Help with Bad Batch of Ribs

The number 1 reason people mess up first cook in a cs is TOO MUCH WOOD. I did this even after reading on here not to do it.
We have all used a pile of wood in other style pits, and find it hard to believe the cs keeps ALL the smoke in,and applies it to the meat, no wasted smoke. Don't give up,try again,use a very small piece of wood. At about 3 hours open the door and check your ribs(never sooner)close the door and check every hour untill done(could be as much as 6)
Layne

Welcome,and try again.Layne hit most of the points already.The amount of ribs should not affect your cookshack and maybe try 225� next time.The 3 hr. checkpoint that Layne suggested might be a good time to turn them and mist with an apple juice & vinegar spray.When you are happy with the doneness level,you can always lightly glaze and finish for a couple minutes on the grill.If your wife wants ribs like Damon's restaurants ,you may have to resort to foiling before finishing on the grill.Someone else will have to speak for that technique.

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Good Q 2 Ya,Tom.

I will share the award winning technique that has resulted in 3 consecutive Top 3 Ribs at the annual Memphis in May contest. This will get you as close to Damon's as you can get. Realize that Damon's steams their ribs, so you are tasting lots of bbq sauce as the meat flavor has been steamed away!

This is for baby backs only. I have found that it does not work quite as well for spares.

OK, temp is always 225�, never higher. These are cooked on a Jimmy Maxey water smoker so the cookshack units should be very similar.

Cooking time is 6 hours, never less. The ribs are normally marinated for 6 hours, but this will work just as well without marinating. I am sworn to secrecy on the marinade recipe anyway!

After 3 hours the ribs are sprinkled with brown sugar and then lightly sprizted with the above marinade. Use apple juice instead of the marinade. Then wrap tightly in foil.

Back in the cooker for 2 hours and 40 minutes. 20 minutes prior to serving, remove foil and brush on sauce. Let sit in cooker, unwrapped to set the sauce.

This will give you the moistest, most tender ribs you have ever had.

One reason Damon's and all these other places are so popular is because people love sweet! YOU, and certainly I, do not, but the average person loves sweet. Also, by using a sauce that is heavy in sugar content, that last 20 minutes of cooking will help to darken the ribs as the sauce will come close to burning.

This is only 1 of many techniques, but I have cooked with this team and they are constantly winning by using this method.

You can speak with others and they will despise you for using foil. They also win, so there is no one "right" way to cook ribs.

Hope this helps...and as was mentioned earlier...you just have to practice.

We've all waxed on about brining poultry, but I find a marinade like the one mentioned in the Missouri Rib recipe I posted below saturates the meat and prevents it from drying out. A simple water, vinegar and a bit of salt mixture for a few hours will work if you don't want to add flavors. I also tried putting Dr. Pepper in a spray bottle as a lazy mans mop, and it worked great, probably like the little bit of brown sugar mentioned above. I like the meatier St. Louis spares myself. I found that the smoke is so intense in a CS unit that using a fruitwood for pork is better. The Hickory that came with CS left a metallic smoke flavor on one particular batch of ribs, althought it may have simply been a case of too much wood. Maybe just luck, but I have liked apple wood best for pork in the CS, where with my other smokers they seemed less sensitive to wood type. I like a moist rib, but with a bit of crisp to the edges, so I finish on the grill for a few minutes.

[This message has been edited by RogerNE (edited April 09, 2001).]