Tried another attempt at competition ribs today. I was not able to do a full run practice as I started later in the day and I still had yard work to do.
First off, I learned a valuable lesson:
Do NOT leave your bucket of charcoal near the chimney burning! I was lucky it did not catch fire. I had used the bucket as a place to set my mop sauce near the smoker and was not paying attention to where the lit chimney was sitting.
On to the cook :
3 racks of ribs from Sams Club. I did not like the one rack after I got it home - usually they are trimmed decently. The one still had the knuckles and was a little thicker than the others. It ended up not going as well as the others.
I was testing out different rubs today. I had just received my Running Wild rubs - Peach and Pork Candy (Maple Burbon). I used those on separate racks and went with my stand by - Sweet Swine O Mine.
The Maple Burbon Pork candy was a dark brown and farthest away. The Peach was a deep red and next in the picture. The closest is the SSOM rub and I made the most of them because the family likes it.
One change in technique. One full rack of Baby Back ribs will not fit in the Red Box. I cut them just short of the rack to keep most of it together. The smaller pieces would just be tasters for the cooks!
I followed the 3-2-1 method. 3 hours smoking, 2 hours wrapped in foil and 1 hour with the sauce setting. I realized I need to add more rub at the beginning. I think the mustard technique would probably work best as I do not think enough is sticking (Is there any taste affect to doing this?). I also need to add more sauce to the last hour as it was good but not wow!
Here is the first rack off the smoker after basting. I love the color, but not really shiney.
After everything is off the smoker:
The only main issue? Charcoal. I used Kingsford and it seemed to produce more ash than the Competitor Royal Oak briquettes. I would get the temp up to 225 and maintain for a couple of hours. I never fully cleaned out the tray and added more to the tray. I ended up using more charcoal than usual because I had to keep tending the fire. I jacked the temp to 275 once it was in the foil and back to 225 for the final hour with the sauce. I think for the competition, I will go back to a fresh bag of the RO briquettes. They are thicker than the KBB. I like the KBB for the chicken I will use, but not for the other.
Anyway, they looked good when I cut them. We were running late for the fireworks (July 4 th were canceled because of incoming weather) so we took the cut ribs to the fireworks and ate them there. They were a little dry - but, it was an hour from the time I cut them. My red head said if she was the judge, she would vote them 1st place! I guessed she liked them