Son of a Pitmaster trying to surprise Pops for Fathers Day

[jr2sndbrd]

Hey guys,

I am browsing the Newbie threads but figured I would ask here for some quick tips, my Dad is the grill master among our family and he is currently on the road and coming back fathers day afternoon.

Sad to say but I have not really watched his setup process so I have no clue what I am doing.

I want to surprise him with some smoked ribs, I will use his Weber Smokey Mountain 22 1/2 smoker along with his cyberq wifi for temp monitor.

I am planning on going to a local pig farm to gets some fresh ribs.

I am looking for a good recipe and cook temps, I think I want to go hot and fast and I am not sure of the charcoal setup (how to lay it out), so if any brethren want to lend any advice it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

[Rusty Kettle]

If you never have done this before maybe just buy him some for him to cook. I wouldn't recommend messing around with a mans smoker.

If you are going to anyways. Fill the charcoal ring and then light it with a weber lighter cube. Then put it together and get the temp tuned into 275 by using the lower vents to adjust the temp. Wait for thin blue to clear smoke before putting food on.

Ribs trim them to a St. Louis cut. Google how to do that. Remove the membrane called silver skin. Google that also. Light rub of french's yellow mustard. Both sides apply rub light on bone side and nice coating on the meat side. Wait for it get a wet look for the ribs. Then when it's blue smoke or clear then put the ribs on for 2 hours and foil for 2 hours. Slice and apply sauce. Enjoy!

 

[jr2sndbrd]

Thank you for the tip Rusty, My Dad is actually very generous with his stuff (I fix or buy if something ever goes wrong) hell my bros and sis bought him the Cyberq setup.

Anyhow he actually suggested I give it a shot but I brushed it off to try and throw him off.

In regards to filling the charcoal ring, do you mean just fill the whole bottom ring up or leave an empty area in the middle (a valley)?

When I put them on I am going to hold at 275 right, also no turning during that first two hours correct? I was thinking of using the rib rack to fit more as some family will be over.

I apologize for the silly questions!

 

[jr2sndbrd]

Oh I almost forgot, any suggestions for "fall off the bone" style. I personally do not like them like this however my Dad always has one rack for my wife that are melting off the bone to her taste.

 

[Fwismoker]

1) remove rib membrane, coat with olive oil and rub

2) fill charcoal ring and mix in wood chunks- remove enough coals from the edge of the ring to fill 1/4 of charcoal chimney

3) when chimney briquettes get lit carefully dump them from where you pulled them.

4) Open all the intake vents (always keep the lid exhaust open) replace the lid and let the temp climb until you reach around 250*

5) When you reach temp put the ribs on bone side down and turn on your controller and close the other intakes

6) When you get 3-4 hours in open the cooker and look for pull back on the bones...if good pull back start probing with a toothpick between the bones. You want little resistance like warm butter(could take more time but be patient), at that point apply glaze or sauce

7) 15-30 minutes pull and rest

Total cook time could be anywhere from 3-5 on baby backs ro 4-6 on spareribs. I tried to give you simple step by step that if you follow....you will do fine.

Good luck

 

[LongTong]

Go for it

No matter what, if you give it your best effort 100%, he'll love you for it!

 

[jbounds286]

I think it's a great idea...in sure he will appreciate u taking the time to do something he loves

 

[smoke ninja]

I wouldnt do 2 hours in foil @275 unless you want the ribs like baby food. I cook at that temp and times typically run 2 hours than wrap (i like to wrap meat side down). You can go longer if the rub isnt set. One hour wrapped max and another hour or until done unwrapped after that. Sauce very lightly at the last 10-15 min, if your into to that.

A big rookie misstep for ribs is too much rub, go lighter than you think, you want to see meat through the rub. You can add a light dusting after theyre unwrapped if you want.

Dint overdo the smoke wood either, you want thin to no smoke, not billowing white. Id go with 3, no more than 4 small chunks for the cook.

Heres my credentials

 

[Rusty Kettle]

I wouldnt do 2 hours in foil @275 unless you want the ribs like baby food. I cook at that temp and times typically run 2 hours than wrap (i like to wrap meat side down). You can go longer if the rub isnt set. One hour wrapped max and another hour or until done unwrapped after that. Sauce very lightly at the last 10-15 min, if your into to that.

A big rookie misstep for ribs is too much rub, go lighter than you think, you want to see meat through the rub. You can add a light dusting after theyre unwrapped if you want.

Dint overdo the smoke wood either, you want thin to no smoke, not billowing white. Id go with 3, no more than 4 small chunks for the cook.

Heres my credentials

2 hours in foil won't make it baby food. Although maybe because I stack 4 racks one right on top of the other after foiling maybe it changes the way it would cook.

It pushes it to the edge though I will give you that. I can get it to have a perfect bite where it does not fall off the bone. It is getting ready to be fall off the bone but it stops short of fall off the bone. Trust me it works.

 

[BigBobBQ]

this video shows pretty much the standard way to start a wsm. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq-owBQzG7A"]Weber Smokey Mountain Basics: Starting the Fire - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Shagdog]

You don't have to put them in foil at all. Pick a temp, remove the membrane, rub them, and smoke them until you can stab them between the bones with a toothpick and feel no resistance. No need to over complicate it on your first try. The difference between wrapping and not wrapping is minor. I'd keep it simple. Check out meathead's Memphis dust for a rub if you need to find one. It's a good standard rub, but not spicy, so you may want to add some kick

 

[smoke ninja]

Yea shaggy good point.you and kieth have it right, wrapping is unnecessary and probably over complicates thing for a first timer. I can't help myself, i need to do a little bbq voodoo on each cook or i lose it.

 

[Decoy205]

I think a point to stress in the processes above is to wait for the thin blue smoke BEFORE you put any food on. Get your temp close to where you want it wait for the smoke to really thin out and then put food on.

And remember if your lookin you ain't cookin!! Make sure to not open the lid too much. For ribs @ 275 I check at the 2 hour mark if they are getting too dark I'll wrap. Then the 3 hour mark. Check again. If they are doing good out of the wrap. Then the 4 hour mark if they are close to tender sauce. After 4 hours at that temp it shouldn't be much longer so I'll check every 15 min to make sure they aren't falling apart. If you pick up with tongs and they fall apart you went to far.

I would do a practice run if you could. These cookers aren't hard to use but you want to learn how to react.

 

[DanB]

Pig Farm???

Hi
I am planning on going to a local pig farm to gets some fresh ribs.
Where is this local pig farm?
Thanks DanB

 

[Decoy205]

Hi
I am planning on going to a local pig farm to gets some fresh ribs.
Where is this local pig farm?
Thanks DanB

I was curious about this as well.

 

[jr2sndbrd]

Brethren I can not thank you enough, with this thread my confidence is ready to roll and I am going to give it my best shot! I will try to post some pictures of my journey on Sunday!

As for recipe I think I am going to try pattio daddio asian style, my Dad made these for us a while back and I loved them big time unless anybody else can suggest something better, our family definitely likes some spicy flavor to the ribs. I tried to use the recipe link but it looks like it is down for now.

Does anybody have an opinion on store bought ribs vs straight from the hog farm? There are a bunch of hog farms within and hr drive from me (I am in the SF Bay Area), in fact two weeks ago I went to the hog farm and purchased a 275 lb meat hog with my friend for his family Portuguese tradition.

I actually collected the blood as the family makes blood sausage and of course we took all the intestines as well as they use that for the blood sausage casing. I have been to this place a few times, I have cooked whole pigs with my friends a few different ways (spit, in the ground with river rocks, and then butchering it all up ourselves and making a bunch of little pork dishes).

However, I am a total newbie at this whole smoking thing!!

The farm I go to is http://www.thelongranch.com/, great people and great tasting hogs.

Thank you again gentlemen!

 

[eddieh70301]

To me, ribs are one of the hardest things to cook right. I vote for not wrapping. All that does is steam the meat.
Search this site and the web for video's. If your wife likes the fall off the bone kind, then maybe wrap a rack for her, otherwise let them go unwrapped until they pass the bend test.

The best rack I did was cooked at 275 degrees, seasoned with salt/pepper/garlic/onion powder and a little chili powder. after the rub sets, about 2 hours or so, I spritzed with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water.
It took approx. 3.5 hrs for my rack of spares (saint louie style) to finish.

The biggest hurdle will be maintaining pit temp. If you are not familiar then it could be an issue. I suggest a trial run before Sunday.

 

[DanB]

I was curious about this as well.

Hi Decoy I'm guessing we both were thinking a like, Newark NJ, and not San Fran.:drama:
Too good be true a hog farm close by. I'll just have to settle with Restaurant Depot, unless you know a better place?
DanB

 

[dwfisk]

Just wanted to add in that I think it is GREAT you are doing this for your dad. I gather he is a road warrior and not getting home until mid-day on FD; to find out you have made the effort to follow in his steps will warm his heart and with the advice folks have already given you I have no doubt good Q will warm his belly. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[jr2sndbrd]

Hey guys, thanks for the tips and encouragement. I just got the WSM ready and I will be rolling in the morning. I will take some pics and short clips along the way and will post them.

I do have a question, I was thinking of going with pattio daddio Asian style rub and glaze. Since I am smoking 9 baby back racks I figured I would make a decent size amount of rub so I multiples his ingredients for the rub by 6.

I have a nice batch but boy is the ginger smell strong and overall it smells something like "Easter Indian" smell. Is this normal with this rub, should I have multiplied evenly all ingredients (I did). Any advice would be great, I am having doubts about this rub....


Here is what I multiplies each by 6
2 Tbsp Sea salt
2 Tbsp Light brown sugar
2 tsp Chinese five spice (I use McCormick's Gourmet)
2 tsp Black pepper, ground fresh
1 tsp Ground ginger