Ribs and Butts - Some Success some, not so much

Riskdude

Howdy!

Had a day off yesterday and I needed to smoke. Got some ribs and future pulled pork from Costco for yesterday's cook.

WSM getting ready for the pork:

Pork On!!

Done after 12 hours. Very tender and really good:

Getting the Ribs Ready:

In the Cooker:

Done.... Well, a bit over done...

Waiting for her fair share:

Ribs had really good flavor, but were over done by about 40 minutes. They were on a total of 5 hours. I should have pulled them off earlier. I have never warpped ribs so I think I need to try that. They just looked a little on the charred side, but flavor was really good.

I think next time, I will move them to the upper racks as well. All in all, a nice day!! Thanks.

Mark
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Raine · BBQ Pro Joined: 06 Feb 2005 Posts: 598 Location: Dixie

What temp did you cook them at?

Riskdude · Posted: Mar 30 2011 Post subject:

Probably averaged about 240 ish. Started low, mid 220's then about 240 the rest of the way. When new wood went in, it would hit 260 then settle down.
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Big Ron · Posted: Mar 30 2011 Post subject:

looks good to me, nice work!! Now I am craving some pulled pork tacos Cool

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Raine · BBQ Pro Joined: 06 Feb 2005 Posts: 598 Location: Dixie

Temp sounds about right, we normally cook ours 5-6 hours.
So, I would think they wouldn't be overcooked.

Sometimes smoked meats will looked charred (bark), if they didn't taste that way, then you are fine.

First time we cooked a brisket on the WSM, it was black as coal. My mother -in-law saw it and said oh my you burned it. It had more bark and was way darker than what we normally cooked.

Canadian Bacon · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Riskdude your butts look like they cooked real nice,5 hours is not a long time for the ribs,but you may have a high sugar content in your rub or maybe just a little to high of temp that caused that char.Do you use sugar in your rub and if so what kind....turbinado sugar will take the heat much better than regular sugar.
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Beertooth · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Mark that is some great looking grub man! Smile

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Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Superb looking!! Nice lookin cooker too!
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Pit Boss · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Foil will not keep you from over cooking. Learning when to take things off the pit is the only solution to that problem.
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Riskdude · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Thank you for all the comments!!

I use a mix of Big Ron's original and Lotta Bull rubs.

The ribs were just a bit dry this time. Other times they have been moister. One thing I did less of was to spritz/spray during the cook. Only did it twice. I will mix Jack D, apple juice, honey and a little Head Country BBQ sauce. Maybe the honey was the cause??

I will be going back to Costco for more ribs. Gotta try again Very Happy

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Vertical Offset
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Bunch a loose steel lying around.

jeepdad · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Even a bad day smoking is a good day! Butt looks dead on you nailed it. You mentioned moving the ribs to the upper rack...in my smoker the top rack is the hottest rack. Just keep at it brother and learn and things will get better each time. Keep up the good work!

--Dan

day_trippr · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Jeeze, Riskdude - that cook sure looks wicked awesome pissah from here! (<= about the highest complement you can get from a swamp Yankee Laughing

) I'd shove everyone out of the way to get to that! Very Happy

Cheers!
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Oregon smoker · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Looks good to me. Cool

IIRC didnt you build the vertical smoker completely out of cardboard first before transferring to metal?
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Riskdude · Posted: Mar 31 2011 Post subject:

Yup! That was me:

Thanks for all the comments from everyone. My wife took some ribs to work and they were a bit hit! I guess I am being too critical of my work!!
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Bunch a loose steel lying around.

kevinfray · Joined: 29 Mar 2011 Posts: 18

That vertical smoker looks great - I love the 'howling wolf' motif on the front face.

And ribs can never truly be overdone! The more overdone they are, they easier the meat comes off the bone
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Virginiasmoke · Posted: Apr 01 2011 Post subject:

Love the vertical smoker... I remember the cardboard mock up.
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BigPhil32 · Posted: Apr 01 2011 Post subject:

Great post and photos. So cool to see the smoker in action, as I remember following your post and the cardboard mock up...thanks for sharing!
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