Smoked some Spareribs yesterday

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AllenOK

Executive Chef
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Ok, ready to drool? Napkins are on the counter.

This first pic is of the ribs being brined. The brine is cold, as I took this pic after the ribs/brine were in the fridge all night. I found that rolling the ribs around the inside of a stockpot is most efficient in space. The brine helps by adding moisture to the meat, so the ribs won't dry out.

brinedribscp6.jpg


This pic is the three racks of spareribs, after they've come out of the brine, patted dry, and rubbed down with my own dry rub mix. The color is off, as I had turned off the flash.

rubbedribsge7.jpg


Here is my smoker getting started. If you look on the lower right of the smoker, you'll see the charcoal starter, with a bit of flame coming out. And, yes, it is RAINING! Freaking rain moved in and delayed my firing by an hour.

firingsmokeric2.jpg


This shot is after I dumped the charcoal into the fire-grate, and added some wood. I was burning pecan logs, with a few hickory chunks. Some of the "smoke" is actually steam, as the smoking chamber heats up, and the water on the outside cooks off.

preheatingsmokergz3.jpg


This shot is after I had been smoking for a couple hours. This is how much smoke I like to have coming out. A nice, thin, blue-ish plume of smoke coming out.

smokingnicelyna4.jpg


This is a shot at one of my refuel/baste steps. I've got the main door to the SFB open, as the drawer just isn't big enough for the logs I'm using, and, since it's wet out, if I had a towel out there, it would just get wet, and the handle would still burn my hand. I've also got the main smoking chamber open to baste the ribs with some apple juice, which is in the spray mister.

refuelandbastese1.jpg


Now, I know this is heresy amongst die-hard BBQ fanatics, but I finished my ribs in the oven, at 250 degrees F. after smoking for 4 hours. I wrap the racks in plastic wrap, then into foil, and in the oven it goes for two more hours. Here's the ribs, after they came out, and I cut them apart.

cutribsbt9.jpg


And, finally, my finished plate. Ok, now where's my.....What! OH THE HORROR! I FORGOT THE BEER!

20070510dinnerxe1.jpg


Disclaimer: My images may not show due to bandwidth limitations. If they are not visible, check back at a later time.
 
Looks great, Allen!

What are you doing with charcoal lighter fluid, though? The idea of a chimney starter such as the one you have, is to eliminate that foul stuff.

You put tightly crumpled up newspaper, or a Weber firestarter cube (it's what I use), under the chimney. When either is lit, it then lights the charcoal in the chimney and burns UP. You dump the chimney when the coals on top have just started to gray for a slower fire.

Lee
 
Try explaining that one to my other half, PeppA. She bought it for me, not realizing that I don't need it.

I take 5 small briquettes, and give a little squirt. Load the starter, then light it off. Hardly any use of the stuff.

On the other side, even if I had used crumpled newspaper, I doubt it would have caught, with the rain.

LOL, I just knew someone was going to catch that and call me on it.
 
AllenOK said:
Try explaining that one to my other half, PeppA. She bought it for me, not realizing that I don't need it.

I take 5 small briquettes, and give a little squirt. Load the starter, then light it off. Hardly any use of the stuff.

On the other side, even if I had used crumpled newspaper, I doubt it would have caught, with the rain.

LOL, I just knew someone was going to catch that and call me on it.
Hi Allen - I have an ECB (El' Cheapo Brinkman) that is brand new in the box, and I plan to modify for the best usage per the USENET recommendations/FAQ. My primary issue is that it requires me to actually read the 22 pages of modifications document that will cause my eyes to bleed since I have been a computer tech type guy since 1980, and we know tech type people can't read tech documents unless they already failed.. Therefore, I will endeavor to make the changes this summer, and make edibles like you made the pictures of, and make all in the neighborhood jealious and [SIZE=-1]suicidal (since they can't duplicate and their immediate family will kill them)[/SIZE], and have my wife call my god like (I know that's a fantasy at this point), but seriously... thinks for the picts. I don't think I'll be going for the smoke output you had in the picture, but those are some tasty looking ribs ;-)

Calsper
 
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