First Smoker & First Time Smoking Ribs

[SoCalBill]

I got my Bradley on Friday and jumped right in Saturday morning with seasoning the smoker. I figured I'd try ribs first following 10.5's post on the 3-2-1 method

I took pictures through the whole process for other newbies to see from a fellow newbie and for the more seasoned veterans of smoking to give any tips/feedback.

Here is the BDS all shiny and new.



Here are the spare rib racks I have coming up to room temp. They had been in the fridge for about 18 hours with the "Memphis Rub" from the BBQ Bible. I cut the racks in half to make it easier to fit



At this point I have seasoned the smoker following the instructions that came with it. I use the "Special Blend" for the seasoning. I loaded up the smoking unit with 4 hours of hickory +2 additional pucks.


3 hours later....


Foiled the ribs and added a little apple juice. and put them back in for 2 more hours with no smoke


Here they are unwrapped and ready for the last hour. I turned on the smoke for the final hour. I like a dry rib, but I did sauce one of the four piece to try out as seen on the lower left


Here they are after the last hour of



The wife made cheese grits to go with the meal.  :o


Thank for looking!

I think next time I will use baby back ribs as the wife doesn't like the cartilage the spare ribs have.

[classicrockgriller]

You Did a great job!

Thanks for the pics.

Spares are the best to me.

[SoCalBill]

You Did a great job!

Thanks for the pics.

Spares are the best to me.

Thanks. The ribs were really tender and juicy, but weren't quite "fall off the bone" as when I pulled them it didn't always come out clean. They still had great flavor. I am happy with my first time. I need to experiment with different rubs.

[SoCalBill]

Also I had a few ribs left I wrapped up in foil and put in the fridge. What's the best way to go about reheating them?

[Habanero Smoker]

Your ribs look good. I don't like fall off the bone either, but yours seem like the could have gone a little longer.

I prefer spareribs, and if you wife doesn't like the cartilage get your ribs cut St. Louis style; or if you purchase untrimmed spareribs this link Sparerib Preparation has both a pictorial and video demonstration.

When I trim the spareribs to St. Louis style I place all the trimming on a separate rack and use the cooked trimmings for stir fried, chili, casseroles, ABT's etc; after removing any bone and cartilage.

[Tenpoint5]

The ribs look really good! I tend to do more spares myself.

[ghost9mm]

A really great job on the ribs and like others have said, the pictures are greatly appreciated...

[SoCalBill]

Your ribs look good. I don't like fall off the bone either, but yours seem like the could have gone a little longer.

I prefer spareribs, and if you wife doesn't like the cartilage get your ribs cut St. Louis style; or if you purchase untrimmed spareribs this link Sparerib Preparation has both a pictorial and video demonstration.

When I trim the spareribs to St. Louis style I place all the trimming on a separate rack and use the cooked trimmings for stir fried, chili, casseroles, ABT's etc; after removing any bone and cartilage.

How much longer would you recommend? An additional hour foiled?

[Caribou]

Great job Bill! :)
Carolyn

[muebe]

The ribs look really good. As habs said they maybe could have gone a little longer. You can see the meat started to pull away at the ends so maybe another 30 minutes would have made a good finish(those look like really thick cuts!). You want the meat to pull a little bit further away from the bones on the ends. But the main thing is that you enjoyed them and it appears you did ;D

If you go with baby backs next you will find that 3-1-1 will work better because baby backs are smaller cuts. I really like the St.Louis style myself ;)

[SoCalBill]

The ribs look really good. As habs said they maybe could have gone a little longer. You can see the meat started to pull away at the ends so maybe another 30 minutes would have made a good finish(those look like really thick cuts!). You want the meat to pull a little bit further away from the bones on the ends. But the main thing is that you enjoyed them and it appears you did ;D

If you go with baby backs next you will find that 3-1-1 will work better because baby backs are smaller cuts. I really like the St.Louis style myself ;)

The ribs were really thick. They were some vacuumed packed cuts from Vons. I was willing to let it go longer, but the wife was getting pretty hungry haha.

I'll try baby back next time as they had some good looking cuts at Costco. I like St. Louis style myself as well.

[beefmann]

great job

[mikecorn.1]

Looking  :o good. Those grits also look delish. You got a recipe to share.  ;D

[SoCalBill]

Looking  :o good. Those grits also look delish. You got a recipe to share.  ;D

Here is the grit recipe. They are Paula Deens Cheese Grits

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup grits, old fashioned
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground red pepper (I like to use red pepper flakes instead)

Directions:
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
1. In a medium saucepan, combine broth and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Slowly stir in grits; reduce heat to low, and cook until grits are tender, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, butter, and pepper.

[La Quinta]

Nice looking ribs...well done...thanks for the grits recipe...I have eaten some crappy grits (nothing worse)...I'm gonna try those...they look nice and creamy....

Where you at in SoCal? Bill....