first BBQ of the year - spare ribs!

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   i'll post q-view this evening when i get home, but for now, here are the juicy details. i kept a log of this smoke and the way it went down in order to preserve some of the things i learned.   

date - 3 April 2010  
weather conditions - sunny, mid-50s, very windy  
unit - brinkmann SnP, modified as per this link  
fuel - royal oak lump charcoal (red bag)  
smoking wood - hickory chunks  
meat to be barbecued - 4 racks of pork spare ribs, trimmed st. louis-style (not injected)  
cooking temperature: 240-260* f  
slather - plain, yellow mustard  
rub - famous dave's rib rub, applied liberally 
mop/spritz - 

3/4 cup orange juice 
3/4 cup pineapple juice 
1/4 cup ponzu 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
blended before each use; applied via spray bottle
glaze - 

1/3 cup orange juice 
1/3 cup pineapple juice 
2/3 cup plain, yellow mustard 
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
heated in saucepan over medium heat until well-blended and hot, then covered and allowed to cool. applied via basting brush 
timeline -  

1430 - ribs on 
1515 - mop/rotate 
1600 - mop/rotate 
1700 - mop/rotate 
1800 - mop/rotate 
1900 - mop/rotate 
1915 - glaze/rotate 
2000 - glaze and serve
a bit of explanation: i set the ribs in a box pattern in the center of the smoking chamber: one "verticle," two "horzontal" and the fourth verticle again. in the center of the "box" was the probe for my accurite digital thermometer pushed through a potato. with each mopping and with the first glazing, i rotated the ribs, turning them over and moving them clockwise in conformance with the box pattern, keeping the thicker end of the ribs toward the firebox. this assured even cooking and a uniform final product.
results: the ribs tasted great! the flavours of the rub worked very well with the mop and the glaze. no sauce was needed for these ribs, on the side or otherwise! nearly all fat and connective tissue was rendered out and i found the ribs to be fairly meaty with great flavour. smoke ring penetration was very good, nearly to the middle, and was a nice-looking pink, exactly like it should be. tenderness was just right; a little bit of tug with no mushy or falling-off-the-bone nonsense. smoke flavour was evident, but not overpowering, with absolutely no bitterness or other undesirable flavours. the beautiful mrs. taz normally cringes when i roll out the smoker, but said that this attempt tasted very good and the "ashtray" taste that she usually complains about was not there. score! kids loved em, as always, and i consider the first smoke of the year to be a resounding success.
i must say that temperature control with the great northern manifold was a breeze, even in the high winds that we had that day! also, two of the "new" mods to my SnP helped quite a bit. the first was the beefed-up firebox door that i had fabricated, this worked very well and i believe helped with fuel consumption. the second factor was a heat shield generously provided by 3MONTES (thanks, keith!). this heat shield also helped to maximise charcoal efficiency and of course protects the lower area of the firebox. i was able to insert this shield right through the firebox lid and it set perfectly in the firebox, leaving about a half-inch of air beneath it to provide an insulating effect for heat retention. it worked so well, in fact, that i am considering having my welder fashion one from thicker steel (perhaps 1/8- or 1/4-inch).

pix to follow!

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TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: first BBQ of the year - spare ribs! Posted: 05 April 2010 at 13:51
	i'll post q-view this evening when i get home, but for now, here are the juicy details. i kept a log of this smoke and the way it went down in order to preserve some of the things i learned. date - 3 April 2010 weather conditions - sunny, mid-50s, very windy unit - brinkmann SnP, modified as per this link fuel - royal oak lump charcoal (red bag) smoking wood - hickory chunks meat to be barbecued - 4 racks of pork spare ribs, trimmed st. louis-style (not injected) cooking temperature: 240-260* f slather - plain, yellow mustard rub - famous dave's rib rub, applied liberally mop/spritz - 3/4 cup orange juice 3/4 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup ponzu 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil blended before each use; applied via spray bottle glaze - 1/3 cup orange juice 1/3 cup pineapple juice 2/3 cup plain, yellow mustard 2/3 cup dark brown sugar heated in saucepan over medium heat until well-blended and hot, then covered and allowed to cool. applied via basting brush timeline - 1430 - ribs on 1515 - mop/rotate 1600 - mop/rotate 1700 - mop/rotate 1800 - mop/rotate 1900 - mop/rotate 1915 - glaze/rotate 2000 - glaze and serve a bit of explanation: i set the ribs in a box pattern in the center of the smoking chamber: one "verticle," two "horzontal" and the fourth verticle again. in the center of the "box" was the probe for my accurite digital thermometer pushed through a potato. with each mopping and with the first glazing, i rotated the ribs, turning them over and moving them clockwise in conformance with the box pattern, keeping the thicker end of the ribs toward the firebox. this assured even cooking and a uniform final product. results: the ribs tasted great! the flavours of the rub worked very well with the mop and the glaze. no sauce was needed for these ribs, on the side or otherwise! nearly all fat and connective tissue was rendered out and i found the ribs to be fairly meaty with great flavour. smoke ring penetration was very good, nearly to the middle, and was a nice-looking pink, exactly like it should be. tenderness was just right; a little bit of tug with no mushy or falling-off-the-bone nonsense. smoke flavour was evident, but not overpowering, with absolutely no bitterness or other undesirable flavours. the beautiful mrs. taz normally cringes when i roll out the smoker, but said that this attempt tasted very good and the "ashtray" taste that she usually complains about was not there. score! kids loved em, as always, and i consider the first smoke of the year to be a resounding success. i must say that temperature control with the great northern manifold was a breeze, even in the high winds that we had that day! also, two of the "new" mods to my SnP helped quite a bit. the first was the beefed-up firebox door that i had fabricated, this worked very well and i believe helped with fuel consumption. the second factor was a heat shield generously provided by 3MONTES (thanks, keith!). this heat shield also helped to maximise charcoal efficiency and of course protects the lower area of the firebox. i was able to insert this shield right through the firebox lid and it set perfectly in the firebox, leaving about a half-inch of air beneath it to provide an insulating effect for heat retention. it worked so well, in fact, that i am considering having my welder fashion one from thicker steel (perhaps 1/8- or 1/4-inch). pix to follow!

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Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 April 2010 at 14:09
	Excellent succes, Ron! Sounds mouthwatering and I bet they looked beautiful. Loking forward to the pictures!

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 April 2010 at 14:23
	they will be posted sometime tonight, john - i ran out of battery right at the very end of the cooking, so no plated picture, but that's OK because they went straight from platter to mouth anyway! one note about the charcoal - i am thinking of going back to charcoal briquettes - i liked the smells produced by this lump charcoal, but found them to be a little erratic in their burning rate. this wouldn't be so bad, except the other thing was that a large percentage of the pieces were so small as to be ineffective and many of them fell through my charcoal basket, even though it is fairly tightly-woven expanded metal. royal oak makes a "green bag" lump charcoal that is very nice in smells and flavour, but this red bag wasn't worth the drawbacks. i have one more bag of it, then will probably just use kingsford briquettes when i am unable to find the royal oak green bag. the briqs seem to burn just as well with mouch more uniformity and stability. any thoughts on this?

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 April 2010 at 22:20
	alright, as promised, here is some good q-view: here's a shot showing the twin-manifold design of the great northern concept. i have to say that it performed in outstanding fashion. not only does it even out temperatures across the smoking chamber, it also seems to regulate airflow very well and provides a perfect balance between heat, airflow and smoke coverage. in this instance, i have the primary manifold right up against the firebox and the secondary butted right up against the primary. the vents provided very good coverage for smoke while the thick steel plate protected the meat from the direct,scorching heat. overall, the design provided very stable temperatures and very quick recovery of temperatures when adding fuel or opening the lid to mop/rotate etc. this design and the improvements made to it were a very good investment and i would heartily recommend it to anyone looking to improve the performance of his or her unit! here's a shot of the RIVET-designed charcoal basket. this thing is just right for offset units in that it provides ample clearance for airflow underneath, while also providing more than enough froom for fuel and its rotation, if desired. as with the manifolds above, i strongly recommend them for their good design and also for their "bulletproof" construction. in these shots, i actually have the charcoal reversed from what i normally do. i usually have the lit stuff up against the "eastern" end near the smoking chamber and the unlit over to the "west" end, to be rotated as the lit charcoal burns down (meanting that i push the charcoal over to the east and add more unlit to the west). but, i am half-north-dakotan and sometimes i get my wires crossed, so i started out backwards for this barbecue and then made things right the first time i added fuel. to be honest, it seemed that things worked out well in spite of the mistake. here's how the ribs looked before any cooking. they were fairly-well trimmed, but looking back, i should have done a little more trimming of the brisket. no big deal, they tasted great! the rub i used on the mustard slather was famous dave's and i strongly recommend it for those who prefer to use a store-bought rub. famous dave's is a restaurant chain that offers some really nice food in a great atmosphere. we went to one in billings a week or so ago and for 35$, they brought a pile of barbecue (ribs, pulled pork, brisket and chicken) with all the trimmings (corn on the cob, muffins, cole slaw and beans) on a big garbage can lid. very good food at a very reasonable price! here are the ribs going on the grate in the box pattern described above (yes, i did move the thermometer probe cable after taking the picture!). looking back, i probably could have laid them all side-by-side in a north/south orientation, but see comments above referring to my borth-dakotan heritage. as it was, the rotation worked very well for even and consistent cooking! here's a shot of the ribs just before they came off the grates. they sure looked good to me, but they tasted even better! the yellow is where the glaze went on a little thick. this was no problem, however, because those little pockets of glaze were loaded with rich, citrussy, sweet-tart goodness! at the end of the smoke, here's what i had left in the charcoal basket. fairly efficient fuel consumption, considering the very windy conditions and the balmy weather. all-in-all, a very successful first smoke of the year ~ thanks for looking and stay tuned for more (hopefully) great barbecue sessions this year!

jdonly1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook Joined: 12 February 2010 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 180	Post Options Post Reply Quote jdonly1 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 April 2010 at 01:47
	mmmmmm they look good.Will have to find some where in Aus to get ribs like them. Would love to try them on the WSM

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 April 2010 at 11:24
	dennis - i've been working here and there on different rubs. this one i used mainly because we had recently been to a famous dave's restaurant and because of time constraints. i gotta say it was a very good rub and i was impressed. currently, i am working on a rub that will duplicate the flavours of durkee's st. louis style rib rub: it's really good stuff but i can't quite pin down a flavour in there, but i want to duplicate it without the fake smoke seasoning and without all the salt. if you have any in your area, give it a try and let me know what you think. it could be a simple flavour that i am missing.

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 April 2010 at 12:56
	Hey, gorgeous ribs there...wow. Now I'm starving! Glad to hear our Great Northern Manifold Design worked as we envisioned and performed to your expectations. We got another one being built right now for another "up north" fellow-barbecuer. Should be done in a week or two. Great post!