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Yesterday, I attempted to smoke my first set of Pork Ribs. I followed a YouTube video for an electric smoker, and learned some lessons along the way (again).

My Meat

• Sprouts Pork Baby Back Ribs ($19-26)

My Prep

• Remove the ribs from the plastic, and place on a cookie sheet.
• Pat down with paper towels to remove the juices.
• Score the membrane in a crosshatch pattern on the bone-side.
• Spread yellow mustard binder, one side at a time.
• Add the rub and pat down to cover.
• Place in the fridge, covered in foil overnight, or at least 1 hour.

The Rub

• 1/4 c. Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Cayanne Pepper (makes it spicy, remove it unwanted)
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt (I used Powder/Granules)
• 1 T Salt
• 1 T Pepper
• 1 tsp Onion Powder

My Prep Changes for Next Time

• Cover the cookie sheet in plastic wrap instead of foil.
• Do not use Cayanne Pepper.
• Maybe use a premade rub for a change.
• Try to peel off the membrane. It was not unpleasant, but it was not something I've had on there before.

The Guide: Smoking



My Steps: Smoking

• Preheat smoker to 230 F
• Cook 3 hours at 230 F (meat side up)
• Every 20m...
  • add more wood, if needed
  • spray with cider/juice mix
• Cook 1 hour at 275 F (to get the meat to shrink up)
• Every 20m...
  • add more wood, if needed
  • spray with cider/juice mix
• Remove from smoker, wrap in butcher paper with pads of butter on the bone-side, put back in smoker.
• Cook 40m at 275, bone-side up, then...check temperature to 206 F.
• Every 20m...
  • add more wood, if needed.
• If Needed: Add more wood and continue cooking in 20m increments until 206 F.
• When ready, let rest shortly, and eat.

My Smoking Changes for Next Time

• Use a water pan. Without one, a good bark formed, but the ends and meat portions dried out since there is not much fat in ribs.
• Try wrapping in foil instead of butcher paper, as the paper was not wide enough to cover the ends.
• Alternatively, wrap in paper both long and short ways to make sure nothing is exposed to the smoker air.
• Consider cutting the ribs in half so they do not have to fit diagonally on the smoker rack.
• Make more judicious use of the wood chips. Sometimes you overfilled it, and sometimes underfilled it.
• If no water pan, always spray/douse on the 20m mark, and always add more wood to keep it smoking.

The Results
When eating them (I ate the whole rack), some things were apparent:

• The meat portions tended to get dried out on the large and small bone side.
• The big bone side, the meat was fall-off-the-bone.
• The middle section the meat was tender and juicy, not as free from the bone, but still good
• The small bone side, the meat was dry, and still stuck to the bone, but not difficult to peel from it.

Pork Ribs at the 3-hour mark. Still smoking, and about to turn the temperature up to 275 F.

Ribs after completion, looking good.

Cross-cut in the middle.

I tried this again on Nov 11. Just now getting around to posting.

Prep Update

• I did not prep them over night, I did it the morning of, for about an hour before it was time to put them in
• I made the same rub, minus the Cayenne Pepper and Chili Powder.
• I used plastic wrap, and that helped keep some of the smell down. I still had to buy some baking soda for the fridge.
• I did not peel the membrane, I scored it, and it really isn't a noticeable part of the food (unless it already comes de-membraned, idk).

My Prep Changes for Next Time

• Start prepping them no sooner than 7 hours before cooking. Let them rest until 5 hours before eating. (~5hr cook time)
• Start the pre-heat 15m before cooking starts.
• Find a new rub or use the one we use for the oven ribs (Dijon mustard)

Cooking Update

• I used my new thermometer probe, nitrile gloves and spray bottle filled with half-half apple juice/vinegar.
• I used a water pan, and that helped keep the meat evenly cooked and prevented drying out.
• I used foil instead of paper, and combined with the water pan, it worked well, mainly to help prevent butter loss, but it also ruined the bark.
• I did not cut the ribs in half.
• I made sure to refresh the wood chips every 20 min, and always doused the ribs when unwrapped.
• I kept a fan by the back door to blow the smoke back out of the house.

My Cooking Changes for Next Time

• Keep the vent open for less moisture, higher heat. Probably put it half-open. There is less smoke when closed, but the wood doesn't burn as well.
• Move the smoker to the edge of the deck (use the new umbrella if needed) to reduce smoke in the house. Also continue using the fan at the door.
• Try to use butcher paper instead of foil to achieve the fall-off-the-bone tenderness. (not sure if it's a function of the wrapper or the cook time)

Results

The brown sugar really crisped up as the bark gave it a nice sweetness.

I almost forgot to take photos and was about to start eating. Nothing was falling off the bone, but it wasn't fighting to stay on it either.

• The water pan and foil combo helped keep in the moisture, but it killed the hard bark
• The rub was really good and sweet, but it felt like it was missing something.
• I overfilled the wood because the vent was closed most of the cook time.
• The probe worked well to tell me when it was done, but also showed a 20 degree drop after I put it into the foil that it had to recover from.
• They were done cooking by 4:00 because they started at 11:30 or so.
• The meat was not fall-off-the-bone tender anywhere. But it was still decent.