Smoker Box Ribs

J

jsamuel1345

Found some matches.
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Location
Tampa...
Hello.

Had my big brother in town for his birthday. It was the first time that I lit my Brinkman charcoal-wood smoker box. I had 3 slabs of pork spare ribs with the membrane removed. I used a rub of paprika, ground musturd, salt, pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes and brown sugar. We smoked the ribs for 6-7 hours, adding hickory wood on top of the charcoals as we though needed, which was pretty often. I just did not come out right. The flavor of hickory wood was overwhelming, the ribs were not tender whatsoever. I thought all I needed was a smoker and a good rub to produce mouthwatering ribs, but I was wrong. Please assist me in making this process successful this labor day weekend. Thanks.
 
Welcome to the forum J!

Just a few highlights...

The key to better BBQ is knowing the personality of your smoker.... thru fire management. Once you got that down... everything is easier.

2) Need to know actual smoker temp... at grate/meat level. (225-250* preferred).
A simple oven thermo in the baking section in your grocery store.

3) The pursuit of blue smoke... when the fire burns clean. After at least 1 hour after starting a fire. It will take that long for the smoker to come up to temp... cold to hot).
Billowing white smoke is not preferred... leaves a bitter aftertaste.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1010818&postcount=5

4) Ribs will take anywhere between 4-6 hours ... depending Baby Backs or Spares
There's a 3-2-1 technique (3 hours on smoker - 2 hours wrapped in foil in smoker- 1 hour rest in cooler).

5) Wood smoke - preheat (place on top of smoker) before placing on fire... shorter time to ignition).

Below is an active and well-detailed thread on a first time smoke (using Boston butt) by Divemaster:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68136

Using pork butt is a less tempermental piece and very forgiving.

Good luck and enjoy the Q!
 
Last edited:
One thing to remember, even if you can't see the smoke (and thin blue smoke can be hard to see on a sunny day) if you can smell it, you still got it. You also don't need smoke for the whole cook time when doing ribs...first three hours is plenty, the rest is low and slow cooking.
 
BBQ Bandit said:
Welcome to the forum J!

Just a few highlights...

The key to better BBQ is knowing the personality of your smoker.... thru fire management. Once you got that down... everything is easier.

2) Need to know actual smoker temp... at grate/meat level. (225-250* preferred).
A simple oven thermo in the baking section in your grocery store.

3) The pursuit of blue smoke... when the fire burns clean. After at least 1 hour after starting a fire. It will take that long for the smoker to come up to temp... cold to hot).
Billowing white smoke is not preferred... leaves a bitter aftertaste.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1010818&postcount=5

4) Ribs will take anywhere between 4-6 hours ... depending Baby Backs or Spares
There's a 3-2-1 technique (3 hours on smoker - 2 hours wrapped in foil in smoker- 1 hour rest in cooler).

5) Wood smoke - preheat (place on top of smoker) before placing on fire... shorter time to ignition).

Below is an active and well-detailed thread on a first time smoke (using Boston butt) by Divemaster:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68136

Using pork butt is a less tempermental piece and very forgiving.

Good luck and enjoy the Q!
Click to expand...



Thanks, Bandit. You have been a great help. I used hickory wood and Kingsford charcoal last time. What would you suggest, and how much for each part?
 
I like the combo of Kingsford and hickory for what you were trying to do. I would second the input of Bandit. I find hickory can get too strong, so I tend to use it in conjunction with other woods, like apple or cherry for pork. I use lump oak charcoal, so I get that smoke throughout the cook and will only add wood during the first hour or so of a cook. I use wood chunks, so that the wood lasts for a while.

Getting that temperature stabilized and the smoke clean is important.
 
jsamuel1345 said:
Thanks, Bandit. You have been a great help. I used hickory wood and Kingsford charcoal last time. What would you suggest, and how much for each part?
Click to expand...

Using Kingsford briquets (not Matchlight or lighter fluid please) is a stable and a lower heat source (when compared to lump charoal - known to burn hotter and faster).

Make sure any wood to be used is seasoned/dried at least 6 months or more. Add a few pre-heated wood chunks (no bigger than a beer can) to your fire every hour or so (until your meats reach 160*)... because the outer crust/bark of the meat stops the penetration of smoke. Just feed your pit with K (Kingsford) when needed.

Use a spritzer/spray bottle of Apple Juice (AJ) once an hour to your pork during your smoke. Just refrain from peeking too much... will lose precious smoker temp and humidity that way.

Once you obtain the internal meat temp you desire... all is golden.
 
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In order to get tender juicy ribs you have to spray them with something like apple juice or beer and wrap them in foil for a couple of hours. You do this after smoking them for 2-3 hours. This will help them get tender without drying them out.
 
jsam doing bbq isn't rocket science but there is a right and wrong way to do it. The biggest factor has nothing to with rubs,sauces or smoke. Bbq is mostly about temperature control although the others also contribute alot in your final taste. The thing is you have to know the correct temp of your cooker and the correct temp of the product your cooking at all times. Sauces, rubs and smoke all lead up to the final taste but if you don't follow the correct temps none of the rest will work no matter what you put on it. Start simple with reading up here for whatever meat you want to smoke. Ribs can be tough for a beginner so try chicken or a pork but or shoulder first. But get yourself informed first. Ask questions on this forum there's a ton of info here to help you. Also remember if your looking it ain't cooking so leave the lid on and get a few good thermometers. Good luck.
 
Excuse me....

Original post removed.

Would not recommend a low quality, inconsistant, and difficult fuel to manage to a new person in this forum.
 
Last edited:
I'd like to second the comments on fire control already outlined. It is fundamental. The quest for that sweet blue smoke goes through the doors of a clean fire. And a clean fire is one that's burning hot.

"But wait! Getting a fire hot is easy but what about keeping temp down" you hopefully ask. When you close down your vents to bring temperature down, you are choking your fire. When you choke your fire, you will get white acrid smoke until the fire settles back down. White smoke for this short amount of time isn't a problem, but for me it's kind of embarrassing to think someone might see it coming from my pit.

Pits with a damper between the firebox and chamber (or mod) have a huge advantage in this area because you can run a hot clean fire while controlling temp with the damper. Once you've got your fire skills down command style, go get a stoker and forgetaboutit.

P.S. The FAQ on fire control is pure money.
 
If you cooked the ribs for 6-7 hours and they were still not tender whatsoever I suspect your temp was too low.
 
jsamuel1345 said:
We smoked the ribs for 6-7 hours... the ribs were not tender whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Quick question... what temperature were you cooking (or did I miss it somewhere in the chain?) If the temps were too low, that would be the problem. Of course, if the temps were too high... dried out ribs aren't tender either (yeah, yeah... ask me how I know....)
 
singingwolf said:
Quick question... what temperature were you cooking (or did I miss it somewhere in the chain?) If the temps were too low, that would be the problem. Of course, if the temps were too high... dried out ribs aren't tender either (yeah, yeah... ask me how I know....)
Click to expand...

How do you know? :p
 
NorthwestBBQ said:
How do you know? :p
Click to expand...

Very first cook on the BGE? No temp control what so ever. Shoe leather would have been more tender, and the lump charcoal less crunchy.

Although they were only a few steps away from being fall off the bone, but I don't think a pile of ash really counts...:icon_blush:
 
wickedbbq'r said:
In order to get tender juicy ribs you have to spray them with something like apple juice or beer and wrap them in foil for a couple of hours. You do this after smoking them for 2-3 hours. This will help them get tender without drying them out.
Click to expand...

Tee Hee, that's some funny stuff right there.
 
Hugh Jorgan said:
Tee Hee, that's some funny stuff right there.
Click to expand...

Well, it does work, although adding a 1/4 cup of liquid to the bottom of the foil pack works better when doing 3-2-1 ribs.

I rarely do them that way anymore (I don't care for full out "fall off the bone", but it does work. And adding hard cider as the liquid adds quite a bit of flavor.
 
I'm saying it's funny that they said you hafta spray them or braise them to get them tender. That has not been my experience at all. I have wrapped them up a couple of times. I'm really scared of getting Alzheimer's from the out gassing of the aluminum though.
 
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