first crack at ribs today

I've never foiled (unless FTC) and loved them. Easier.

Use you rub evenly,and lightly to start.

Buttrub doesn't contain sugar to balance the heat,so it can be a little warm.

Just a thought.

Thanks, Tom. The Byron's did not make it in time so I used a homemade rub. I had heard that the Byron's can be a little harsh and to cut it a little.

One thing, I need to do a much better job of prepping my work area before digging in. Maybe I'll start another post about how you all get your work area ready. The good news? I plan on doing this over and over so I'll get better!!

12LBs, these sound like full slab spare ribs? It will take a while on the cooking, patience will be needed and Smokin's toothpick test.

Good luck and have FUN!

Oh right...to my surprise there were 3 racks in the COV pack. So about 4 lbs each.

Well, the verdict is in. I was too ashamed to say earlier but basically I did everything I could to mess this up. The plan was to get the ribs prepped and in by noon but because work was busy this morning I didn't even start prepping until after 11:30. So I rushed through everything, ran out of rub and did not trim well. Turns out half the family wasn't even going to be home tonight so as luck would have it, if they came out poorly it was me, my son, and the dog.

I planned on checking them at 3.5 hours (put them in at 12:30) but at 4:00 was still busy, on the phone, etc. so I could not get to them. It wasn't until after 5:30 that I could get there, expecting to find charred, worthless pieces of meat. Well, I pulled them off, sauced with some Sonny's Sweet, and served up half racks each to me and junior. Things got very quiet....except for the lip smacking and finger licking!! Then the boy let out a "wow" and I said, ya know, this was not even my best effort. He said "coulda fooled me! These are great!"

So to those of us Type-A's who try to overthink everything and get it all perfect, the good folks here say it best. Just relax and do it. I can't wait until I can take my time and do the next few racks properly, I can only imagine how much better they will come out!!

After 5+ hours there was a nice crust/bark formed. The bones twisted out but when I picked up the racks with tongs they did not fall apart. There was some resistance there, which is what I like. The meat pulled off of the bone easily but not without just a little effort. I had another electric smoker before the AQ and the product was not even close to what I am getting from the AQ. Love it!

Sounds like you did a real good job despite your best efforts to do otherwise.

Don't worry about it. One suggestion I have is you could have done your trimming the night before. I do this quite often. Then I only have to apply the rub and get the smoker fired up the next day. In fact, I would prep my comp ribs at home up to the point just before putting the rub on so I was not rushed at the comp.

And as Tom always tells us, make sure you take notes. This is most helpful in repeating a good batch of que the next time.

You're on your way!