Ribs On WSM... Gettin' Better... More Questions...

[SmokeNVoodoo]

In a previous thread I asked for advice as I cooked up great ribs but they were a tad dry. Great advice, and I put it to use.

Yesterday I cooked up a MUCH better set of ribs. Much more moist, although this time I probably should have taken them off about 20 minutes earlier. Family LOVED them.

Okay. In my quest for perfection and competition crushing ribs, I have a couple of questions.

First, the underside blackened in a few spots. One set of ribs was quite long, so I expected the very ends to get heat... no problem as I actually don't mind that at all... but it would certainly not be good for a competition. But it also got a bit cooked in parts in the middle. Is that from putting on too much sauce, I wonder?

Secondly, I'm proud to say that my bbq sauce is getting better every time. Last night I made up two variations with one having a bit more secret flavor... well... everyone loved BOTH. Now what? I'm looking for ribs that taste great and stand out from the crowd... what do I do now?

Any input, again, is appreciated.

All said and done, I'm having a blast doing this!

[sirjonascook]

I think the blackened parts that you are talking about are from being to close to the edge of the cooker i am asuming. For your second question just keep playing with your recipee until you have the winner. have fun and keep smoking.

[Peter]

Blair, when do you put the sauce on and what is the sauce based on? Sugar and tomato in a sauce will burn if you put them on too early in the cook. Usual practice is to sauce with tomato/sugar based sauces only during the last 20 min of the cook at BBQ temps. That allows time for the sauce to set up but not burn.

[SmokeNVoodoo]

Thanks guys.

It was 20 minutes before the end, but according to my notes, it was a bit hot. Probably bad timing, come to think of it...

...or... come to think of the damn obvious!!!!

The bad news was the bits were a bit burnt.

The good news is I ate them. It's the cooks privilege, you know? Ya... a bit burned but the slid down my gullet just fine.

It's an incredible joy working on the sauces. 10 years ago I would NEVER have dreamed I'd be doing this. Now, particularly after a long and/or stressful day, it's a delight to smoke on the WSM... wearing a kilt, of course!

With gratitude for the comments!

Blair

[SmokinQ]

I think your next step is to invite me over to judge your ribs as I am a KCBS certified judge.

For competition you should not worry to much about the blackened end pieces as you will not be turning int he end pieces too often. In comps you may cook up several racks of ribs to get those best 6-8 bones to turn into the judge.

What temps are you cooking at for the sauce to burn at? I will put sauce on for up to an hour before taking them off sometimes but I am cooking at 220 so the sauce will not burn.

I to like to play with sauces and rubs for my ribs and butts. For my ribs I like a thin sauce which is more of a glaze and will apply 4 or 5 times and it will thicken up that way.

Are you looking to compete next year as I noticed you are from Ottawa maybe we should talk about putting a team together as I would like to compete if the finances and time allows for it. I have been out of work since Jan. (darn high tech industry) and if I do not fins anything soon I am looking seriously about getting into BBQ catering. It may be a bad idea but it is about time I get paid for doing something I like to do.

What part of Ottawa are you in again?

Take care,

Steven