your help with babyback ribs

Less is more with wood in a 009. Try weighing the wood until you get a feel for the amount you like. Start with about 4 oz. or so. I cook my ribs about 5 hours or there abouts, spritz them with apple juice at that time and tug on the bones to check for doneness. Depending upon the age and size of the pig they came from, ribs can take upwards of 5 hours to cook.

Mike,

I'm just a little more seasoned than you on the 009 as I received mine a few months ago, but this comes from a couple smokes with loin (baby backs).

1. I'd season overnite. Sounds good.

2. 2-3 Chunks of Hickory? I'd get a little scale and weigh the wood. It can be deceiving. From my baby back smokes, hickory is real strong. Used 4 ounces on 3 racks total, and it was too much. Personally, I'd do no more than about 3 oz. of Hickory.

3. 3-4 Hours? Depends how you like your ribs. From my two smokes of baby backs from Sam's, I'd plan on 5 - 6 depending how tender you want them. I personally don't think 4 hours will get you where you want to be.

I just did some spare ribs Saturday, and cooked them 7 hours, they were about 3 lbs. per slab. MAn, they came out perfect. I used Apple wood on them, a much milder smoke.

Hope this helps and won't confuse you. Just don't look at the ribs before 3 - 3 1/2 hours. Then, just keep an eye every hour on them to get them to where you like them.

Happy Smoking,
C'Nooga

Some diffs of opinion...

1. Be careful of seasoning overnight if you have a salty rub. Your ribs will cure and taste hammy (see other thread on Hammy Tasting Spares).

2. If you like smoke flavor, 4 or more oz. of wood is good. I personally wouldn't use any less, but I like smoke. I just eyeball the chunks for size. That's one you'll have to figure out your own preferences on over time.

3. At 250 for baby backs, you can check them at 4 hours but be prepared to let them go 5+.

Take notes and make adjustments as you go. Don't stress the diffs of opinions you find here. Either way they'll be outstanding.

THANKS I LIKE YOUR IDEAS.

I usually season my loin backs an hour or two before smoking them. I go with 3 or 4 oz of apple wood. I found that I prefer the apple wood over hickory for pork. Smoke for at least 5 - 5.5 hours at 250*. I perfer using rib hooks. While I'm no expert, I've got about 9 or 10 loin back smokes under my belt and I've had by far my best results with this method. Good luck!

jeff

Did three racks of previously rubbed baby backs on Wednesday. Used one ounce of apple and four of cherry. Smoked them for 4.5 hours at 210 (while at work), then sauced them, turned up he heat to 235 and smoked them for another hour and fifteen minutes after returning home. The timing was simply to fit my needs, not based upon any preconceived idea. The ribs were tender and very falvorful. If you cook them long enough, you almost can't go wrong with the CS.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP. I SMOKED MY FIRST BABYBACKS MONDAY AND THEY WERE GREAT. SMOKED ON 225 FOR 4 HOURS (WITH CS RIB RUB) AND APPR 2OZ. OF APPLEWOOD, SAUCED THEM PUT BACK IN FOR 1-1/2 HOURS TOOK OUT AND (OOOPS) WERE SO TENDER FELL OFF BONES BEFOR THEY GOT ON PLATE. O WELL, STILL THE BEST RIBS I EVER HAD. ONCE AGAIN THANKS COOKSHACK AND THE FORUM SUPPORT.