Smoked Ribs!

Smoker in action!
We had some friends over last night and decided to smoke some ribs on the smoker. We were gifted this smoker by a neighbor in TN. Anyhow, Emily bought 2 full racks of ribs which we covered with a dry rub. We used to get a rub mix in TN called “Butt Rub” but got something else here in WV. Anyhow, we rubbed the meat with it and waited for the charcoal to get ready. I always apply a generous dose of lighter fluid to the charcoal before I light it. I wait for it to burn down and then add another generous dose (don’t try this at home…I now have significantly less hair on my right leg as compared to my left leg). Once that flare up burns down, I add a pan of water, the meat racks and the meat. Ribs take around 5 hours to smoke if all goes well. I add hickory chips pretty often but not obsessively so. Sometimes I soak them overnight and sometimes I don’t. I don’t see too much difference really. Anyhow, the fire never needs tending…except to add more hickory now and then. We smoke a lot of different meats including whole chickens, salmon, pork chops, and steak. I haven’t found anything I don’t like on it. The meat is never dry (that’s why we add the pan of water) or tough. Most times, it falls right off the bones in fact. The only downside is that it takes a long time to cook, it can be hard to start a fire in the rain, and neighborhood dogs may become curious (who can blame them?)Smoked Ribs!

We had a debate last night regarding the benefits of dry rub versus wet sauce. We definitely prefer dry rub as it just seems more civilized. Ribs are pretty messy anyhow, but wet ribs are the worst. The compromise we worked out last night was to provide bbq sauce for anyone who wanted it (the uncivilized few!)

 

3 thoughts on “Smoked Ribs!

  1. Smoked ribs sound wonderful to me. Getting tired of 1/4 lb hot dogs. They’re good especially with Leek Mustard but enough is enough. We had a lot left over after the Relay for Life last weekend. Just had to finish them off before they spoiled. Mom

  2. Ahh smoked ribs,,,yummy! We love smoking ribs but we don’t have a smoker so we use our grill. We use hickory logs and use one side of the grill, leave the other burners off and put the ribs on the off side.

  3. Hickory is my favorite…we’ve tried sassafras, apple, mesquite, and maple…hickery is still our favorite! Never tried it on the grill though. I only know one temperature on the grill…full blast!

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