Newbie question on ribs

[den7]

I used to smoke with charcoal, and always made great tender, moist ribs.  There was always a bowl of water directly above the heat, and I think that was the secret.

I like the original Bradley's ease of use, and have been experimenting with 3-2-1 methods, but I'm just not matching what I can get in the old charcoal smoker. 

Has anyone tried putting a pan of water on the bottom rack?  Not the bottom where the bisquit bowl is, but the smoking rack.  It seems to me that the heat is just too direct.  That will be my next experiment unless somebody can tell me why it won't help.

I have always smoked lower and slower(200 deg F) than what I see most people recommending on this site.  I thought that would help but maybe this smoker does better at 225?

Thanks for any help.

[Kahunas]

Hi,
Exactly what is it about the ribs do you not like?
What cut of ribs are you using?

[destrouk]

Hey mate nice to meet you I do ribs from 6 to 12 hours and they fall off the bone my trick is as follows

do the rub 24hrs before and wrap ribs put in fridge ( yeah I know we all do it but hey its step by step )
get smoker going to about 180/200 ( I go 180 )
fill the water bowl to its max for say 6 pucks to fall into after that empty ( helps keep it super moist )
Keep the smoke dampener closed ( helps with moisture also ) 
every 40 to 60 mins do a very heavy spritz with apple vinegar I mean so its drippin the acid helps breakdown the meat

Also and this is good one when doing pork don't just use apple wood also put apple juice in the water bowl

do your 1st batch for 5 hours take out wrap in foil for like 20 mins if you want I like to throw the sauce on them at this point so they suck it in ..This has never failed to impress anyone if u do them longer spritz 2 times an hour

[TedEbear]

Keep the smoke dampener closed ( helps with moisture also ) 
every 40 to 60 mins do a very heavy spritz with apple vinegar I mean so its drippin the acid helps breakdown the meat

I agree with most of your suggestions except for the two above.  Just about everyone on here says to never smoke with the vent closed. It builds up moisture and also that moisture and smoke will backflow into the SG box and lead to more problems.  For ribs I open the vent halfway.  Many longtime smoking gurus on here have removed the vent cover completely.

On the spritz every 40-60 minutes, they say "if you're lookin' you're not cookin' ".  You lose heat and smoke whenever the door is opened.  During ribs I only open mine to dump the spent pucks and change the water or when going from one stage to another in the 3-2-1.  I get pretty decent results in making them tender during stage 2 when I seal them in foil with 2/3 cup or so of apple juice.  During the final stage I usually only go 1/2 hour instead of a whole hour.  It still firms them back up a bit but they don't dry out as much as 1 hour would do.

[mikecorn.1]

My two cents ;D
Don't close the vent, I leave mine fully open.  You can always adjust butt try not to close it more than 1/2 imho. I can get mine fall of the bone if I want with a 2-3-.5 or even a 3-2-.5. If I want them more firm I will change it to a 1 at the end. It also depends on the type of rib/animal. I've never put an extra tray with water to keep things moist. To me that just adds something else that the smoker is trying to heat up towards the beginning. I don't open the door unless its to rotate racks. You loose tons of heat when you do.
Different strokes for different folks, it's all good. Experiment and see what works for you.
Good luck!! :)


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[destrouk]

I have only ever cracked the vent a wee bit ..Ive seen the moisture back flow ( the pucks show signs of swelling ) so I will crack it now and then to Vent ..on the note about losing temp Ive never found it to take more than a few mins to get back up to temp ..I don't mean to sound like an arse but ill be honest just find out what you like to do mate there are tons of ways to do ribs it gets a bit much after a while ..LOL my first time was 12 hours and they were not dry at all .But I wouldn't do then that long again

[mikecorn.1]

I have only ever cracked the vent a wee bit ..Ive seen the moisture back flow ( the pucks show signs of swelling ) so I will crack it now and then to Vent ..on the note about losing temp Ive never found it to take more than a few mins to get back up to temp ..I don't mean to sound like an arse but ill be honest just find out what you like to do mate there are tons of ways to do ribs it gets a bit much after a while ..LOL my first time was 12 hours and they were not dry at all .But I wouldn't do then that long again

You don't sound like an arse ;D. Different methods, point of views, experiences are all good. It would be even better if more came out of the shadows and gave their input and or experiences. THE LURKERS ;D  I'm sure there are many others out there with arse loads of experiance that don't post for some reason or another. :)


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[destrouk]

oh ill be here a lot trust me LOL

[TedEbear]

Yep, I welcome all opinions on smoking ideas.  I'm always interested in reading how someone else cooks their stuff, especially if it is followed with pics of the results.  <hint>    :)