Which ribs for first ribs??

If you have a COSTCO near you try the spare ribs or babybacks. They are not too thick and should cook up nicely. The babybacks come three to a pack. I am having leftovers that I had stored in a foodsaver bag for lunch today. I probably will not even heat them up. They are like candy. The spare ribs come two to a pack. I haven't tried them.
What kind of rub do you plan on using? You may want to try www.obiecue.com or the cookshack ribrub. Myself, I have been using Obie-Cue for 20 years now and I can't imagine changing.

The rib archives and Smokin's Ribs 101 will give you plenty of info towards why to use each type.

The 6-7 lb,frozen slabs that the grocery stores promote for $0.99/lb are usually a poor choice.

I prefer non enhanced ,but cook against a couple teams that do well with them.

Don't forget to remove the membrane on the underside (concave) of the rack. Just use a dull knife to get it started and grab hold and peal it back, it's pretty tough and usually comes off easily most times.

I actually went through many websites all of the archives and cut and pasted to make up word documents from what I found there.

I have ones titled Ribs, Brisket, Prime Rib and Butt. I add to them when I find stuff online or in posts. All in the pursuit of great food!
I also have salsa, hot sauces, soups stews........and on and on....One of my favorites is Martinis. But it doesn't compare to the one titled "Bloody Mary".

Tony

tony76248,

I just went to obi-cue. They have a lot of great looking rubs. Which one(s) do you recommend?

I use Smooth Moove, Gatorbreath, Big Bulls and BBQ Bomber for briskets and ribs mostly. I do have Sunshine and Sweet n' Heat. Gaterbreath is hot but Yankee Blaster is hotter. I just use GatorBreath and add more Cayenne for more heat. Sunshine is great on chicken and I dont care to much for the Sweet n' Heat, but my better half likes it. I just don't get the heat. I also buy my Cayenne (not found on website) and Steakmaker there. Obie sets up at a local flea market in Grand prairie TX and has done so for 20 years or more. I have only lived in TX since 1986 and he has always been there.

I buy all but the Sunshine, sweet n' heat, cayenne and steakmaker in the 5Qt size. If you call and buy several they usually give you a special deal. I then vaccuum seal it in 2Qt bags and when I run out I pour a bag into the 5Qt jug. It has a very wide mouth. I can go through about 2-1/2 Qts a year.

I have a pinto bean recipe that will never get beat using these products.

I might add that I write down everything I do and every ingredient I use so I can improve or change what I am doing. Many times I use a mix of these rubs.

The ribs turned out great. Here's what I did:
- Bought 2 racks from a local butcher
- Removed the membranes
- Rubbed one of them with CS rib rub and the other with spicy chicken rub
- Cut them in half and hung them in my Smokette
- Smoked at 225 for 5 hours with hickory wood

The ribs had great flavor but were a little dry. I'll keep trying.

2 racks of what?

Spares or Loin backs?

Here are some shots of my first ribs. They turned out great.

Before:


After:

Smokin'

SOrry for the confusion. They were baby backs...

Just out of curiosity.. do you use a different temp for Spares vs BBack? Looking at Pork Ribs 101, they look like BBack's and 3-5 hours is good.. but I seem to have to take 5-7 or more for the larger spares wnen using 225�F.. I cook mine in a weber rack and keep the meat separted with toothpicks so the heat and smoke flow freely.

What is your experience? I know.. It's done when it's done.. grin

Nice job Mad!

Bill,

I do all my ribs at the same temp. In the smokette I'd shoot for 225 for both.

The key on either one is to know the weight of your racks. A difference of a 1/4 pound can add a 1/2 hour. Spares can be as small as 2.5 to 4 lbs. even smaller depending how they're trimmed out.

Gracias Senor S.O. .. That's what I thought.. but, was wondering if there was a way to "ballpark" a cook such that you can have it done before the planned dinner time.. but, not hours before..

As it was.. I did both spares and chicken yesterday honoring my son who returned from his first hitch with the airforce.. and before he leaves for his next hitch in S. Calif.

I did the spares first.. they took up the whole 008.. when done, wrapped in foil and put in the oven at lowest temp.. and put in the chicken. Cooked them to about 75% and finished on the Weber.. There wasn't much talking.. just chomping and sucking.. Turned out great.

I am going to try the hooks as shown above in the pics.. I've thought of that but never stepped out. Looks like I could get more in the box than by using the racks.

Well congrats to the Son, first hitch, and you know why I like AF types

Ball parking it's 4 hours for BB and 6 for spares.

REALLY depends on weight. I've got an electronic scale and I weigh each rack I cook. Believe me there can be a 2 hour difference in ribs from the same pack. Weight of ribs makes a difference.

Give the son my best of luck.

Smokin'
Retired US AF

I think that you can have dry ribs or moist ribs and still be successful on both. Depending on your preferences.
That said I was disappointed on my second batch because they were dry, then as left overs cold, they were like eating candy. So my initial disappointment was short lived.

So I do agree that in a batch of baby backs, there will be some pieces depending on the weight that will take longer to finish than others.

I use the meat drawing up on bone method of determining if my ribs are done and like on my second batch that method just didn't work. So on SmokinOkie's advice I will go to the bone twisting method.

BTW USN here!