Smokin Beef Ribs Today!!! (With Pics)

[#3Rules]

Well, I've decided to smoke some beef ribs today, I got started pretty late, so they probably won't be ready until damn near 9:00. I'm gonna keep y'all updated with pics.

I got some new rib racks for Christmas, so I figured why not give them a try. I've never done beef ribs with a rack, but what the hell. This will be an experiment. I got 2 racks of beef ribs from HEB, and cut each one in two pieces so that they would fit on the rack. They're rubbed down and ready to go on the smoker -

And now they're smokin -

 

[Traffic]

Badass. Real time 'que.

Would you post some pics of your fire-box (assuming it's indirect) and how you have your wood / charcoal stacked?

That's the area I struggle with the most in terms of keeping a good fire going. Always looking for ways to improve here.

 

[#3Rules]

Traffic - here's a pic of the fire box. To be honest, I'm definitely not an expert at this. I've only recently started using logs. I used to just go with lump and some wood chunks. For this smoke I built a bed of lump, dumped a chimney of lump on top, and then after that got goin, added 3 pecan logs. I've since added one more log.

 

[GakFoo]

ok those look awesome. i think i'll wait around to hear/see the final results

good luck -- i hope they turn out as good as they look

 

[Traffic]

Thanks for the pic. I do what you said you were previously doing - lump charcoal w/ wood chips.

I want to start using logs because I feel like I have to constantly watch the charcoal/chips to make sure they don't burn-out too quickly.

 

[#3Rules]

Traffic - Are you using chips or chunks? I've never used chips, only chunks. I'd highly recommend that you don't use chips. They burn way to quickly and do not produce quality smoke.

 

[Traffic]

Good catch....I'm using chunks, not chips. I still feel like they burn too fast.

Maybe I'm not using enough charcoal. You said you laid down a bed of coals and then added a chimney's worth on top. I usually start with a chimney and add another 25 or so.

I think I'm not using enough charcoal and not enough wood to begin with.

I do "use" enough beer, though.

 

[#3Rules]

After about 3 1/2 hours on the smoker -

I decided to remove them from the rack, I think it was taking up too much space and not allowing for enough circulation.

Traffic - I'd try building a very large base of lump (big enough to ttake up a good amount of the firebox) and dumping a chimney of lump on top, then I'd add 3-4 chunks.

 

[Tailgate]

What rub did you use? Lookin good!

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

# 3, me & the wife just had a baby... I'm assuming you'll be dropping those by soon? They'd damn sure be better than the <hack><koff>quiches<hack><koff> & spelt pizza my SiL brought last night.

I need rib racks like that; the ones I have fit into the holes in my Bandera & are a bit too wide... the ribs tend to bend a bit & the ribs don't stay that well.

I'll assume yours come out greasy if you don't turn 'em "hump up" like you have shown us?

 

[#3Rules]

Tailgate - I'll normally just make my own rub, but I was in a hurry, so I tried some stuff that I got for Christmas. The Link

It's probably not meant for smoking, but what the hell. We'll see how it turns out.

Here they are after 5 hours, I also threw on some sausage for the last bit -

 

[#3Rules]

NCAAFBALLROX - Congrats on the new addition to your family. I saw him on your thread, you got a good lookin boy there. I've got baby #3 #2 coming in July, so the wife better not eat all the ribs.

Here's the ribs racks I was using, if you want to get you some -The Link

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

From the bbqgalore link:

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[jimmyjazz]

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[MaximumBarnes]

So...were they good or what?

 

[#3Rules]

Well damn, my internet went out about the time I had these bad boys ready last night.

They turned out pretty good, definitely not my finest effort, but pretty good. I think I'll not use that rub again. I think the rub probably had a tad too much sugar in it, and caused the ribs to char up just a bit too much. The sausage was the ****, I used the fresh polish sausage they sell at HEB. I've done it several times, and it is always fantastic.

BTW - I use the potato to hold the probe for my digital thermometer. I use that for my smoker temp gauge, the spud simply holds the probe in the right place.

 

[TXHorn]

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[Texas97]

Where did you get your thermometer?

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I love the food posts with pics.

 

[UpRight]

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[#3Rules]

Texas97 - Sorry, I didn't see your post until today. It's just a basic digital probe thermometer that I got at HEB for like $12.

I'm gonna upgrade to one of these bad boys before too long.The Link