Hanging Ribs in the WSM

[Mike in Roseville]

Today's cook: hanging ribs in an 18" WSM.

First off, I have to give a shout out and thanks to @Mr.CHPo for this rack. Without it, this cook wouldn't have been possible. Some stainless PBC hooks later, and we're in business.

I really didn't know what to expect cooking this way. I've never hung anything over open coals in this fashion.
I had to read up a little on how to cook in a Pit Barrel Cooker. But the PBC seems really straightforward...so I figured it wouldn't be too difficult. For baby backs...3 hours at 290-310 would yield excellent results.

Ok...here we go!



From here, monitor the temp and wait about 3 hours. Pretty simple and straightforward. Each hour I sprayed with my "spritz" mixture of apple juice, vinegar, and Worcester.

At the 2.5 hour mark I pulled the ribs, brought them inside for a few minutes, and sauced them. They looked beautiful and smelled reminiscent of pan-cooked bacon.  They were subsequently re-hung in the WSM for another 30 minutes.



Results:

How'd they turn out? Really good, but not quite what I was expecting. The ribs were perfectly cooked at the 3 hour mark.



First, I have to talk about the flavor. They had a flavor that took me back to my youth. It reminded me a lot of how my dad used to cook ribs on his old rectangular char broil grill in the 80's. I haven't had that flavor in 25-30 years. Maybe it's cooking over coals with the fat dripping on them? It's not something you taste at restaurants or with a lot of competition bbq. It has a "backyard" flavor that just reminds me of summer.



There was something sort of "honest" about the flavor. It wasn't doctored.
There also wasn't much of a smoke flavor or a pronounced ring. One rack was a little juicier than the other, but neither were exceptionally moist like you get with 3-2-1 ribs.

Not quite sure if this is my new "go-to" method for cooking ribs, but I do like it and it was kind of "fun." I loved the fact they were ready in 3 hours (as opposed to 5-6 hours). Next time, I'll use a mustard slather in the beginning and maybe skip the dry rub. Or perhaps try one of each. I can also see this method being great for Jerk pork/chicken. I could easily fit 6 racks of baby backs in the 18WSM without a problem. Just with every cooking method, there is a process that needs to be fine tuned.

Overall, a very successful "first attempt."



That's all for now!





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[HoosierKettle]

Looks like we were experimenting in a similar fashion this weekend. I didn't hang but did cook over the coals in the wsm.

Yours look great. I didn't sauce mine but will next time. Also my temp was 260 and done in 3-3.5 hours.


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[Mr.CPHo]

I'm glad the hanging rack is getting used.  Your ribs look great.


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[JEBIV]

looks grate!!

[Rub]

I've hung ribs in competitions before, and I'm currently cooking direct over the coals with butts and brisket. You are right about the flavor. It's like no other and it comes from the fat dripping on the coals and your smoke wood. It's that old-timey pit flavor that has been lost in the past 25 years. I don't know if I would do it over regular briquettes, but it is great over lump.


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[Mike in Roseville]

Thanks everyone,

Like I said, it was a fun way to do them. The "flavor nostalgia" was an added bonus. I think the largest challenge for me was the pit temp. I normally use the "Soo's Donut" method for just about every cook. However, without the pan in place, the temp quickly shot up before I even put the meat on. With all of the bottom vents cracked, and eventually closed after about an 1.5 hours, I was able to hold 290-305 quite nicely. I think I will try a different burn method next time.

I've hung ribs in competitions before, and I'm currently cooking direct over the coals with butts and brisket. You are right about the flavor. It's like no other and it comes from the fat dripping on the coals and your smoke wood. It's that old-timey pit flavor that has been lost in the past 25 years. I don't know if I would do it over regular briquettes, but it is great over lump.


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Rub,

I am curious, how did ribs hung over coals do with the judges?

[HoosierKettle]

I did 1 chimney unlit weber coal and 1/2 chimney lit weber coal dumped in top and my wsm never went over 260ish with top vent wide open and all three bottom vents half open.  If your door leaks, that could be the problem.

I lied. I had one bottom vent closed. Other 2 half open and top fully open


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[Rub]

@Mike in Roseville they typically scored very well all things considered. I compete solo and for me it became a timing issue. I was always busy with butts, ribs (edit: brisket not ribs) and chicken and couldn't get to my ribs in a timely manner. So I switched back to my smoker for them for timing issues only. The flavor was great.


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