leftaslide said:
i've read the previous posts, and i suppose the best thing to do is to experiment with the temp and time, but i thought maybe someone could elaborate if i were to tell you exactly what i'm dealing with....
gonna cook pork spare ribs on a charbroil smoker with offset firebox. charcoal or wood, or both? and i guess i need to get another thermometer for the grate temperature, correct? and what is this 3-2-1 method? foil or no foil? spray with apple juice? i have a lot to learn, and can't wait to get started. thanks for all of your help....:grin:
When I first started smoking I bought a bunch of meat thermometers and one wired thermometer to the center of the smoker box. I now only use three smoker box therms, one at the bottom, the middle and the top of my smoker box. I don`t deal with watching internal meat temps any more. If you get used to know how long things take to cook, you`ll learn to wait the approx time and just use an instant read thermometer. A lot easier.
From what I see, different cooks use different fuel and amounts. I use briquets only to start my cooker. Half a can of briquets mixed with lump to get`er going and lump with hickory, apple or mesquite from there on. If I`m dealing with colder fall, winter or spring conditions that prevent me from keeping my temps up, I will use more briquets.
Preperation is important. At least I learned. There may be many ways to but I:
- Pull the membrane skin off the backs of the ribs.
- Trim large chunks of fat off.
- Rub with apple vinegar, let sit for at least a few minutes.
- Rub with a good amount of brown sugar.
- Rub with your favorite seasonings (Rub mixture).
- Ready to cook.
I`ve tried 3-2-1 a few times and it`s a good safe bet on cooking the ribs, but not nessesary from where I sit. You should do a search for the 3-2-1 but basically it is 3 hrs of smoked heat / 2 hrs of foiled heat / 1 hrs back in the heat out of the foil. Adding apple juice (or other liquid) during foiling can be a great thing if you feel the ribs or any other meat your cooking is drying out too much. In time you`ll learn how long they have to cook and what they`ll look like/feel like when they start to get done. Smoke box temps play a big part in the time it takes. I find the biggest difference is smoke box temps is due to outside temp and most of all how crowded is the smoke box? If your just cooking a few racks of ribs it should be a lot easier. Personally, I just get`em in the smoker and cook`em `till they`re done. As 'jgh' mentioned, when they pull back about a ½ inch they should be done (about 4 hrs or so @ 230º). I throw them on a hot grill to get a good carmelazation over the whole slab. If they should seem dry, you can always foil with some moisture.
Good luck, I`m sure your gonna love`em.
