with all that said i think next rack will hopefully be better (which is wild cause these tasted amazing)

Q-view

finished product




so what do y'all think for a first ever smoke????