# Q #3 Ribs and stuff



## pacanis (Nov 2, 2008)

I gotta say, from all the posts I've read saying 3-2-1 for ribs, including babybacks, I shoulda known..... Waaaay too tender for me, but absolutely fantastic tasting meat, and juicy, too! This is going to get tweaked to suit me, I just hope I don't change the meat very much. These were by far the best tasting ribs I ever made. On the other hand, for someone who likes the meat falling off the bones, these are for you  I need to work on the color, too. I'm used to flames licking the sauce to caramelize it, low and slow seemed to do nothing more than keep the sauce warm 

Also some ABTs and something I found on another forum, a stuffed jalapeno (just cream cheese and onion) wrapped in a thin chicken breast with cheddar, seasoning, garlic and onion. And of course, held together with bacon  I can't remember the last time I used 24 oz of bacon to cook with 

I'm getting better at controling my heat and I can't wait until this lump is gone. It catches way too fast and the temp varies a _lot_ more than using briquettes. At one point I had all three vents on the WSM closed plus the top vent 1/3 closed just to maintain 250. On the other hand, the lump might be good when it gets to be winter here.....

I also don't understand why the ABTs didn't seem to darken up like last week. The only real difference, other than the cooker being hotter today, is they were on the bottom grate, and the smoke was different. I used apple and oak compared to hickory. They still tasted great though.
I'm liking getting to learn this new method of cooking.


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## pdswife (Nov 2, 2008)

just look at all that bacon!  It's gotta be good!


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## pacanis (Nov 2, 2008)

pdswife said:


> just look at all that bacon! It's gotta be good!


 
That's what I keep telling myself  

I'm not even a big bacon eater, but the smoke adds a real nice flavor to it. Quite a bit different from frying it in a pan.


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## QSis (Nov 2, 2008)

Looking good, pacanis!

I would have left the ABT's on longer, and would have kicked up the heat, to crisp up the bacon.

You know that the top level of the WSM is usually hotter than the lower level, right?

Lee


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## jminion (Nov 2, 2008)

BabyBacks in foil for two hours like you I would find them way to tender, 45 mins to 1 hour depending pit temp.

Hickory is a stronger flavored smoke than apple but I find it a sweeter flavor I enjoy.

The bottom grate will run 25 degrees or more cooler than the top grate.


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## sattie (Nov 2, 2008)

Ok, so when will I see you on FN???


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## deelady (Nov 2, 2008)

Looks wonderful....only thing is, I don't undersand the whole "too tender" issue!!  is that really possible? Ok I get that its a prefference but man, I just can't relate! Any meat falling off the bone is pure heaven in my book!!!



Love the wrapped chicken idea!!


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## kitchenelf (Nov 2, 2008)

Beautimus!  ...or is that Beautimous?  Whatever it is I wish I was eating it!  Once again you have made us crazy with your pics!


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## pacanis (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks everyone.

Sattie, FN? Maybe next time they have one of those shows on where they are teaching people how to barbeque. That was one of my favorite shows, but I don't have $5000 to spend for a week in a hotel in the mountains of VA (lol).

I didn't know the bottom rack was cooler than the top rack. I knew the top rack was cooler than the lid, but thought the proximity of the bottom grate to the heat source would make it hotter. Thanks, Lee.
I had my probe on the bottom grate and the temps were hotter than when I did the ABTs last week, they just didn't cook up the same. Maybe because the heat was travelling up beside them around the pan. I did have the probe close to an edge. At the time I was thinking it was the smoke, since last week I used hickory and yesterday I used apple and oak, and the chips I used did not produce the same smoke until later into the burn (that's another story). Still, you can see how pink the ribs got, you just can't see the ring because they fell apart (lol). It looked to me that they were pink all the way through.

Dee, buy too tender I didn't mean the taste, that's for sure, but I like my ribs to stay together. I couldn't even cut into these to check the smoke ring without the bones squishing out. It would be like lifting up a roasted chicken leg to separate it at the joint and you are left holding the bone in your hand. It's a presentation thang ;^)

J, you are right. I should have cut my foil time back like when I grill ribs indirect. I had to be careful handling them after three hours and I'm sure they were done then.
BUT..... I've got three more racks in the freezer to get it right (lol). The apple and oak was definitely my favorite smoke so far. I'm going to look for a source for chunks, or go do some trimming on the apple trees out back.

This Qing is addictive.


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## letscook (Nov 3, 2008)

Oh my that looks great,  i could dig in right now and it is only 6:30 in the morning. 
somehow my cereal just doesn't taste like what im looking at,

Good Job


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## love2"Q" (Nov 3, 2008)

looks great, pacanis ...


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## pacanis (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks Q. Thanks letscook.
I'm looking forward to heating up the leftovers.


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