On May 29, 11:17 am, Bilz > wrote:
>
> Thanks for the info. All of the apple juice was to keep the ribs
> moist. I did ribs once before, and they were a bit dry. I was
> actually following a recipe in the "BBQ Bible" cookbook. It told me
> to spray the ribs down every half hour. I will try again without ever
> opening the pit.

Depends on the cut of ribs too. I buy the full slab CostCo ones, lots
of fat on them.
I open the pit once about halfway 2.5-3 hours to rotate the ribs
toward/away from the hot side. That's all you need to do.


> What temperature is a good one to maintain?

I use to use the same cooker as you, it's a bit difficult to maintain
temps with because of the thin metal and lack of mass, you should look
at the FAQ that Dave supplied to look at the modifications that will
help a LOT. Lowering the entrance to the smokestack, baffling the
opening between the firebox and the cook chamber. Which IMO is really
important, because the firebox is so close without a baffle your'e
essentially cooking direct. Adding mass with firebricks would help
too.

But, on the bright side, because it's kind of touchy you'll learn some
good firetending skills faster than otherwise.

I've found for ribs that temps at or over 275 for long periods of
time tended to create a jerkey like effect to the top of the ribs. The
best ribs I've done were at 200-225 for 6+ hours. But the fire and
how smokey it was contributed as much as the temps.

>
> Someone also suggested that I bake the ribs in the oven at 250 in a
> braising bag for 3-4 hours before putting them in the smoker. Anyone
> with experience with doing something like this?

Good god NO! You hear of people finishing cooks in the oven, but not
starting them elsewhere. And since we're mostly purists of a kind (I
say that cuz TFM and friends just snorted ) we think oven use of any
kind is pretty lazy. So if you do do it, just don't brag about it. ;-)

Anyway, the reason you don't start BBQ anywhere else is the pores
close up after a bit and the meat won't soak any more smoke up. So if
you partially cooked someting, then put it in smoke, the smoke would
just be one the surface, superficial. You want a smoke ring, dontcha?


Best o luck