So I did my second ‘big’ cook on my PBX this past weekend, a dozen St. Louis Ribs. Good news, most of them turned out great, and everyone raved about them! However, I noticed that a few of the racks were definitely more-than-a-bit overcharred. The PBX has 3 rows of rebar to hang, and I believe the overcharred ribs came from the middle row. I also smoked a dozen ribs this past April, and remember having the same issue, overcharred ribs on the middle rack. This probably makes sense because (and I’m speculating here) the first and third rows have the heat at least partially blocked by the barrel itself, while the middle row gets heat from both opposing sides. But my first question is, has anyone else noticed this? Or am I alone in this issue?
Now, I would guess that the easiest way to alleviate this issue, is to simply anticipate the cooking difference and check on the meat (in this case, ribs) on the middle row an hour to two early. But I’m wondering if this deviation could also be fixed by tweaking the lighting procedure. Instead of dumping a layer of lit coals evenly over unlit coals, I’m thinking of dumping the unlit coals in a circle, along the outer diameter of the unlit coals. That way, the coals burn from the outside in, keeping the middle row of meat relatively cool.
So my second question is, am I overthinking this? Am I making something that shouldn’t be a problem (pulling the middle row of meat an hour early) into a bigger deal than it needs to be? In my defense, I am an engineer and I do have a track record of overthinking.
Now, I would guess that the easiest way to alleviate this issue, is to simply anticipate the cooking difference and check on the meat (in this case, ribs) on the middle row an hour to two early. But I’m wondering if this deviation could also be fixed by tweaking the lighting procedure. Instead of dumping a layer of lit coals evenly over unlit coals, I’m thinking of dumping the unlit coals in a circle, along the outer diameter of the unlit coals. That way, the coals burn from the outside in, keeping the middle row of meat relatively cool.
So my second question is, am I overthinking this? Am I making something that shouldn’t be a problem (pulling the middle row of meat an hour early) into a bigger deal than it needs to be? In my defense, I am an engineer and I do have a track record of overthinking.
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