First ribs

mdhunter · May 11, 2007, 09:43:41 PM

Hey everyone,
I am going to smoke my first spare ribs tomorrow. I already have them rubbed up. I am going to try two different kinds.....a dry memphis and a sloppy kansas city style. I was just looking for some advice on cooking and smoking times. How long should i plan for the biscuits to be producing smoke, and then how long do i keep cooking for? I am thinking of a 2/3hickory 1/3mesquite blend for the smoke. For the kansas city style i am gonna transfer to the grill for the sauce at the end. From what I hear you need to cook them for about 4-5 hours, then FTC for an hour......the only question I have is how long to have the smoke rolling :).
Thanks.

mdhunter · May 11, 2007, 10:04:40 PM

Another question I have is about the "mop sauce". All I have at home is some apple vinegar. Will this work ok, or do I need to get apple juice?

LilSmoker · May 12, 2007, 01:09:23 AM

Hi mdhunter, there are many of us on here that are searching for the perfect rib ;D i personaly think i have come close a few times, but always room for improvement ;)

When i first joined here i got some great advice from icerat4, and iceman regarding ribs, so i stick to those guide lines and the results are fantastic!

Here's how i do mine:

Place hot water in the BS water bowl, preheat to about 225-250f depending on ammount of ribs, i aim for a cooking temp of 200f, so the temp will drop when the ribs are added.

Ok, put the ribs into the BS, close the door and load your bisquettes, i use 3-4 hours of smoke depending on wood type. At this stage if you have "Bubba pucks" add 3, or 2 + 1 wood puck.

Make a note of the time, and try and get the cook temp at a steady 200f, it will probably take a while to climb, but no problem you can always have a beer or two! ;)

At the 3 hour mark i usually spray the ribs with a mixture of apple juice and honey, and rotate the racks top to bottom, back to front etc, try and do this quickly as the cabinet temp will drop considerably.

At the 4 hour mark, refresh the water bowl with hot water, rotate racks, and spray the ribs again with more juice. I now leave the ribs for about another 2 hours without disturbing them, mine are usually done or almost done after 6 hours, you could add some bbq sauce for the last hour.

Anyway after 6 hours in the BS, if the ribs are not tender enough for you, you can put them into a foil pan, juice them, cover with foil and put them in the oven at 190f for whatever time it takes to get right for your taste, 1-4 hours, they should then be very very tender

. Usually after 6 hours in the BS the ribs are more or less done anyway.

At my place some like the ribs dry, and some like them sticky with sauce, so i do them all dry, and add sauce to half of them after they come out of the BS. ;)

Always remove the membrane from the ribs, this will make a world of difference, as for the juicing, you really need to use apple juice, even pinapple juice, but not vinegar imo ;)

Here's some sticky ribs i did a while back:

They were awesome!, even the bones tasted great!:

Anyway hope this helps, if you get stuck just shout, always help on hand here ;)

.......LilSmoker

icerat4 · May 12, 2007, 05:01:52 AM

Lil smoker you truley got it. seeing white bones is a nice sight indeed ;D ;D

Oldman · May 17, 2007, 08:03:00 AM

A well detailed answer in deed!

Badger · May 28, 2007, 09:20:46 AM

Hey gang I'm new to the whole smoker experience having just recently bought my smoker, to date I have only tried the chicken wrapped in bacon deal and it worked out quite well. However I am anxious to try some ribs and have a few questions about the post on this.

1.) What are Bubba pucks solid pieces of wood?

2.) Are the ribs prone to falling apart when you transfer to FTC?

3.) I saw some recipes for sauces, do you use those combined with a rub?

4.) What is the best type of ribs for smoking or does it matter much, preparation seems to be the key here.

Looking forward to your replys.

Thanks

Badger

Wildcat · May 28, 2007, 11:33:47 AM

Welcome to the forum Badger! 1. Aluminum pucks sold by Chez Bubba. Saves you from wasting the last two wood pucks. 2. Not likely. It is possible after FTC. See some of Icerat4's posts regarding ribs. His method works. 3. I normally salt, pepper, garlic, then smoke, then FTC, then use Iceman's sauce and partially dry the sauce on charcoal grill. 4. Not sure, I have not smoked beef ribs yet.

I recommend useing apple wood, spray with apple juice periodically during the smoke and roate racks front to back and top to bottom for even cooking.

Let us know how you do.

Habanero Smoker · May 28, 2007, 01:59:34 PM

The only thing I can add is that I prefer spare ribs over baby backs. They have a lot more meat on the bone.

BurntFork Ken · May 28, 2007, 03:42:29 PM

We did 1 rack of loin backs (baby backs) last night. 3 Hours of smoke, followed by 1 hour in foil in the Bradley using it strictly as a heat source - floating about 225 the whole way. Goosed the water pan once. Sauced inside the foil and turned out great!

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Cheers
Ken

coyote · May 28, 2007, 09:31:03 PM

LilSmoker...Very impressive.Solid information that is easy to understand will put more folks into the game
quiker than anything ( besides the love of full flavored food of course) and that's what makes this place
so cooooool. 8)

Keep it Goin'

Coyote

LilSmoker · May 29, 2007, 09:22:41 AM

Thanks coyote, i think all of us like a thorough "how to" when we're looking to try something new ;)

Your post about being easy to understand reminded me of a funny story involving one of my brothers in the U.S. a few years back. Both my brother and i really love your great country, and always enjoy every minute of our time spent there, but my brother has been over a lot more than me.

Well on his last trip he decided to hire a Harley for a few days, he's a real bike freak!. Anyway he was going along this road a little too fast and heard a siren, well he looks behind and sees a traffic cop on a motorcycle, the cop tells him to pull over.
The cop asks my brother if he can read?, my brothers says yes, so the cop says ah you're english, and after bit of finger wagging and chin scratching, the cop decides to let my brother off with a warning ;D

The next day my brother is out on the Harley, really taking in all the atmosphere etc, when all of a sudden he gets carried away, he really nails the Harley and gets so carried away that he can barely hear the siren of a fast approching traffic cop.
Eventually he hears the siren and pulls over, he thinks maybe this cop will take it easy on an englishman on vacation, just like the cop yesterday? ::)

As the cop approches, my brother is horrified to see it is the same cop as yesterday! :o

My brothers trys on the charm etc, but the cop shakes his head, and says to him "you know the trouble with you English guys?" my brother says "no what?".........the cop says..."you don't understand English!" ;D and then he slaps a ticket in my brothers hand! ;D ;D ;D

True story, always make me chuckle ;)

Wildcat · May 29, 2007, 05:03:55 PM

At least the cop had a sense of humor. :D

coyote · May 29, 2007, 10:17:10 PM

Great story Lil's ;D Mabey one day I'll get to visit your Country. 8)

pyrodonkey · June 08, 2007, 06:31:31 AM

I have questions about removing the membrane. How do you do it? Are you talking about the thin sheath on the non-meat side of the ribs? Last time I did ribs, I tried to remove this but found it next to impossible. Any tips? Thanks

icerat4 · June 08, 2007, 06:45:41 AM

Use a knife and turn rib over where ya see the bone.Then dig the knife just under the skin and pull up.Use a napkin or dry towel to help pull it off .Its slippery.