I've had my Kettle, a 26er, for about a year now. Early on I broke the One-Touch System and couldn't do Low N Slow or good temperature control. I have really young kids and a busy job and, while I would grill all the time, I never got around to fixing the One-Touch. Then winter came and that was that. I finally fixed it this past week.
I used this forum and Meathead's book as my main guides.
First project was ribs, which I've wanted to do for a long time.
I had some different rubs that I wanted to try, so I tried 2 different rubs on the same rack of spareribs. I put the rub in this morning with some water and let it sit for 2-3 hours.
I fired up the grill and used the SnS Deluxe (I prefer it to the XL for grill space), using Weber Briquettes and Apple wood.
I got the grill up to 225 and it sat there for a bit before jumping to 270. I got it back down and then it wavered between 215 and 255 the rest of the way.
It was a lot of tinkering with the vents on my part as it jumped between 220 and 255.
Eventually I stopped tinkering too much, had some beer, and just let it be...tinkering every so often.
At the 3 hour mark it was looking dry, and so I started spritzing with water and apple cider vinegar. I spritzed every half hour after that.
It probably could have used another half hour, but the kids were starving and so I pulled at 4.5 hours.
The ribs were way better than I expected. Pleasantly surprised.
Is there a way to get the temp to stay more constant? Is it the same experience on a WSM?
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Here are the pics again, but in a better format.
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The ribs look really good! Try not to sweat the temps too much. I used to try and dial in for a 25 degree swing and I was constantly adjusting. I learned to set a low of 225 and high of 300 which gave me a much more pleasant cook with less stress. Bend test is key with ribs and with this method I go 2-2-1 with baby backs and 3-2-1 with spares. Works well for me. WSM holds much closer tolerances IME.... Almost feels like cheating lol. I need to haul it out soon for a big cook.
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Thanks! Should have mentioned in my post that I tend to like sauce-less ribs, but next time might try sauce.
Thanks for the feedback. The bend test told me I pulled a little early, but they were still mighty good.
How long can ribs rest for before consuming?
Look, smoking and having beer for 5 hours wasn't the worst experience of my life. Hah!
Quote from: bamakettles on June 12, 2021, 05:38:35 PM
The ribs look really good! Try not to sweat the temps too much. I used to try and dial in for a 25 degree swing and I was constantly adjusting. I learned to set a low of 225 and high of 300 which gave me a much more pleasant cook with less stress. Bend test is key with ribs and with this method I go 2-2-1 with baby backs and 3-2-1 with spares. Works well for me. WSM holds much closer tolerances IME.... Almost feels like cheating lol. I need to haul it out soon for a big cook.
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"I learned to set a low of 225 and high of 300 which gave me a much more pleasant cook with less stress."
^^^^
This
@bamakettles is correct. The irony is when I stopped responding to every fluctuation, my temps stabilized on their own, within the zone I wanted.
Your ribs look good.
I'm with Bama don't sweat the temps too much. I try to maintain between 225 and 300 as well. If I am really watching it closely I shoot for 250-275. I think ribs cook better at a little higher temp than a brisket. Also every rack of ribs cooks a little different. Half of the fun is in the practicing.
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If I may take the other side...I'm on the opposite end here. The temps are critical, and my last low & slow BBQ was a rock solid 250-255 degrees on the kettle. It was very easy, low stress smoking. Th snake gets all the credit. The Cooker gets a little credit as well.
Next time I will target 225-235 for my temps.
Could not do this precise management without my Smoke Monitor by Thermoworks.
The ribs look good!
Thanks all! I think there's only one thing to do: keep practicing and smoking!
How long can the ribs sit off the smoker before serving?
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That depends on how hungry you are!
Probably a 15 to 30 minute rest would be Ok.
Hah. I was using a WiFi Inkbird Thermo. See attached screenshot. Is the thermoworks different? Had to run to a store during the cook but could monitor the temp.
Quote from: TXFlyGuy on June 13, 2021, 03:12:09 AM
That depends on how hungry you are!
Probably a 15 to 30 minute rest would be Ok.
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Yes, Thermoworks has one that will read out on your cell phone.
I monitor smoke chamber temp at the grate, and internal meat temp. With alarms set for both.
Stoopid question #1: What is SnS Deluxe? I'm afraid I get lost in the abbreviations people tend to favor. Thanks!
No question is stupid. We're all learning every day! SNS deluxe has removable water trough and a welded in section to hold the charcoal.
https://snsgrills.com/collections/slow-n-sear
I like the Deluxe over the XL. The XL is fit specifically for the 26, but the grilling area is more narrow than the Deluxe.
Quote from: hdfry on September 27, 2021, 06:10:22 AM
Stoopid question #1: What is SnS Deluxe? I'm afraid I get lost in the abbreviations people tend to favor. Thanks!
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