I'm new to BBQing so I've been farting around with my Weber Smokey Mtn (best $239 ever spent) for the past 2 months. I figure once I get the ribs down, I will move on to pork shoulder, then brisket.
Here's what happened.
3 racks baby backs, $34 at Costco
Rubbed w/ yellow mustard
Then a spice rub with the usual crap in it
Got the Weber to my target temp of 240-250ish
Curled them up cause I hate burnt edges and I hate to cut them up to fit them on the WSM. Can they make a rectangular WSM???
Smoked w/ hickory and cherry for 3 hrs. Then foiled w/ brown sugar and apple juice for 90 minutes.
Then sauce them w/ homemade sauce and put on the Weber Performer indirect for 40 minutes.
Looked okay.
Impressed with myself
BBQ Porn
Couple of notes.
- Making your own sauce is not worth the time, effort, money, IMO. Sweet Baby Rays or Stubbs is just as good w/ a lot less hassle. But for some reason people are so impressed that you make your own sauce.
- I got several comments like " I don't normally like ribs but these blah blah blah", "Best ribs I've ever had", etc. This always makes the effort worthwhile.
-250 is a good temp for baby backs. 225 seems a little drier. I'm gonna try 275 next time.
"- Making your own sauce is not worth the time, effort, money, IMO. Sweet Baby Rays or Stubbs is just as good w/ a lot less hassle. But for some reason people are so impressed that you make your own sauce."
for ribs, maybe. Just be sure that the first ingredient listed isn't HFCS. yuck.
for pork shoulder, I make a carolina vinegar sauce. white vinegar, sugar, hot sauce, red pepper, S&P. The vinegar cuts the greasiness, sugar adds a little sweetness and the pepper a little heat.
Yeah, regular sauce just isn't worth the effort because it will usually wind up tasting like a good bottled one anyway.
Mark's right about pork butt, the bottled stuff isn't as good on it. Fortunately that vinegar sauce is easy as hell to make. I am even lazier than Mark, I just get cider vinegar, a splash of hot sauce, and a small handful of whatever I used to rub down the meat. Couldn't be easier.
crescentwrench - Yeah, regular sauce just isn't worth the effort because it will usually wind up tasting like a good bottled one anyway.
Mark's right about pork butt, the bottled stuff isn't as good on it. Fortunately that vinegar sauce is easy as hell to make. I am even lazier than Mark, I just get cider vinegar, a splash of hot sauce, and a small handful of whatever I used to rub down the meat. Couldn't be easier.
Damn, that is lazy.
I usually put my vinegar sauce together and simmer for a bit. Really helps the flavors come together.
I've be doing my ribs at 225 and they seem to be drier than I like. Maybe I should bump up to 250... hmm
Yeah, I would go hotter for less time or you can par cook them in the oven (covered) for a couple hours at around 275, then move them to the smoker for another hour or two.
