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The Smoker's Challenge


Chief Dick
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I have family in town from Hawaii and North Carolina, so the plan is to smoke 3 slabs of ribs tomorrow for the Chiefs game. Game is at noon, so my target ready time is half time, so about 1:30cst.

 

I would normally do a 5 hour schedule, but I will add another hour for temp issues. Should be about 18 degrees when I start about 7:30am. Going to use a mix of hickory and cherry.

 

I'm pretty sure I can get a hot enough fire. Should be interesting. Wish me luck. :wacko:

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Well it's about 20 degrees outside, and temperature has not been a problem at all this morning. So the ribs will be ready by 12:30.

 

So far so good.

:D this is good info.....i was wonderin if i should get the snow off the smoker or just let it sit till spring.....may yer ribs pull apart and go down as easy as the chiefs :wacko:

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They were great. They were almost too moist and juicy. They literally melted in the mouth.

 

They were so tender I could barely cut the ribs, the meat was falling off so well.

see that's the fine line, my wife likes when they fall off i like ta cut them and chew the meat off....like the st louis ones at daves....no way i'll ever do ribs right :wacko:

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see that's the fine line, my wife likes when they fall off i like ta cut them and chew the meat off....like the st louis ones at daves....no way i'll ever do ribs right :wacko:

Do 'em right by you and let the wife figger it out herself.

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Supposed to be a high of 25 tomorrow with 15 mph winds gusting to 30 here.

My buddy asked the other day if I could smoke some ribs for a party he's having and I told him I was'nt sure b/c of the weather. He showed up today with 6 racks of spares so I guess I'm smoking. :D

I don't think I ever made that many before and I know I've never tried in this weather.

 

Chief, did you have to add any time b/c of the cold?

If I have 3 racks stacked with 2 racks per, will I have to rotate them from top to bottom at all or will they all cook evenly if I just leave them alone? :wacko:

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Supposed to be a high of 25 tomorrow with 15 mph winds gusting to 30 here.

My buddy asked the other day if I could smoke some ribs for a party he's having and I told him I was'nt sure b/c of the weather. He showed up today with 6 racks of spares so I guess I'm smoking. :D

I don't think I ever made that many before and I know I've never tried in this weather.

 

Chief, did you have to add any time b/c of the cold?

If I have 3 racks stacked with 2 racks per, will I have to rotate them from top to bottom at all or will they all cook evenly if I just leave them alone? :wacko:

If the temperature in the pit is that same as it always is then you shouldn't have to add any cooking time. In other words, 225 degrees Fahrenheit is 225 degrees whether it is 80 or 20 outside.

 

As far as rotating, is your smoker is a water smoker like mine, then the lower rack will be slightly warmer than the upper rack (about 7 to 10 degrees). I have also found that the upper rack has a slight bit more concentration of smoke flavor in the meat that goes up there. You may want to consider rotating the meat but I don't believe that it is 100% necessary.

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Supposed to be a high of 25 tomorrow with 15 mph winds gusting to 30 here.

My buddy asked the other day if I could smoke some ribs for a party he's having and I told him I was'nt sure b/c of the weather. He showed up today with 6 racks of spares so I guess I'm smoking. :D

I don't think I ever made that many before and I know I've never tried in this weather.

 

Chief, did you have to add any time b/c of the cold?

If I have 3 racks stacked with 2 racks per, will I have to rotate them from top to bottom at all or will they all cook evenly if I just leave them alone? :wacko:

 

With ribs I usually go with the 5 hour rule.

 

2 hours exposed

2 hours in foil

1 hour exposed

 

I allotted an extra hour just in case I couldn't keep a hot fire. Did not have a problem with keeping the fire where I wanted. The day I smoked we had a south wind, so I positioned the smoker with the firebox in the south position, with the theory I wanted the breeze to be able to stoke the fire. Thus, the ribs were positioned on the north end of the smoker.

 

Now, with you stacking ribs on top of each other, I probably allot an extra hour for sure, since you will need to rotate them. Meaning, you will have to open the smoking chamber to get to them, so you are introducing cold air to the chamber. I never rotate ribs once I put them on. But I only do 2 or 3 slabs at a time, and I have a rib rack that holds them vertically.

 

You may want to try this: Put the ribs on. Do 1.5 hours. Rotate ribs. Do another 1 hour and check. Wrap in foil. At this point you don't need to rotate them. Do 2 hours in foil. Back side of the ribs UP. Then one hour to finish outside the foil. Remember, the ribs will need to rest, and if you get them done early you can always put 'em in the oven to keep them warm. And I typically don't put sauce on them except for the last 20 minutes or so. Just enough to warm the sauce on the ribs.

 

Good luck.

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If the temperature in the pit is that same as it always is then you shouldn't have to add any cooking time. In other words, 225 degrees Fahrenheit is 225 degrees whether it is 80 or 20 outside.

Yeah, I did'nt take the time to word my question very well. That's what I meant, did he have any problem keeping up his temp. Thanks Kid.

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With ribs I usually go with the 5 hour rule.

 

2 hours exposed

2 hours in foil

1 hour exposed

 

I allotted an extra hour just in case I couldn't keep a hot fire. Did not have a problem with keeping the fire where I wanted. The day I smoked we had a south wind, so I positioned the smoker with the firebox in the south position, with the theory I wanted the breeze to be able to stoke the fire. Thus, the ribs were positioned on the north end of the smoker.

 

Now, with you stacking ribs on top of each other, I probably allot an extra hour for sure, since you will need to rotate them. Meaning, you will have to open the smoking chamber to get to them, so you are introducing cold air to the chamber. I never rotate ribs once I put them on. But I only do 2 or 3 slabs at a time, and I have a rib rack that holds them vertically.

 

You may want to try this: Put the ribs on. Do 1.5 hours. Rotate ribs. Do another 1 hour and check. Wrap in foil. At this point you don't need to rotate them. Do 2 hours in foil. Back side of the ribs UP. Then one hour to finish outside the foil. Remember, the ribs will need to rest, and if you get them done early you can always put 'em in the oven to keep them warm. And I typically don't put sauce on them except for the last 20 minutes or so. Just enough to warm the sauce on the ribs.

Good luck.

Thanks CD. I will give this a shot.

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:wacko: Ribs went on at 2!

 

Never did 'em in the crock Nuke. I'd imagine bone in country styles would be fine.

:D dammit, hand my hands on those and put'm brack....noway i go brack ta little mexico taday, maybe bite the bullet & hit the reg butcher though...ENJOYTHEMRIBS HOWBOUT :D

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