Caveman Bob
07-25-2014, 09:14 PM
After a lifetime of loving to eat barbecue, last weekend I decided to build an ugly drum smoker and get to making it myself.
http://i.imgur.com/c6aypJq.jpg
After a quick seasoning, I decided I'd begin with some spare ribs since they cook relatively quickly. I'd never properly smoked ribs before and would love to hear your feedback on the process I used.
Kept it simple with the rub: Salt, pepper, paprika, and (randomly) a bit of celery seed that was unopened in my spice cabinet.
http://i.imgur.com/3S0hpby.jpg
Here's the rub on the meat:
http://i.imgur.com/xvSmLjf.jpg
Since this was my first time using the smoker (besides a quick initial seasoning), I pretty much guessed at how much fuel to use.
These are Kingsford charcoal briquettes with chunks of apple wood.
http://i.imgur.com/0trrorR.jpg
Took about 15 minutes to get to 225, then put the meat on.
http://i.imgur.com/mAty11v.jpg
After climbing from 225 to about 240 over the course of a half-hour, the temp suddenly rocketed up to 300+. I closed all my vents, but it didn't help.
I should have paid closer attention to making the drum air-tight. The three bottom vents are a bit loose. As a result, I couldn't get the temperature down with air control alone.
I decided to dump fuel until the temp dropped to a consistent 240.
Because the temp wouldn't stay stable for more than an hour at a time, I kept needing to take off some coals when it got too hot and replace them with fresh fuel. This got pretty annoying and I think contributed to a bit of a charcoal smoke flavor in the final product.
http://i.imgur.com/hkZcmmR.jpg
5 hours later, I took it off and wrapped it in tinfoil to rest for a half-hour.
You'll notice that I didn't trim them St. Louis-style. That was mostly because I was scared of screwing something up. The rib tips were amazingly delicious anyway and I'm not sure I'll bother to trim them on the next go-round.
http://i.imgur.com/jkPvQ73.jpg
Another shot. Disregard those pine needles that I didn't notice until taking the picture. Hazards of cooking outside, I suppose.
http://i.imgur.com/XOYLxXM.jpg
Here's the money shot. I'm trying to keep my diet low carb, so they were served without any sauce.
And yes, I know I should have removed the membrane before taking a pic.
http://i.imgur.com/7rXVLbO.jpg
One weird issue -- a couple of the bones cracked in half as I was eating them. What might cause the bones to become so brittle?
http://i.imgur.com/NcSNLPm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XIEmtLi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/c6aypJq.jpg
After a quick seasoning, I decided I'd begin with some spare ribs since they cook relatively quickly. I'd never properly smoked ribs before and would love to hear your feedback on the process I used.
Kept it simple with the rub: Salt, pepper, paprika, and (randomly) a bit of celery seed that was unopened in my spice cabinet.
http://i.imgur.com/3S0hpby.jpg
Here's the rub on the meat:
http://i.imgur.com/xvSmLjf.jpg
Since this was my first time using the smoker (besides a quick initial seasoning), I pretty much guessed at how much fuel to use.
These are Kingsford charcoal briquettes with chunks of apple wood.
http://i.imgur.com/0trrorR.jpg
Took about 15 minutes to get to 225, then put the meat on.
http://i.imgur.com/mAty11v.jpg
After climbing from 225 to about 240 over the course of a half-hour, the temp suddenly rocketed up to 300+. I closed all my vents, but it didn't help.
I should have paid closer attention to making the drum air-tight. The three bottom vents are a bit loose. As a result, I couldn't get the temperature down with air control alone.
I decided to dump fuel until the temp dropped to a consistent 240.
Because the temp wouldn't stay stable for more than an hour at a time, I kept needing to take off some coals when it got too hot and replace them with fresh fuel. This got pretty annoying and I think contributed to a bit of a charcoal smoke flavor in the final product.
http://i.imgur.com/hkZcmmR.jpg
5 hours later, I took it off and wrapped it in tinfoil to rest for a half-hour.
You'll notice that I didn't trim them St. Louis-style. That was mostly because I was scared of screwing something up. The rib tips were amazingly delicious anyway and I'm not sure I'll bother to trim them on the next go-round.
http://i.imgur.com/jkPvQ73.jpg
Another shot. Disregard those pine needles that I didn't notice until taking the picture. Hazards of cooking outside, I suppose.
http://i.imgur.com/XOYLxXM.jpg
Here's the money shot. I'm trying to keep my diet low carb, so they were served without any sauce.
And yes, I know I should have removed the membrane before taking a pic.
http://i.imgur.com/7rXVLbO.jpg
One weird issue -- a couple of the bones cracked in half as I was eating them. What might cause the bones to become so brittle?
http://i.imgur.com/NcSNLPm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XIEmtLi.jpg