Smoking Ribs

BigBassin144 · 08-06-10, 07:27 PM

I smoked some ribs for the first time today. Now I've never smoked anything before, on a grill or in a smoker. So I'm a newb to smoking and this was kind of a practice run.

Using a smoker box for our LP grill, I started at around noon. The baby backs didn't come off the grill until almost 6:30. The temperature gauge on the hood of the grill read a consistent 225-250 degree all day.

I refilled the smoker box every 45 minutes or so, and when I did, I sprayed with the ribs with 60% apple cider vinegar and 40% canola oil.

I had the burner under the smoker box on low, and the burner on the opposite side of the grill on low too keep it around desired temps. The ribs were between the two lit burners, and not over either of them.

When we brought them in and cut them open, one had some pink/red near the bone, one had a not-fully-cooked texture to it, and the other seemed fine.

The one that had the red in the middle was right in the middle of the grill, so I think it may not have been cooked thoroughly. I had also though, occasionally, you just get some meet (chicken and pork) that is just pink, no matter how cooked it is...

Now, this is our first time having smoked ribs, so is the texture of the second slab I mentioned normal, or was it not fully cooked? We stuck a few ribs off that one in the microwave for a couple minutes, and it still had the same texture. Is this just from smoking, or was it not done?

Temps for all three racks read between 170-180 degrees, but I may have been touching the bone with the thermometer...

Any tips or suggestions so I know they're done completely? Should I light the main burners and grill them for 10-15 minutes? Start an hour earlier? Increase the heat to 300?

BB

keithdog · 08-06-10, 08:10 PM

Sorry, no advice from me, but I'll be watching your answers as I want to start trying my hand at using that technique too.

bassinbob · 08-06-10, 09:04 PM

Don't increase the heat if you want them smoked. Yes you could increase the cook time or grill them over high heat when almost done. You can tell they are done when they pull apart easily. There is also usually a smoke ring on the outside edge of the meat. Rotate them as they cook. Pink is a smoke color, red is raw. Believe it or not a rib guy I worked for soaked his ribs in water when they were mostly done and then grilled them to serve.

66KingFisher · 08-06-10, 10:15 PM

I highly recommend the following http://www.amazingribs.com/

I just got my first COS(cheap offset smoker)recently and i've spent alot of time researching smoking meats......I've yet to try my hand at ribs but there seems to be some great info on this site....There's even info on modding your smoker to make it work better......be sure to read the sections on "Meat science" and "Thermodynamics of cooking".....I think you'll find the answers you seek there.....Good smokin

Tavery5 · 08-06-10, 10:19 PM

This will be a somewhat lengthy post, but I will tell you my procedure for cooking ribs.

To prepare the ribs, I first remove the membrane from the rear of the ribs by working the point of a knife under the membrane and then pulling it off, using a paper towel to grip it with. After the membrane has been removed I use regular yellow mustard and cover the entire slab of ribs with a thin coating. I then cover the rids with a generous amount of my rib rub.
Now that the ribs are prepared I get the grill ready, I use a wood smoker for grilling ribs as I prefer the taste of a wood grill to that of a gas grill. I start by building a small nest of charcoal and after they are completely white I begin adding a mixture of cherry and pecan wood. to pile, after they have burnt down I adjust the grill temp to 250-275, and place a large handful of wood chips that have been soaked in water overnight. They provide the smoke for the first two hours only. I never add any wood to produce smoke after the in inital two hours of smoking. Every two hours I spray the ribs with a mixture of apple juice and water. After 6 hours of smoking I remove the ribs from the grill and wrap them in foil, I place them back on the smoker for and additional 30-45 minutes. I then remove them from the foil and place them over the wood burning portion of the grill to put a nice char on them. I prefer to serve my ribs dry.

This technique has worked for me for years, and my ribs are always very tender and tasty. Hope there was something in all of this rambling that helps.

bamabassman · 08-06-10, 10:23 PM

anthony i don't know about smoking with a gas grill. BUT keeping the heat between 225-250 is dead on. smoked meat will have some redness to it. in my charcoal smoker, after 6 hrs the meat is still red or pink. this is natural on smoked meat. the meat should stay around 16o or so. smoking slow makes the meat tender. this sometimes makes it seem to not be done. personally i would buy a charcoal smoker. this is much easier for me. and it gives us men 2 grills to be overloard of out in the back yard, lol.
but it seems like you did it right antony. but like i said i have never "smoked" with a gas grill.

Ebbetsguy · 08-06-10, 10:31 PM

You smoked some ribs? Didnt know they made rolling papers that big!!!

Opps , I misunderstood the post.........SORRY MY BAD

1/4 stick · 08-07-10, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebbetsguy

You smoked some ribs? Didnt know they made rolling papers that big!!!

Opps , I misunderstood the post.........SORRY MY BAD

I wonder if he was near a shed.

bcklash · 08-07-10, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1/4 stick

I wonder if he was near a shed.

He prolly thinks a shed is where you keep your lawn equipment and gardening tools. Boys from down south know better. Well we might keep a few gardening tools!!!!!

BigBassin144 · 08-07-10, 08:44 AM

Thanks a lot for all the help guys. I assumed the not-fully-cooked texture was just from being smoked. It was really the pink, or maybe the combination of the two that worried me. Next time, I'll know that pink is normal when smoking.

I'll also have to try not to touch the bones when taking the temperature, although that's hard to do with ribs, lol.

Thanks again

BB

Ground Pounder · 08-08-10, 11:37 PM

Unfortunately, you're going to find that trying to smoke meat the traditional way on a LP grill just blows. The problem is, most LP grills don't have very good exhaust control - heat and smoke just bellows out of every nook and cranny it can. Temp control with indirect heat is as much about controlling exhaust as it is about controlling the fire.

When I'm stuck without a good, sealed charcoal grill, I usually just smoke, then cook, then seer.

1) Smoke the meat for 60-90 minutes just as you did before.
2) Cook the meat in an oven, or in a sealed roaster pan on the grilll until it's pull-off-the-bone tender.
3) Seer the meat on the grill over high heat with your favorite finishing sauce.

It's a good shortcut that is just as tasty as the "real thing."

08-06-10, 07:27 PM	#1
BigBassin144 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 9,463	Smoking Ribs I smoked some ribs for the first time today. Now I've never smoked anything before, on a grill or in a smoker. So I'm a newb to smoking and this was kind of a practice run. Using a smoker box for our LP grill, I started at around noon. The baby backs didn't come off the grill until almost 6:30. The temperature gauge on the hood of the grill read a consistent 225-250 degree all day. I refilled the smoker box every 45 minutes or so, and when I did, I sprayed with the ribs with 60% apple cider vinegar and 40% canola oil. I had the burner under the smoker box on low, and the burner on the opposite side of the grill on low too keep it around desired temps. The ribs were between the two lit burners, and not over either of them. When we brought them in and cut them open, one had some pink/red near the bone, one had a not-fully-cooked texture to it, and the other seemed fine. The one that had the red in the middle was right in the middle of the grill, so I think it may not have been cooked thoroughly. I had also though, occasionally, you just get some meet (chicken and pork) that is just pink, no matter how cooked it is... Now, this is our first time having smoked ribs, so is the texture of the second slab I mentioned normal, or was it not fully cooked? We stuck a few ribs off that one in the microwave for a couple minutes, and it still had the same texture. Is this just from smoking, or was it not done? Temps for all three racks read between 170-180 degrees, but I may have been touching the bone with the thermometer... Any tips or suggestions so I know they're done completely? Should I light the main burners and grill them for 10-15 minutes? Start an hour earlier? Increase the heat to 300? BB __________________ As of June 14, 2014 the members of the BF.com forum have moved to basschat.yuku.com!

08-06-10, 09:04 PM	#3
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	Don't increase the heat if you want them smoked. Yes you could increase the cook time or grill them over high heat when almost done. You can tell they are done when they pull apart easily. There is also usually a smoke ring on the outside edge of the meat. Rotate them as they cook. Pink is a smoke color, red is raw. Believe it or not a rib guy I worked for soaked his ribs in water when they were mostly done and then grilled them to serve. __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

08-06-10, 10:15 PM	#4
66KingFisher BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Mena,Arkansas Posts: 1,327	I highly recommend the following http://www.amazingribs.com/ I just got my first COS(cheap offset smoker)recently and i've spent alot of time researching smoking meats......I've yet to try my hand at ribs but there seems to be some great info on this site....There's even info on modding your smoker to make it work better......be sure to read the sections on "Meat science" and "Thermodynamics of cooking".....I think you'll find the answers you seek there.....Good smokin __________________ In memory of lost fishin buddy's, Ricky Shealy, Keith Hale, Zooker Dickerson.

08-06-10, 10:23 PM	#6
bamabassman BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: cedar bluff, alabama Posts: 15,292	anthony i don't know about smoking with a gas grill. BUT keeping the heat between 225-250 is dead on. smoked meat will have some redness to it. in my charcoal smoker, after 6 hrs the meat is still red or pink. this is natural on smoked meat. the meat should stay around 16o or so. smoking slow makes the meat tender. this sometimes makes it seem to not be done. personally i would buy a charcoal smoker. this is much easier for me. and it gives us men 2 grills to be overloard of out in the back yard, lol. but it seems like you did it right antony. but like i said i have never "smoked" with a gas grill. __________________ so many lures, so little time.

08-07-10, 08:44 AM	#10
BigBassin144 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 9,463	Thanks a lot for all the help guys. I assumed the not-fully-cooked texture was just from being smoked. It was really the pink, or maybe the combination of the two that worried me. Next time, I'll know that pink is normal when smoking. I'll also have to try not to touch the bones when taking the temperature, although that's hard to do with ribs, lol. Thanks again BB __________________ As of June 14, 2014 the members of the BF.com forum have moved to basschat.yuku.com!

08-06-10, 08:10 PM	#2
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Sorry, no advice from me, but I'll be watching your answers as I want to start trying my hand at using that technique too.

08-06-10, 10:19 PM	#5
Tavery5 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 2,427	This will be a somewhat lengthy post, but I will tell you my procedure for cooking ribs. To prepare the ribs, I first remove the membrane from the rear of the ribs by working the point of a knife under the membrane and then pulling it off, using a paper towel to grip it with. After the membrane has been removed I use regular yellow mustard and cover the entire slab of ribs with a thin coating. I then cover the rids with a generous amount of my rib rub. Now that the ribs are prepared I get the grill ready, I use a wood smoker for grilling ribs as I prefer the taste of a wood grill to that of a gas grill. I start by building a small nest of charcoal and after they are completely white I begin adding a mixture of cherry and pecan wood. to pile, after they have burnt down I adjust the grill temp to 250-275, and place a large handful of wood chips that have been soaked in water overnight. They provide the smoke for the first two hours only. I never add any wood to produce smoke after the in inital two hours of smoking. Every two hours I spray the ribs with a mixture of apple juice and water. After 6 hours of smoking I remove the ribs from the grill and wrap them in foil, I place them back on the smoker for and additional 30-45 minutes. I then remove them from the foil and place them over the wood burning portion of the grill to put a nice char on them. I prefer to serve my ribs dry. This technique has worked for me for years, and my ribs are always very tender and tasty. Hope there was something in all of this rambling that helps.

08-06-10, 10:31 PM	#7
Ebbetsguy BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 483	You smoked some ribs? Didnt know they made rolling papers that big!!! Opps , I misunderstood the post.........SORRY MY BAD

08-08-10, 11:37 PM	#11
Ground Pounder BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Garden City, MI Posts: 105	Unfortunately, you're going to find that trying to smoke meat the traditional way on a LP grill just blows. The problem is, most LP grills don't have very good exhaust control - heat and smoke just bellows out of every nook and cranny it can. Temp control with indirect heat is as much about controlling exhaust as it is about controlling the fire. When I'm stuck without a good, sealed charcoal grill, I usually just smoke, then cook, then seer. 1) Smoke the meat for 60-90 minutes just as you did before. 2) Cook the meat in an oven, or in a sealed roaster pan on the grilll until it's pull-off-the-bone tender. 3) Seer the meat on the grill over high heat with your favorite finishing sauce. It's a good shortcut that is just as tasty as the "real thing."

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