ON THE WEBER KETTLE AGAIN *** SPARES ***

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Hawging It

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jan 1, 2019
2,827
1,713
Southeast Mississippi
I guess I'm hooked on the Weber Kettle again. I haven't smoked on either of the stick burners in several weeks. I will go back to them in time but right now, having fun on the Weber. I bought 2 racks of spares and trimmed them down to Saint Louis style. Used my modified minion method. with 100 unlit Royal Oak briquettes, 5 lit briquettes and Cherry wood. Smoked at 250 degrees for 7 hours. I did not have to add any additional briquettes Took longer due to me spritzing with apple juice every hour and also removing the lid to add several layers of flavor along the way like Tiger sauce, root beer, butter and brown sugar. I really only had to fiddle with the top vent 2 or 3 times. I keep the bottom vent nearly closed. It stays at 1/4" open and I never touch it. The top vent stays at 1/4 " to 1/2 " open and ALL adjustments are made from the top vent. I do not wrap ribs and I do not worry about internal temps. When I can slide the tongs about halfway down the rack, lift the rack and it tries to break, then they are done. With this method they tend to turn out competition bite through tender and not fall off the bone tender. We prefer the competition bite through. It was another fun smoke on the kettle. No fiddling around with the unit trying to maintain a constant temperature. My modified minion method assures a simple, long smoke and you don't have to add additional briquettes.

RIBS ON.jpg

Racks are on.

TWO HOURS IN.jpg

About 2 hours in.

FINISHED.jpg

Finished after 7 hours.

SAUCED.jpg

Homemade BBQ sauce on this rack.

NO SAUCE.jpg

No sauce on this rack.

CUT 1.jpg


CUT 2.jpg
 
Those look fantastic! I’ve had a kettle for over 20 years and haven’t used it in a while. You've inspired me to get it out and give those ribs a try. BTY what is a competition bit?
I grill on the kettle all the time but over time I had forgotten how much good smoked Q the kettle can produce. I guess I just kinda made up the term Competition Bite. It's when the ribs are smoked to the desired tenderness that when you bite into the rib it leaves a perfect outline of the bite you made with your teeth and the meat doesn't fall off the bone. In competition this is what the competitors attempt to accomplish.
 
Another good one Hawg. I've taken note of your modified minion method.......... Seems to be a solid process. Hard to beat a good spare rib. LIKE!
 
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All I can say Hawg is that you have that kettle method down! Looks might tasty!
 
Another good one Hawg. I've taken note of your modified minion method.......... Seems to be a solid process. Hard to beat a good spare rib. LIKE!
Another good one Hawg. I've taken note of your modified minion method.......... Seems to be a solid process. Hard to beat a good spare rib. LIKE!
Thanks a lot. We love spares the best. Better flavor and easier to smoke. The modified minion method is the ticket. It truly makes Weber Kettle offset smoking smoking pretty much set and forget. Ya still need to verify temps every now and then. That's just the smart thing to do.
 
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