*****Official BBQ Thread - Suns out, Buns out!*****

dl8860 said:
As in putting them in the chimney? Did they light as quick as fresh charcoal?
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I do it all the time. At the end of a cook, I shut the vents and kill the fire, then next time round I just dump the left overs in the chimney first. I've never really had a problem with it and never noticed them taking any longer to start. I only use Heat Beads in the WSM so I just leave them in the basket after and next time round make a new hole in the middle for lit briquettes.
 
Street said:
I do it all the time. At the end of a cook, I shut the vents and kill the fire, then next time round I just dump the left overs in the chimney first. I've never really had a problem with it and never noticed them taking any longer to start. I only use Heat Beads in the WSM so I just leave them in the basket after and next time round make a new hole in the middle for lit briquettes.
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OK interesting stuff. I guess I can't think of a situation I'd want to use half burnt coals as the 'starters' in a minion, but good to know that it can work.

NeverWinter said:
So, I want to smoke some ribs this weekend.

Never smoked before, any tips? Good recipe?

I have a drum with a smoker box, some heat beads and applewood chips.
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Check out amazingribs.com for info on basically anything you need including preparing the ribs, brining, rubs, cooking temp and how to know when it's done.

My advice would be to decide they are finished on feel, not on time. 3-2-1 is the 'established' method, (3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours wrapped with some sauce or cider vinegar thrown in, then a final hour unwrapped), but lots of people now say that's too much cooking, especially for baby backs. If you are choosing baby backs I would suggest (at 250F) doing 2 hours unwrapped, 1 hour wrapped then 1 hour unwrapped. For full spare ribs, 2-2-1 or 3-2-1 depending on how much bite you want in the ribs.

Or you can keep things really simple and just give them 4 or 5 hours naked. The good thing about smoking is, every cook is different and there's endless scope for experimentation.

Finally, if you are cooking something for the first time, always give yourself more time than you think you need. Gives you some contingency for ironing our temperature fluctuations, anything going wrong, weather issues, and you can always leave the meat wrapped to rest in foil under some towels to keep in warm if you finish early. Nothing worse than having wives/girlfriends/mates hassling you about when it'll be ready, and not wanting to serve something that isn't yet done.
 
dl8860 said:
Check out amazingribs.com for info on basically anything you need including preparing the ribs, brining, rubs, cooking temp and how to know when it's done.

My advice would be to decide they are finished on feel, not on time. 3-2-1 is the 'established' method, (3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours wrapped with some sauce or cider vinegar thrown in, then a final hour unwrapped), but lots of people now say that's too much cooking, especially for baby backs. If you are choosing baby backs I would suggest (at 250F) doing 2 hours unwrapped, 1 hour wrapped then 1 hour unwrapped. For full spare ribs, 2-2-1 or 3-2-1 depending on how much bite you want in the ribs.

Or you can keep things really simple and just give them 4 or 5 hours naked. The good thing about smoking is, every cook is different and there's endless scope for experimentation.

Finally, if you are cooking something for the first time, always give yourself more time than you think you need. Gives you some contingency for ironing our temperature fluctuations, anything going wrong, weather issues, and you can always leave the meat wrapped to rest in foil under some towels to keep in warm if you finish early. Nothing worse than having wives/girlfriends/mates hassling you about when it'll be ready, and not wanting to serve something that isn't yet done.
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Thanks for the info, see how I get on.
 
FrenchTart said:
I re-use coals fairly regularly but I do find them to be very unreliable when I do so. It's very hard to tell exactly how much they've burned and how long they'll last. They also sometimes take ages to relight. I avoid using them if it's a cook where I'm under any kind of time pressure.

If you're having issues with coals lasting I'd suggest only lighting half a chimney and then placing the same amount of unlit coals in your BBQ + empty the lit chimney on top.
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why lit coals on top of unlit? what happens if you stick lit coals in first then throw unlit on top? just wondering what the difference would be.
 
dl8860 said:
OK interesting stuff. I guess I can't think of a situation I'd want to use half burnt coals as the 'starters' in a minion, but good to know that it can work.
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I'm a cheapskate and usually after a cook there is a ton left in the charcoal basket!
 
Street said:
I'm a cheapskate and usually after a cook there is a ton left in the charcoal basket!
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Yeah I get the rationale for reusing coals, but why not have them as the unlit ones in your basket that get lit by other new fresh ones?
Psycho Sonny said:
why lit coals on top of unlit? what happens if you stick lit coals in first then throw unlit on top? just wondering what the difference would be.
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Because lit ones will burn hotter, which is what you want at the start to get up to temperature. Whereas the previously lit ones might only be capable of lower max temps, but just still be enough for ~250F.
 
But surely the heat rising will get the new coals on top going quicker. If they're on the bottom surely this will take longer?
 
I guess my message was unclear. I didn't mean re-used coals unlit in that way. I was just suggesting a way of having a smaller percentage of your total coals fully lit in the chimney.
 
I want a BBQ! Never owned one before, not idea where to start? Family is 2 adults and a 4 year old, so we don't need anything crazy big, I can't imagine ever feeding more than 8 people at a time.

Gas or Charcoal? I realise Charcoal is preferred, but is gas a bit cleaner and less hassle/easier? Happy to spend up to £250 as a starter for the actual BBQ, plus gas (or charcoal) a cover and whatever else would be needed.

Any pointers?
 
Result from Saturdays smoking, ribs with some home made coleslaw and baby potatoes also done on the BBQ in honey and lemon:
8mh3lln.jpg

Thoroughly enjoyed by the missus and I.
 
NeverWinter said:
Result from Saturdays smoking, ribs with some home made coleslaw and baby potatoes also done on the BBQ in honey and lemon:
8mh3lln.jpg

Thoroughly enjoyed by the missus and I.
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Those look really good, nice glaze on them.

How did you go about doing them in the end?
 
Spuj said:
Those look really good, nice glaze on them.

How did you go about doing them in the end?
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Thanks, was pretty happy with them, put Meathead's Memphis Dust (from amazingribs.com) rub on them then I did 2 hours apple wood smoking, followed by 1 hour unwrapped, 1 hour wrapped and a final hour unwrapped adding some Meat Lust BBQ mop sauce on for the last 20 mins (I didn't glaze all the ribs as I wanted to see how they tasted with and without).

I think maybe do 2 hours wrapped next time, they were still juicy but I think the two hours wrapped would've been better.
 
NeverWinter said:
Thanks, was pretty happy with them, put Meathead's Memphis Dust (from amazingribs.com) rub on them then I did 2 hours apple wood smoking, followed by 1 hour unwrapped, 1 hour wrapped and a final hour unwrapped adding some Meat Lust BBQ mop sauce on for the last 20 mins (I didn't glaze all the ribs as I wanted to see how they tasted with and without).

I think maybe do 2 hours wrapped next time, they were still juicy but I think the two hours wrapped would've been better.
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Thanks for sharing, sounds like a good formula and from what I've read so far that's similar to how I was going to try doing mine when I get to it.
 
I experimented with some cheap ribs from Morrison's at the weekend, all i can say is not very nice and tough as old boots,

Dry rub and left for 3 hrs at 250F, without touching the Joe Jnr. To be honest the meat was not the best quality either, but man it was tough :)
 
SPG said:
I experimented with some cheap ribs from Morrison's at the weekend, all i can say is not very nice and tough as old boots,

Dry rub and left for 3 hrs at 250F, without touching the Joe Jnr. To be honest the meat was not the best quality either, but man it was tough :)
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Depending on the size of the rack I sometimes cook ribs for 6 hours, at around 225F
 
SPG said:
I experimented with some cheap ribs from Morrison's at the weekend, all i can say is not very nice and tough as old boots,

Dry rub and left for 3 hrs at 250F, without touching the Joe Jnr. To be honest the meat was not the best quality either, but man it was tough :)
Click to expand...

I've smoked ribs from morrisons before now, they're not the greatest ribs ever but they were fine, as D.P. said, I cooked them for way more than three hours, I went (roughly) with the 3-2-1 method - 3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours sauced and wrapped and 1 final hour unwrapped - and they were grand. If they're not a big rack then cut the length of each stage down a bit. All done at about 110C
 
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