SmokerBuilder Frank Cox was generous enough to run me through his process of cooking ribs yesterday on his Super 55 drum smoker! It was great!
Sadly, most of the pics and video I took of the process look to have been on Frank's phone, so he'll have to post pics of the actual hanging ribs on his own.
These were cooked with a mixture of rubs from Susie Bulloch of Utah (Hey Grill Hey on YouTube) - initially the Best Dry Rub For Ribs, then when wrapped with the Sweet Rub For Ribs and Chicken. These were pretty light coatings.
At the end, we used a variety of sauces and condiments for people to add on to their individual ribs. In the end, my favorite was a combo of Susie's Zesty Gold BBQ sauce combined with a mixture of honey infused with jolokia peppers - it was serious heat. I know a LOT of people won't want that much heat in theirs. I was sweating and my lips were on fire at the end, but in a pleasant (for me) way. Definitely, HIGHLY recommended. If you don't like the mustard style BBQ (I love this on pork), it also went well with the traditional red BBQ sauce, too.
All in all, a great experience cooking on the Super 55. We were on the Struggle Bus all day with temps due to some substandard lump charcoal and some swirling wind, but it came out awesome in the end, just took longer than expected. I have learned, don't skimp on the charcoal, the really small, crumbly pieces of lump in that mix really seemed to limit airflow and heat production. It was consistent, for sure, but trying to get temps up was rough. I'll let Frank explain more about that, as he's definitely the expert - but I'll be taking my barrel and kit home today to *meat up* with my rib hangers which are in the mail, spend some time coming up with a good color scheme, and I'll post pics and reviews more over time. Definitely get GOOD lump charcoal, though! I'll also be playing with briquettes and wood chunks, as that has always been my go-to for consistency, so I want to compare these methods over time.
Definitely highly recommend this method, though, as the ribs had awesome color, flavor and were VERY tender, actually falling off the bone. I don't usually take my ribs quite this high, as I have striven to get that little bit of tug and trying to handle fall-off-the-bone ribs can be rough. Frank's an expert, though, and as you can see from the pics, he managed to get them all cut up perfectly and on display for people to choose their own. Myself, Frank, Lisa Cox, the boys (shout out to Joe and Ben!) as well as Aaron Voigt and his lady (Shana, I believe?) all went to town on those ribs and it was a great time and a great meal!
Thanks again to SmokerBuilder Frank Cox for his excellent hospitality and to Lisa Cox for her welcoming and generous nature! Great folks, super great weekend and amazing food!
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