Kettle vs Traeger with baby backs

[rlozinak]

I was going to cook everything on the weber but I could not get them to fit with curling them and sticking a skewer in them. So what I did was put 2 on the weber and 1 on the Traeger. I figured I would see which would taste better and as I was using different woods for each, I figured that would play a role in the taste. Well I was surprised at the results.

For the Weber I used the SNS insert with Apple wood. I figured that this would win out. I started the weber and the SNS was able to hold the temp for me pretty well. For the first time using this I was happy, I did forget the water and had to add it later in the cook.

I put the 2 ribs on and thought I had an issue with the temp of the kettle. The kettle was reading like 100 degrees. I was like what happened, I only just put the ribs on. Well from the pick below you can see the kettle probe was sticking in the ribs.


Once I moved the probe the temp settled in at about 225-240.

I had started the Traeger with hickory pellets and put the temp at 250 and put the ribs on:



So I sat and monitored the weber temp for the cook.


The ribs on the traeger were done before the Kettle. So I took them off and wrapped them in foil and put them in a 180 oven.


At this time the weber was losing temp and the ribs were at 165 or so., so I needed to make a decision on what to do, I transferred them to the Traeger and turned up the heat to 275. and let them cook. I figure about 45 minutes later they were done and we eat.

Below are the ribs that were on the Weber and they were dry. Not sure why they turned out like that.



Below are the ribs that were on the Traeger and they were perfect.



So everyone like the ribs but all noted that the ribs that came off of the weber were dry and the one that came off of the Traeger were better. Nobody could tell the difference in the smoke flavor.

I figured that the Weber would have been better but I was wrong for this cook. But still wondering why the ribs off of the weber were dry.

-Bob

[Mosca]

Interesting. When did you remember the water? I’ve done that myself, btw.

I’ve never had charcoal in a S&S snake last more than about 5 hours before it starts dropping temp.

[rlozinak]

I remembered the water about an hour into the smoke. My KBB lasted about 4 hours.

[Sid P]

Mosca After forgetting a couple times I decided to just use the instructions every time. My memory is too old to rely on.

[DTro]

I learned something yesterday while cooking ribs. The theory of ribs and thermometer temps was proven. I had three racks smoking on my Bronco at 220-240. I started probing for temp after 4 1/2 hours. Each rack though similar in size came back with a different IT. So I probed each rack in three to four different places between bones. Each temp was different, some up 20 degrees on the same rack. In the end I had to rely the bend test. I am thinking your Weber ribs may have been closer to ready than what your thermometer was reading.

[DTro]

PS- Ribs look delish!

[shify]

I think ribs are way too thin to get a good/accurate reading. I used to do the bend test but I tend to cut my racks in half for the PBC and now just rely on probing it for tenderness... once the probe slides in and out without much resistance, they are done.

[TripleB]

my two cents.... With the addition of the new Sns, you're using new equipment that you have not used before. There is always, IMHO, a learning curve when trying new equipment. By the way, ribs look great.

[radiodome21]

I generally don’t probe ribs because it’s a little tight in there. I use the bend test primarily. I don’t have a kettle but have done ribs on my WSM and pellet grill at the same time, kind of like you did. Sometimes the pellet wins and sometimes the WSM wins. I do think a water pan plays a role too though I’ve never used a kettle yet.

[Sid P]

The bend test works OK for me, but my "go to" is to slide in a toothpick. Just like pork butt or brisket, they’re done when the toothpick slides in without resistance.

[rlozinak]

I will try that next time. Never heard of that before

[HawkerXP]

+1

[Panhead John]

Nice cook and write up! I too have forgot to add water to the SnS before the cook. Added it later after coals were hot, and man, talk about an immediate boil and steam everywhere! If you don’t have any, I highly recommend switching to B & B charcoal briquettes for long cooks. I’ve done ribs on my kettle using the SnS + B & B and easily got 5 hours with maybe an hour or two more if needed. I have had about 1/4 of my coals un burned after the cook. My temps held steady for the entire cook. I’ll also start the coals on one end with a tumbleweed and let it go for about 30 minutes to get some coals hot, then add the ribs and wood chunks.

I’ve always used the water tray filled when doing ribs and haven’t had many come out dry. I will occasionally spritz the ribs halfway through with plain water a few times. I’m with the majority here when it comes to probing the ribs for temp. I’ve never done it, mainly for the reasons y’all already mentioned. I pull them according to: time on the smoker, cooking temps, look of the ribs for bark and the bend test. With STL cuts, it’s usually always around 5 hours or so. If I had any ribs come out dry….BBQ Sauce!…..helps a little.

[rlozinak]

I plan on picking up some B & B briquettes. I have a 5 coupon for Ace hardware!

[Panhead John]

Good deal. If you have an Academy store near you, they’re usually cheaper than Ace.

[big_mack]

I was not very good at mastering the kettle with SNS for longer cooks like ribs. Ribs were dry most of the time. It takes time and skill to master it. That is why I decided to get a proper smoker. Just needed to decide between a great charcoal smoker like the Bronco or a pellet smoker. In the end I opted the convenience and plug and play of pellets. I never have to decide if I have the will to do a smoke or not. Just push a button. This might not be a big deal for people that live where its warmer, but in the winter, which is 4-5 months of the year, I like that I can just push a button to get things started. And the results will be consistently good. Will see if this plays out that way after I give the pellets a good year of usage.

[big_mack]

I struggle with using a kettle to smoke. I dont get the infatuation with making smoking work on a kettle and losing half the grill space. to me a kettle is meant for grilling. that was its purpose. So why try to force it to be a smoker. Get a real purpose built smoker and a kettle. The more the merrier.

[klflowers]

So now you need to go get that bronco. I have both and I use them about equally. The Bronco is really close to set and forget once you get it dialed in

[big_mack]

I am keeping my eyes open on the used market for a bronco. I would not use them equally in the winter but I'd use the bronco in the summer often enough that it would be worth adding to the war chest.

[Dadof3Illinois]

If those ribs were dry you were running too hot and for too long in that kettle. If the temp probe was behind those ribs like that, even if not touching the meat, it's not seeing the correct temp inside that kettle. So it's showing a lower temp, you open the vent until it's reading correct......which leads to it running hotter than what the probe is saying.
I've done this before because I didn't have enough room and it bites me every time. Now I try to give myself at least 2" of space between the probe and meat and try my best to give it a direct line of site from the charcoal to the probe. Since i've been watching for that i've had much better cooks.

[rlozinak]

I did not think about this, but you could be right. Because even after I moved the probe it was only 1 to 1/2 inch away at the most.

[rickgregory]

I think the kettle ribs just cooked too long (probes are notoriously inaccurate on ribs) but to me the story is that people couldnt tell much difference in smoke level between the two. That's really interesting. What was your take?

[rlozinak]

I thought the same. I could not tell the difference

[jfmorris]

A couple of comments....

First, putting a temp probe in ribs is probably where your problems occurred. Unless they are big beef ribs, the meat between bones in pork ribs is just too thin to get a good probe measurement - you are simply too close to the bone, or too close to the surface. I imagine the ribs were done earlier than you thought hey were done. This is where the bend test helps with spares. With baby backs, the bend test never works for me due to the loin meat, and I just go by feel.

Second - most of my ribs run 5-6 hours on the kettle, but your fire was dying likely due to the charcoal you were using. I routinely get 10-12 hour burn times on a load of B&B charcoal, 7-8 with KBB, but only 5-6 with Royal Oak and other cheaper brands. That is at 225. If running hotter, the burn times go down.

[rlozinak]

Thanks for the comment. I was running KBB. I believe that you and others are right in saying I should have relied on another method for the ribs being done. Like from every cook, I will learn.

[troymeister]

I pretty much was going to say exactly the same thing as jfmorris. IMHO he is pretty much spot on. Only thing I have to add is it seems your ambient temp probe is touching or very close to the meat. That could have given you a low reading for the kettle temp. Still, over all very nice cook.

[jfmorris]

troymeister brings up a good point rlozinak - air probes need to be clipped a couple of inches from the meat if at all possible.

[Steve74]

I also agree on B & B briquettes. Ounce you get them going they last a long time. I use their lump for short cooks and their briquettes for longer cooks. Perfect for the time it takes for ribs and beyond. I'm glad I heard about B & B from the good folks here on AR.