2nd attempt - pork ribs

[sumosmoke]

Today is a rare day in Florida. The weather is a breezy 58 degrees and the sun has no clouds to compete with in the sky. Humidity is zero. That equals the perfect day to smoke, IMO.

Jumped up at 8am to run to my local Publix for some pork ribs. To make the day better, they were on sale $1.99/lb. Grabbed two slabs.

Used a basic salt and pepper rub this second time (Jeff's rib rub recipe was the used for the inaugural smoke) and will douse them in some bbq sauce before chowin' down.

This second smoke should go smoother than the first. I've got a damper on the top of my ECB and left it open the whole time and had trouble maintaining the lower temp. Realized I had to keep the damper closed to allow the temp to stay low, and ultimate smoking takes place! Also soaked some hickory chunks for a few days so they'll not burn up with the charcoal, and will last the entire smoke.

Stay tuned for pics of the final product!

 

[richtee]

Do you not have LOWER dampers on that ECB? Using the top can be tricky, cause ya can trap smoke for too long, and too much moisture too. It's a balancing act...but once ya get the feeling for the lowers, you'll leave the top mostly open.

 

[sumosmoke]

Hey Richtee, my ECB didn't come with any dampers, even in the lid! I've acquired another lid with a damper and a temperature gauge which is what's been used so far.

The wind is blowing pretty hard today, hopefully it will be enough to circulate the smoke a bit. I've got 2 hours left on the smoke so maybe I'll go tinker with those dampers.

 

[walking dude]

several mods for the ecb.......depending on which one you have......the reg. one, or the gourmet...........

here is a link for mods on the reg ecb.......but you can apply some of these to the gourmet

http://www.randyq.addr.com/ecb/ecbmods.html

but yeah........need to keep the top damper WIDE open.......control the heat with the lower one..........try these mods, and you will better be able to control temps

 

[sumosmoke]

Thanks for the mod info, WD. I'll let you know how those work and which ones I've done.

The ribs came off the smoker at 4:30 EST and they were as tender as I had hoped for. The smoke ring was the best I've achieved in my 2 attempts at smoking

and the meat was as tasty as ever. I've attached a few pics of the finished product.

Modifications for next rib smoke: use less rub ... the rub my husband picked out was a salt rub and there was too much caked on at the end, which resulted in super salty ribs. He wants his done without anything at all the next time, completely naked!! I'll still dabble with new rubs cause the flavor is worth the prep.

 

[kookie]

Good looking ribs. Always fun trying new rubs and ways of smoking meat.

Smoke on.

Kookie

 

[smokinmeat]

ribs look great job well done

 

[flash]

They look good, did you use the 3-2-1 method ?

 

[walking dude]

nice job..........points for you

 

[sumosmoke]

Hi Flash, I didn't use the 3-2-1 method. Let the smoker heat up to 220 and placed ribs on grills. Closed the damper to maintain temperature at 220 for entire smoke = 6 hours.

 

[cowgirl]

Mmmmm, good looking ribs sumosmoke!

 

[cman95]

Ribs look tasty. Good job.

 

[sumosmoke]

Big thanks, CMan and Cowgirl!

 

[smokeys my pet]

Looks good Sumo, and they get better and better each time!!!!!!!!!