Semi-fail: Blasphemy Ribs on the Weber Smokey Joe

[Dewesq55]

So, I waited all week for this cook - the first on my new deck and the first on my Smokey Joe Silver. I dry brined and rubbed with a combination of a homemade version of Malcom Reed's AP Rub and Memphis Dust. I didn't get a chance to do a dry run on the Smokey Joe to try to figure out temperature control. As it turned out, it was temperature lack of control. I couldn't control and/or maintain a steady temp for the life of me. The cooker was almost totally unresponsive to any changes in the dampers. It just kept climbing and climbing. The only way to get it to stop was to shut the dampers down completely and wait for the fire to choke nearly out. Then, when you opened the dampers back up just a tiny sliver, it would take forever to get back up to cooking temp but then run away again. I think this might have been largely due to the fact that the lid fits very loosely on mine. Smoke was billowing out around the rim all afternoon. The cook ended up taking 3½ hours all together.

The final result wasn't awful. The ribs were tender enough. The rub and sauce were good. The ribs were way too smokey - kind of bitter even. I'm sure I used too much wood for the size of the cooker. Next time that will be better. I have some Nomex gasket tape coming tomorrow, which should solve the drafty lid issue. I also ordered an adapter to mount my stoker fan to the cooker. It should be here in a few days. Anyway, here's some pics:



The ribs were a nearly full rack (11 bones) of spareribs which had been sliced up and trimmed at the supermarket. Sides (no pix) were Scalloped Potatoes from a box and Caesar salad.

[Jfrosty27]

Live and learn I guess. Heck I ruined three racks of ribs about three weeks ago on a cooker I have been using for a year and a half. Keep on smokin’!

[jhapka]

Dewesq55 love the deck, how’s your bread lookin these days?

[Dewesq55]

Bread baking is on hiatus since I accidentally killed my starter. Been thinking about starting a new one. I might do a no-knead loaf to get back in the swing.

And thanks for the nice words about the deck. I really love it. I still have some more screws to drive in but it's very close to done.

[jhapka]

Dewesq55 I lost my AZ starter after I moved to MN. May your starter be vibrant if/when (when) you start anew!

[fkrall]

Dewesq55 I misread your response to be "...accidentally killed my sister." Glad I was wrong; sorry about your starter.

[tbob4]

Sorry for the misfortune. I know that bitter taste really well. I also know the learning curve on a new smoker all too well. It makes life exciting, doesn’t it?

I love the deck build. Your life is like mine. "Let’s inaugurate this thing with something I can’t mess up" and then you kind of mess it up. Libations and laughter will make this a great story.

[Dewesq55]

Thanks. If I'd used the same amount of wood chunks in my offset, it would have tasted great. I should have adjusted way down for the much smaller size and reduced airflow. It can't have been that bad since I didn't toss the leftovers. LOL.

Thanks for the kind words about the deck. It was a tremendous amount of work, but so worth it.

[holehogg]

Sorry.

[fzxdoc]

Get back up on that Smoky Joe and ride it into the sunset. Your next cook on it will be way better, I'm sure. I bet it was fun to use that new deck, though. Was it warm enough to sit out and sip during the cook?

Kathryn

[Dewesq55]

Thanks, Kathryn. Not really warm enough - low 40's and dropping. That is probably another issue with managing temperatures.

[Dewesq55]

I will definitely keep cooking on the Smokey Joe. I'm going to enjoy learning to tame this beast. On the other hand, Barbara prefers when I do large cooks so we have plenty of leftovers. So my offset will continue to be the workhorse, I imagine.

[Mr. Bones]

Nice cook on yer SJS, Brother!

It Do take a lil some practice to git used th small chamber size, when learnin to build yer fire, or usin smoker woods...

Ribs look great from where I'm settin, send th ones ya don't like to my street address...

[Dewesq55]

Thanks, Brother! As I said, it's not like I threw the leftovers away 😁

[Dewesq55]

One of the main reasons I did this cook was to see if I could get a full rack of spares (SLC's, actually) on a 14" cooker and I succeeded. The issues with the flavor were just a function of my inexperience with the cooker. And it used very little fuel. In fact, I probably had too much in there especially at the beginning. So, while a bit disappointed, I'm not really discouraged about the SJS as a cooker.

[hoovarmin]

Sorry about that, Dave. But I'm glad you launched the deck with a bold venture. I wonder whether the bitter taste resulted from using too much wood, or closing off the dampers? Closing off the dampers usually causes the smoke to become dirty from inefficient combustion.

[Dewesq55]

Possibly a bit of both. I was using KBB briquets, so I'm not sure. Next time less wood AND fewer briquets, I think. I am pretty sure I used too many pecan chunks, though.

[HouseHomey]

So sorry to hear that. Perhaps a little too much lighter fluid? 😃

a lot of fire going on there I’d imagine. Something tells me you’ll nail the next one.

[Dewesq55]

Thanks, E.