MY First CS Spare Ribs

Good work...Looks terrific!
I'd be happy with what I see....I'm sure the taste is even better..

Don't worry Bobby Que, be Happy.

Were you happy for the first time out? You'd be amazed if you'd cooked on an offset how many times you'd have to get to get this far. When you indicate "crispness" are you saying overdone? or chewy? or dry? and that you didn't like the crispness? There are options there if you do them a couple more times and don't like them like that. But I don't use the F word very often...FOIL

You're doing great. FYI, you can edit your own posts by clicking on the link that looks like a little pencil with a notepad. I cut the link from your 2nd post, put it in your first and now your photos are together for posterity's sake (or until the photo site goes down)

Fat side up, fat side down, bone up, bone down...they all work. That's the fun thing about Q, it's whatever works for you.

I hope people ask lots of questions about the 101 series, and I'll continue to edit them and add information, so it never bothers me if someone tries something new/different. Hey, I learn too.

...but I start my with the meat facing the smoke for increased flavor, and turn the later so the grease doesn't pool

Smokin' Okie

If you like crispy ribs I found when I reheat cold left over ribs in my Charbroiler gas grill, which has cast iron grates on low for 15 or 20 min., come out crispy and yummie.

Alan- thanks for comments .

Smokin- as usual, you came through. Thanks for ironing out the pictures for me, and thanks for the pencil tip .

For sure, Smokin, I'm happy with the ribs. what I was comparing them to was the ribs cooked on my Big Green Egg. They have a surface texture that has a crispiness to them that I enjoy. As you probably know, the tradeoff with the BGE is attending to it's charcoal and vents to regulate the temperature. The CS ribs did not have this surface crunch. Both devices make moist ribs when done properly.

I have used foil methods on the BGE, and prefer to avoid it if possible.

Each cook I do, comes out a little different, and I like to learn, just as you do, so as to improve for the next time. Seems to me, a lot of people on this forum are on this QUEst!

If you have some tips to get a little crunch on the surface of the ribs, I'd appreciate them?

oh, NO...we've got an EGGER in our midsts..."runaway, runaway..."LOL

Actually I think the Egg is cool!

We're exploring the "crispness" factor over in the Owners section and that crispness is the one thing I miss also:

Manufacturing Bark in a CS

I'm certain that it's the humidity levels in the CS. If I can figure out how to monitor it well enough, I think I can figure out a fix (hey Stuart, if you read this, how about a technical grant to solve this for the new varions of CS when they come out). all I need is the proper electronics to monitor the humidity and we can compar that to an offset.

We'll help you my friend. That's what this forum is all about!

Hey Bobby! It's only 10:30 in St. Louis, but your rib pics are making me hungry for lunch. Superior job! You can adjust that cooking time to suit you...I'm for about a half hour less than you on STL cut spares, only because we don't like them falling off the bone...personal taste. Others here might like them cooked longer than you did. Experiment..that's half the fun of it for us. Stick in three slabs..take one out at 3 hrs, 3.5 hrs, 4 hrs...or whatever suits you for all three.

Regards, Mike

Good work, Bobby Que! I can also see clearly what Topchef was talking about with respect to color. (see Digi-ribs) I wonder if color is more related to smoke or to a massive paprika rub? Did you rub those ribs overnight? (Tickle those ribs?) Acarriii

Are there any leftovers? I am chartering the first boat to your island. We'll finish off those ribs, have a nap, and then go Tarpon fishing...whatever Tarpons are. How's that sound? Man! Those look good! Pork rules! I could eat pork for every meal...

Acariii-
I rubbed the ribs with CS Rib Rub just before puttingtthem in the smoker.

Smokin, and Stuart-

It occurs to me that if humidity is the culprit for creating proper bark, an adjustable vent on the bottom and top of the CS might help solve the problem. Seems to me, this would let moisture escape to varying degrees. What do you think?

Smokin-

I'm not deserting my BGE. Some of the best steaks, chops, pork loin and wings I've ever had at home were cooked on this device. I just am to lazy to want to tend to it for an overnight cook of a brisket or butt. And, the surface texture of food done in the EGG is much more to my liking. Certainly Eggers and Cookshakians can exist together in peace! We all want to dwell in the house of the best BBQ, right!!

I will be interested in the QUEst for better bark, and will be glad to participate in this noble mission.

All Q'ers are welcome here My Egg Friend,

Eggs are great for exactly the reasons you state. I know a few people who have them and they love them for all those qualities. You're welcome in the house of Q here at CS (just don't ask Stuart to put Enamel on the outside of a 150)LOL

The humidity issue is a good & bad thing. The good is that it is one of the main reasons that the unit smokes Q as good as it does. The bad is that the bark isn't like what you get in most offsets.

It's only the quest for perfect Q that takes some of the discussions down every possible road of discussion.

Appreciate your experience with the Egg, it will come in handy trying to get a good bark and knowing where we are trying to get.

Thanks BQ.

Smokin'

Smokin-

While I'm waiting for Andi to show up here in Tampa for the leftover ribs and some Tarpon fishing, could you answer my question about adjustable vents in a new iteration of the CS? The more I think about it, the more interesting it gets. Heat rising from the bottom to the top would set up a current in the CS, and perhaps moisture would go along with it. I'm going to talk to an electrical engineer friend of mine about this.

Thanks for the kind words about the BGE. I got tired of rusting Webers, and messing with gas bottles. Tried natural gas grills, and couldn't do the things that I wanted to do. Now, with the Egg and Smokette, I think I have the best of both worlds for real QUEing.

Hey, Bobby Que....Sorry to have gotten so far behind all the guys that already gave the good answers....Most of the restaurant guys and caterers would suggest that you use a sweet glaze and finish a couple minutes a side on the grill.....In the case of the monsoons you just had,you can run them under the broiler....I have even seen them finish on the griddle,quickly, for ribs that you have been holding....Experiment with these and it looks like you already have a fine touch on the product.

If you're not sqeamish, I have a suggestion for putting a good bark on your ribs (or other smoked meats) which I have had great success with: A propane torch.

Yep, you read it right. I use one of the kits that you buy from any hardware store for around $10.00; it includes a propane tank, nozzles and a lighter.

I use the widest nozzle and my own 'Bic'- type lighter (much faster/easier than the one provided).

After the ribs are done, remove from the C/S and put on a fire-safe surface. Light up the propane and, after the flame has burned a few seconds to get rid of the excess propane odor, just point the flame at the meat and move it back/forth until you get the desired look.

If the flame goes out, move it away from the meat ASAP, to avoid propane odor on the meat.

If you have a way to use natural gas, that would be ideal. I don't, and I've used this method many times. I usually do it 'out of sight', 'cause some people just think weird thoughts when they see you blow-torching ribs: Hell-if-I-know-what-they're-thinking!

Okay, there it is,it's up to you. Or, as Inspector Callahan (AKA Dirty Harry)would ask: Do you feel lucky? Well, do you?

GDSmokn, where in central Ill. are you from. Mike