Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:28 pm
Just started doing this myself. Bought a smoker with an offset firebox a month or so ago. 3rd batch last weekend with dry rub came out great. If you use whole logs try to take the bark off as it adds more nasty flavor than the wood inside.
1st batch used logs of kiawe (mesquite) only - way too smoky to eat. Saved a few chunks in the freezer and used it in the baked beans for batch 2 and 3 below.
2nd batch used Kingsford stuff - OK but stuff burns fast and found out has losta chemical stuff in it. Still tatsed much better than #1 above and basted that the last hour with sauce. Had to restock fire every 30 minutes. Threw a couple of kiawe logs without bark on top of the Kingsford and it added smoke without being as overpowering as above.
Ordered a few books off the internet
3rd batch last weekend - dry rub only put on the night before (about 2 tablespoons per lb of ribs) and book I read said to take it straight from refer (it's close to freezing like you mention above) directly to smoker for a better smoke ring. First two bathces above I let sit on the counter to get to room temp for 1/2 hour like I do when I am grilling steaks. Used only natural wood charcol and had to restock every 45 minutes or so - also threw a few wood chips soaked in water on the coals after the first hour. Had space for a center cut rib roast with the same rub overnight and had that on the entire time as well after searing the roast on all sides for about 15 minutes. I forgot to look at the rib smoke ring on this batch, but the friend that was over and he is a great griller and loved it.
Also have read about the brining and want to give that a try down the road, but what to play with the dry rub a bit more first. You definitely want to brine fowl for slow smoking.
I try to stay 200-225 at the grill surface (the thermometer on the lid reads about 25 degrees higher) and the spareribs take about 5 hours and the Baby Backs 4 hours. Last 120-90 minutes I throw on some uncooked sausage. Then I wrap them in foil and stick in the microwave oven (not turned on) for the hour or two before we eat so I can hang with friends (1st batch above started too late and we waited for them to get done - had to drown them in sauce to cover the smoke taste).
Half hour before dinner fire up a batch of cornbread and stick it in the oven (take the beans out on the stovetop).
Last edited by
bcmaui on Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:08 am, edited 6 times in total.
