First Try at Baby Back Ribs

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tbonejack

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 12, 2016
52
15
I've done a few cooks with my new WSM, but today is my first try at baby back ribs.

I smoked spare ribs a couple weeks ago, and they had a nice bark and tasted great.  But I didn't get them quite tender enough.  I hope to do better today.

I bought baby back ribs from Costco yesterday.  There were 3 racks in the pack, and I cut them all in half and froze 3 halves for next week, and prepared the other 3 halves for smoking today.  I rubbed them down with a little yellow mustard and coated them with Jeff's rub.

I had trouble removing the membrane, and couldn't get much of it off.  I may need catfish pliers like some people use.  When I smoked spare ribs a couple weeks ago, I did OK removing the membrane, but not today.  It's not as easy for me as Jeff makes it look in his video.

I'm going to do a variation of the 2-2-1 method, but I don't want fall-off-the-bone tender.  I like to bite into ribs on the bone.  So I'll probably do a 2.5-1-1.5 (2.5 hours on the grate, 1 hour in the foil, and back on the grate with a bit of BBQ sauce till done).  I'll be using KC Masterpiece Original BBQ sauce, because I was too pressed for time to make it myself today.

I use Kingsford briquettes, and I'll be using a some wood chunks (half apple, half cherry).  I'll post updates and pics as I go along. 

This is fun.


 
Good start,how about letting half a rack go no foil all the way just to see how you like them that way as well!
 
Thats what I did once. No foil on one rack. Foil on the other. No more foil for this guy.

Personally, foil is a hastle not really necessary unless you are in a comp.

Oh and ribs look great. :grilling_smilie:
 
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What b said. As long as you have 3 pieces going, may as well experiment a bit!
Love your back yard view. As a suburbanite, I'm jealous.
Dan
 
Thanks everyone.  I will experiment with one or two open on grate for the entire cook and compare to a foil finish.

The WSM is holding a steady 231-233 temperature.  It took me a few cooks to figure out how to set up and react to its temperature swings.  But it is predictable once you see its patterns.
 
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Well, a rain storm has come and I'm inside.  Hopefully it'll be a short storm.  We'll see.

The ribs are due for a spritzing of apple juice in about 37 minutes.
 
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I spritzed them with apple juice at the 3 hour mark.  Didn't wrap them in foil as planned, due to heavy rain.  Added one more chunk each of apple and cherry.  Getting good smoke, but don't know the grate temperature right now.
 
Just got a break in the storm and hooked up the ThermaQ to check grate temperature.  It's holding at 234 degrees.  The WSM seems like a good smoker.
 
Your WSM is a great smoker the more you use it the more you will love it! I let mine roll all night long!Thumbs Up
 
Sorry for not posting the results last night.  The ribs were great.  Nice bark, juicy, and tender.  Glad I have another rack and a half to smoke next weekend.

So here's the way it ended up last night: my son, his best friend, and their girlfriends unexpectedly showed up about the time the ribs were getting done.  So my wife and I offered them the ribs (but we got a few bites) and made homemade ice cream.  There's a few bites of each left in the refrigerator for lunch.

 
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Nice job on those ribs!  
points1.png
  I LOVE my WSM!

Mike
 
Sorry for not posting the results last night.  The ribs were great.  Nice bark, juicy, and tender.  Glad I have another rack and a half to smoke next weekend.

So here's the way it ended up last night: my son, his best friend, and their girlfriends unexpectedly showed up about the time the ribs were getting done.  So my wife and I offered them the ribs (but we got a few bites) and made homemade ice cream.  There's a few bites of each left in the refrigerator for lunch.

I have a feeling they may be stopping by at dinnertime a little more often, now :biggrin:
Points for the homemade ice cream. We have a machine in the attic I'd forgotten about. May just dust it off...
Thumbs Up
 
I have a feeling they may be stopping by at dinnertime a little more often, now
biggrin.gif

Points for the homemade ice cream. We have a machine in the attic I'd forgotten about. May just dust it off...
icon14.gif
The homemade ice cream last night was just perfect.  We have been tinkering with the recipe, and last night's tweaks produced the best ice cream to my liking.  I'm a huge fan of vanilla, but it's even better if it has a slight chocolate flavor as well.  But I don't like really thick ice cream - i like it a bit creamy but "loose".

For my 2-quart Cuisinart, here's the recipe:

2.5 cups chocolate milk (Purity brand)

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

0.25 cup white sugar

0.5 tsp vanilla extract (McCormick's brand)

The sweetness of the chocolate milk reduces the need for a lot of white sugar.
 
Thanks for the recipe, t bone! I'm partial to Vanilla myself, but the Mrs. loves Chocolate. We'll give it a try. [emoji]128578[/emoji]
I love vanilla as well.  When I want pure vanilla, I just substitute whole milk for the chocolate milk in the above recipe, and add a bit more sugar (but not much more).
 
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