# WSM temperature issues, ribs are on now, help please.



## starwalt12 (Nov 17, 2011)

For this cook I used the minion method with putting the lit charcoal in the middle surrounded by unlit charcoal.  The new therm in the WSM lid is reading about 215, the digital I have with the probe in a potato sitting on the grate with the ribs is reading 270.  Which one do I believe, or should I figure out the difference tween the two and shoot for the middle?  Thanks in advance guys....


----------



## Bob In Fla. (Nov 17, 2011)

They both could be correct.  Your grate is closer to the fire.  As the cooking time progresses, they should come together closer.  The one closest to the ribs probably gives you a better indication of what it is like where the ribs are.

Having said all of that, while 215 is (in my opinion) a little low for cooking ribs, if you ask what temperature to use for cooking ribs, you'll most likely get a temperature spread greater then what you are seing between your thermometers.

Did I confuse you?  Sorry.

You are doing OK.  Sounds like you'll have some great ribs.  Remember what they say around here about pictures...

BOB


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 17, 2011)

thank you no you did not confuse me, I understand what you are saying, I just didn't figure there would be that big a difference from the grate to the themr in the lid.  I already decided to watch the digital one since it is right next to the ribs.  right now it is holding around 235-240.  good temp I presume?  Oh and there will be pictures just as there was wed night with my chicken I smoked......Thank you for the quick response!!


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 17, 2011)

Lot of good reasons for the temp differential. Lay aside all those fancy gauges and lay the palm of your hand on the lid and start counting by Missippiis till you get a sudden urge to move your hand. If you can get to three or four missisippiis thats about right for ribs. If it drops below four its time to shake the firepan and add some fuel maybe. If it gets in the one or two range its time to grill steaks.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 17, 2011)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Lot of good reasons for the temp differential. Lay aside all those fancy gauges and lay the palm of your hand on the lid and start counting by Missippiis till you get a sudden urge to move your hand. If you can get to three or four missisippiis thats about right for ribs. If it drops below four its time to shake the firepan and add some fuel maybe. If it gets in the one or two range its time to grill steaks.



I can get almost a 4 count.  Digital therm still reads 267.  All 3 bottom vents are closed.  Am I still doing ok?  Maybe I had too much lit fuel in the center to begin with?  around 25 briquettes.  Was this too many?


----------



## NewHeart (Nov 17, 2011)

Sounds pretty good to me.  WSMs tend to run a little hot the first few cooks until the smoke buildup gets rid of the gloss inside.  BW is right--a lot of us tend to obsess over the temps like 5º is going to ruin everything.

You only need 8 or 9 fully lit (gray all over) briquettes for a successful MM.


----------



## john pen (Nov 18, 2011)

Ok... so I thought dome temps should be higher then grate temps.. Ya know.. that ole heat rising thing..Sounds like you need to boil some water and calibrate your thermometers..


----------



## Greg Rempe (Nov 18, 2011)

Dome temps should be higher than grate temps...Did you put each therm in boiling water to see if they read 212* before doing the cook?


----------



## Vermin999 (Nov 18, 2011)

Dome temps and grate temp usually will equalize or get pretty close to each other after a while as long as you don't open the lid. No sure on a WSM but on a UDS the area along the walls is hotter than it is toward the middle to.  Don't obsess over temps just make sure your cooking at a safe temp. Its BBQ not rocket science, enjoy yourself and have another beer, everything will turn out fine.


----------



## bbquzz (Nov 18, 2011)

Amen V!


----------



## Nick Prochilo (Nov 18, 2011)

Don't mess around with it, follow "V"'s advise. If your grate one is reading around 235 - 240 and you did the bigwheel test on the lid, your doing fine. The worst thing you can do is open the lid to take a peek. I'm assuming your using the 3-2-1 method?


----------



## NewHeart (Nov 18, 2011)

OK, those ribs have been on for over 24 hours, now, so they should be almost done.  Hoping to see the pictures of the blackened husks soon.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 18, 2011)

So I was disappointed again.
This first pics looks good.
Second pic not so much.  Little frustrating, did not taste good, well the rub was fantastic but the meat itself was less than desirable.  By looking at the meat............What did I do wrong?  A little earlier I checked the digital therm in boiling water and it was spot on. I checked the temp on these probably every 20 min.  It ranged anywhere from 218-280.  only opened the lid only 4 or 5 times during the cook to spray on a bit of apple juice.  Like I said, frustrating, it shouldn't be this hard.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 18, 2011)

The way I loaded the pics the second one is the one that looks good, obviously.


----------



## Crabnbass (Nov 18, 2011)

You're right, it shouldn't be hard, it should be fun! I'm no expert by any means, but it almost looks like you didn't give them long enough to render out.  If your temps are stable, put them on and don't even look at them for 3 hours and then go from there. How much wood are you using? If its more than 3 or 4 fist sized chunks you might be over smoking them a bit. And remember, nobody is Myron F'n Mixon on their first few tries. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 18, 2011)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> Don't mess around with it, follow "V"'s advise. If your grate one is reading around 235 - 240 and you did the bigwheel test on the lid, your doing fine. The worst thing you can do is open the lid to take a peek. I'm assuming your using the 3-2-1 method?



No I havent use the 3-2-1 method either time I did ribs.  I guess to me it seems strange to wrap them in foil, maybe I'm wrong...


----------



## bbquzz (Nov 18, 2011)

starwalt12 said:
			
		

> No I havent use the 3-2-1 method either time I did ribs.  I guess to me it seems strange to wrap them in foil, maybe I'm wrong...


You gotta try everything once ... I have never had to do a full 3-2-1, more like a 3/2-1-1, maybe even only 3/4 hour in the foil. I use the Rempe, Squeeze Parkay, brown sugar and Tiger Sauce in the foil .... recently I have been glazing that last hour with Bone Sucking Sauce .... Killer!


----------



## Nick Prochilo (Nov 19, 2011)

What didn't you like about the meat? You didn't mention wether it was dry, over smoked or tough. Give us a hint, we will help.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 19, 2011)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> What didn't you like about the meat? You didn't mention wether it was dry, over smoked or tough. Give us a hint, we will help.



Hard to chew and super fatty, and I understand ribs are fatty, but ya arent supposed to be able to see it like the picture shows are ya?


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 19, 2011)

Sounds like they wasn't done yet or was cooked too fast. Either scenario will leave large blobs of un rendered fat and make them chewy. If they were cooked too fast there should have been quite an expanse of nekked end bones sticking out and the meat turns itself into a tough little ball o meat and fat. Commonly called climbing the bone around these parts.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 19, 2011)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Sounds like they wasn't done yet or was cooked too fast. Either scenario will leave large blobs of un rendered fat and make them chewy. If they were cooked too fast there should have been quite an expanse of nekked end bones sticking out and the meat turns itself into a tough little ball o meat and fat. Commonly called climbing the bone around these parts.



As can be seen in the pic the meat hardly pulled back on the bones.  These cooked for between 6 and 6.5 hours, I can't figure how they weren't done, but I was told earlier today at work not to fixate on the time of cook.  He said: " Sir don't worry about how long the ribs have been on there, worry about when they are done, did you do the tear test?"  to which I replied yes, and they didnt tear, but I thought 6+hours was enough.  I do believe these ribs weren't cooked long enough.  Since the time was as long as it was could it be they were cooked at too low of a temp?  I ask these questions hoping atleast some other people have these issues when they first start smokin food, and I'm not a complete idiot......


----------



## bbquzz (Nov 19, 2011)

Not sure I wouldn't try buying another rack, rub on a little vegetable oil dust them with some rub, not a lot, 2, 3 4 tablespoons worth. Go out and build a fire with two or three fist sized chunks of whatever wood you like. Watch the dome thermometer on the WSM, get it it in the "SMOKE" range and keep it there for 15-20 minutes. Put your ribs and do not open it up for three hours, just make minor adjustments to your vents to hold that "SMOKE" range on the dome thermometer. At three hours get several large pieces of tin foil and wrap the ribs in the foil with a little apple juice in there and wrap them up tight. Put them back on for two hours, do not open the lid until the two hours. Work to maintain that "SMOKE" temperature for that two hours. Pull the ribs off and open the vents and get the temperature up as high as you can. Put the ribs back on  and put on a light coat of your favorite sauce. Now check them about every 15 minutes  and put another light coat of sauce on them, if they start to get dark before one hour, pull them, let them rest a few minutes and then eat'em. Most of all don't obsessing about the temperature. I almost forgot, first thing is get a 12 pack of beer and after you put the ribs on open one in your right hand, pick on up in your left hand, start drinking from the right hand, when empty move the beer from the left had to the right and open, pick up another in your left had and repeat for three hours. You won't have time to open that dome. Just my opinion, hope this helps.


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 19, 2011)

Well them pics must be hid good cuz I aint seen em. Your pal is right on the money..if they cant pass the tear test..which is my only method to check for doneness..they dang sure aint gonna pass the eating test. Get rid of the clock. When they pass the tear test wrap em right quick (if they aint already wrapped) and throw them in the insulated hot box while they still hot hot. Leave for at least an hour. That put the tender coup de grace on em so speak. Sorta like the bullet to the head from the old Frog Eating Frenchie firing squad. You know they claim the coup de grace worked mo betta that shooting them old steel jacketed bullets into a persons chest. Who would ever guess that? lol Now I am slightly teasing on this throw away the clock deal. If you cook them too low and slow they turn to bone in pork jerky..at least on most pits commonly available to us mortals. For temp gauge watchers 260 is real hard to beat. They will get done before the cows come home. Keep the meat side pointed down the entire time and do not spill the juice which gathers on top. Now my old chum with the big Southern Pride cooks everything at 195 for a real long time and you can eat his brisket with a spoon if you want. Ribs slide down the throats of the toothless old widder ladies like jello. Few issues to solve on that deal primarily pit humidity levels..blah blah blah.


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 19, 2011)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Well them pics must be hid good cuz I aint seen em. Your pal is right on the money..if they cant pass the tear test..which is my only method to check for doneness..they dang sure aint gonna pass the eating test. Get rid of the clock. When they pass the tear test wrap em right quick (if they aint already wrapped) and throw them in the insulated hot box while they still hot hot. Leave for at least an hour. That put the tender coup de grace on em so speak. Sorta like the bullet to the head from the old Frog Eating Frenchie firing squad. You know they claim the coup de grace worked mo betta that shooting them old steel jacketed bullets into a persons chest. Who would ever guess that? lol Now I am slightly teasing on this throw away the clock deal. If you cook them too low and slow they turn to bone in pork jerky..at least on most pits commonly available to us mortals. For temp gauge watchers 260 is real hard to beat. They will get done before the cows come home. Keep the meat side pointed down the entire time and do not spill the juice which gathers on top. Now my old chum with the big Southern Pride cooks everything at 195 for a real long time and you can eat his brisket with a spoon if you want. Ribs slide down the throats of the toothless old widder ladies like jello. Few issues to solve on that deal primarily pit humidity levels..blah blah blah.



Convex side down huh?  and use the juice that collects for something, or just let it sit there?  maybe pour it into the foil when I wrap them?  I guess I was under the impression that 260 is too hot.  Oh and the pics of these ribs are on the first page of this thread.


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 19, 2011)

Yep now are you are barking up the right tree. Meat side down makes a little concave depression on top. The juice which collects should be left undisturbed the entire time till it passes the tear test cus it bastes the meat on the bottom side. Real similar to cooking filthy barnyard avians breastes down to allow the backbone to baste the breast as opposed to vice versa. Now once it passes the tear test..wrap it without spilling the juice and stick in the hotbox. Thick styrofoam works much mo betta than thick or thin plastic. Folded up newspapers on top and bottom..then tick off an hour..actually two or three hours up to half a day is best. Then if you want perfection you crack the lid on the hotbox and cool them down super slowly as feasible then you open it fully and try to get them to ambient temp or still only slightly warmish. Once they have reached that point you can pour off the juice and do what you want with it. Will give one tip on that..if you want to use it in your glaze...which some folks like to do be sure and defat it. (Big thanks to my old pal Rock McNeilly and a fella named Allan something or other who sometimes poses as the Fatman over at the Outhouse forum. First I ever heard of the method of breastes down split chicken come from Rock where he called them Swimcap Chicken..then Allan comes up and teaches me this meat down bizness on ribs. What a couple of nice guys huh. Now I tossed in a few things I learned the hard way of course


----------



## Greg Rempe (Nov 19, 2011)

I can't see where cooking ribs meat down is going to help anything... Depending on the cooker, you are putting the meat to the heat... That doesn't make you much sense to me... Sounds like you got a temp issue... I would stay meat up if I were you.  

Sent From My HTC Inspire


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 19, 2011)

Try it a time or two. You will like it. You can also honestly claim you are cooking nekked ribs. Now for comp I might consider the 3-2-1-1 plan if for some reason they had cleaned out the seasoned citizen center for rib judges and you just feel down in your feeler they would like mushy falling off the bone type ribs. Still observing the meat down rule as much as possible. If a person follow the instructions and do like uncle bigwheel say they will be nice n tender but it will still require some biting effort lol.


----------



## Crabnbass (Nov 19, 2011)

I don't know, something isn't adding up here. Were the ribs frozen when you put them on?


----------



## starwalt12 (Nov 19, 2011)

Crabnbass said:
			
		

> I don't know, something isn't adding up here. Were the ribs frozen when you put them on?



Absolutely not.


----------



## bigwheel (Nov 20, 2011)

Hey Walt went back and found the pics and reread some on the technique. Got to be they was undercooked. Each time the lid comes off the heat goes out the window..especially when you do the yankee applejuice squirting deal..and the heat has to build up again from scratch on each occasion. I would consider knocking off on that procedure immediately if not sooner.  You also need the 55 gallon barrel to dunk down over the top. Few bricks under it to hold it off the ground. Not sure how tall are the WSM's so you might need to set the barrel up on some cinder blocks. The gap on the bottom lets it keep drawing air from around the bottom. That give it a wind break and insulation. Those R2D2 type gizmos lose a bunch of heat when the slightest amount of cool breeze start hammering the thin metal. Not sure why they turned so black. Was you trying to use Cheery wood by any chance? That stuff turns meat blacker than a hooers heart. Get to be best friends with Oak in case you aint already been introduced. Pee Can is also good as is a judiciously small amount of Hickory. PS Edit: That burnt sugar water aka apple juice might could also turn them black. Just trying to cover all the bases here


----------

