Smoke ring question.

[LegoMySearwood]

So I recently wanted to try hanging ribs from my pit barrel attachment for the WSM 18. I also decided to try pit barrel style with no water pan and directly over the coals. I buried the wood like Harry Soo loves to do. I cut them in half so 4 half racks cooking at once.

I also placed a rack of ribs on my Searwood pellet grill for fun as well. Costco sells ribs in packs of three so why not? I placed the ribs before turning the pellet grill on and also left it on smoke boost for 45 minutes for extra smoke flavor.
All the ribs came out okay but the Searwood looked prettier and tasted better this time. The WSM with the hanging system directly over coals also cooked the ribs unevenly. I may have overcooked them slightly trying to get things up to temperature. I mean look at the difference.
WSM is on the left, Searwood on the right. Oh and I’ve read through the science behind the smoke ring on the free side. Good stuff.
Both tasted good but I can’t tell if I don’t like the over-the-coals taste or if I failed to cook ribs hanging right. Thoughts?

[LA Pork Butt]

Just wondering. Which one tasted more smoky?

[LegoMySearwood]

Both were pretty similar but the WSM was a tiny bit smokier

[barelfly]

I’d be curious to hear more about the differences between the two cooks. I know you commented a bit on the WSM, but I’ve been reading a bit about pellet smokers and looking at the Searwood.
I can see a difference in the two ribs for sure, did that play in to the flavor profile as well?

[LegoMySearwood]

WSM I buried 4 blocks of wood in a X pattern like Harry Soo does. I used apple. Covered with Kingsford briquettes with crater out of the middle. Filled with 10 ish lit briquettes and used Thermoworks to hold 250 degrees over live coals. Worked great at holding the temperature. Searwood - used Weber pellets and Searwood’s water pan on the far right and also cooked at 250 for the duration of the cook on the top rack with foil pan to catch drippings below.

[LegoMySearwood]

WSM flavor was different and the ribs cooked a little uneven over live coals. Searwood was finished first with probe tender but WSM was probe tender in some spots and not in others so I waited until mostly probe tender nearly everywhere.

[Ace]

So... curious...
Were both cookers running about the same oven temperature?
Did both cookers finish to probe tender about the same time?
The next time you cook ribs like this, it might be interesting to compare with both cookers using the grates (not hanging) and see if there are any differences.

Sounds like you did everything correctly so it might just be the difference between two cooker styles.

[LegoMySearwood]

Started Searwood cold with ribs already on when cold, then turned on to 180 for smoke boost. Left it on smoke boost for 45 minutes then up to 250 for the remainder.

[LegoMySearwood]

You got me thinking that I will try and cook both the same, but on different cookers and then compare the differences. This will make a nice experiment.

[LA Pork Butt]

I have a Searwood XL 600 and I haven’t found a pellet that puts anywhere near the smoke flavor that I get on my Big Green Egg. What brand of pellets are you using?

[LegoMySearwood]

LA Pork Butt I’ve seen some YouTube videos saying Smokin’ Pecan pellets are the best for what flavor you want on the Searwood. Basement hangout videos on YouTube do a lot of videos with the Searwood XL.

[LA Pork Butt]

LegoMySearwood I have some Smokin’Pecan, but haven’t tried it yet. I have also heard that Smokin Brothers pellets are made of the wood on the label and have no cheap hardwood additives that lower the impact of the wood ion the label.

[barelfly]

Pellets and Pits!!! Neil is all about those smokin pecan pellets!