Jimmy's Famous Baby Back Ribs

[twofourman]

Jimmy’s Ribs

Remember- marinating is a key factor in this process so you must start the process at LEAST 2 days prior to smoking!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Smoker

Charcoal- both Kingsford and Hard Lump (if you can get it)

Smoking Chips- Mesquite is stronger than Hickory. Citrus wood and pecan is awesome if you can get it!


-Beef bullion
-Olive Oil
-Large can of cheap Pineapple juice
-2 liter Dr Pepper
-2 liter Apple Juice (not cider)
-Blackening seasoning (Bayou Blackening Spice is the BEST (low sodium) can
be found at Fresh Market. Call me if you need me to send you some
-Onion Powder
-Garlic Powder
-Fresh ground pepper
-Kosher or Sea salt
-Ground red pepper (fine) or Cayenne pepper
-Pure molasses
-Honey
-Turbinado sugar
-2 bottles of lager or stout (Sam Adams is GOOOOOD!)
-Pork Baby Back ribs- (Weber Smokey Mountain will hold 4 racks- you can freeze finished product and eat later!)
1 gallon zip-lock bags
Heavy rubber cooking gloves or leather gloves for handling coals, etc.
Meat thermometer that goes to 250


Cut each rack into two sections and place in zip-lock bags

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Marinade
Mix about 1/2 quart of beef bullion with a high concentration. If you use Wylers, get the powdered stuff and mix 4-5 X the recommended amount/ water

Divide mixture into each bag. Divide the can of pineapple juice to each bag

Add about a ¼ cup of Olive Oil to each bag

Seal and refrigerate for AT LEAST two days! If you find ribs on sale, but don’t feel like smoking, these bags can be frozen

Remove bags from fridge or freezer and bring to room temperature

Lay ribs on a surface with a lot of paper towels to drain. Drain and blot dry. The dryer the better.

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Soak wood chips in water

Start your smoker
PUT IT IN A PLACE WHERE WIND AND WEATHER WILL NOT BE A FACTOR! THIS WILL GREATLY HELP ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAING HEAT

Start with just the bottom section of Smokey and the fire ring

Use a generous amount of charcoal- enough to have about a layer and a half coverage once your “stack” is knocked over. Lump charcoal will burn longer and provide a better flavor. It is expensive, so I go ¾ Kingsford, ¼ lump

Once coals are white, knock over the stack and add Smokey center section and drip pan. I cover the drip pan in foil to ease in clean up

Pour Dr Pepper into drip pan and then assemble the rest of the Smokey

Begin to regulate the heat of the Smokey with a decent meat thermometer stuck in the top vent. At start up I have found that closing the bottom vent ¾ and the top vent ½ should put you in the magic range- 180-200. It’s OK to start low- 135-180. Remember- the ribs will be on for about 10 hours
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Massage ribs with molasses (molasses sticks better to dry ribs)

Dust with blackening, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Hit with cayenne pepper to taste. You can actually use more than you’d think. Season with this spice depending on what you want your “core” heat to be- independent of sauce

Cover ribs with honey

HEAVILY coat with sugar- remember- granulated sugar WILL NOT have the same effect as Turbinado sugar

VERY LIGHTLY hit with the salt. Remember the bullion has already injected your ribs with salt. To much salt will affect taste and cause your ribs to dry out!

Place ribs on the grills and drop into smoker- this is where the gloves come in handy

Add 2 or 3 “chunks” of your smoking chips directly to the fire. Don’t over do this! Seriously- on my last batch I used maybe 6 chunks TOTAL! The charcoal will naturally give the ribs a lot of flavor- over doing the “smoke” taste will turn off the non hard-core BBQ lovers in the house
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Have a beer

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Regulating heat
Opening vents will give you more heat. Obviously, on start up and when you add coals to the pilot fire will need to close the vents back down to compensate for the new heat. Towards the end of each cycle, you will slowly be opening the vents more. I tend to always leave the top vent right at ½ open- unless you get way too hot, then I shut them all almost to closed.




I recommend getting the smoker going early in the process so you can get the heat low and consistent at start-up. As mentioned- low heat at start up is KEY. Fluctuations and hot periods will not be such a big deal later in the process.



Adding heat
I smoke my ribs for about 10-13 hours and add new heat every 4-5 hours. I use an old cast aluminum pan on a cutting board and get the charcoal going just as I would when starting the smoker. Once the coals are dusty, I add with a pair of industrial tongs, wearing heavy leather gloves. I add chips when adding heat and/ or about every 4 hours



Drip Pan
When the Dr Pepper runs low (about 4 hours) I add the apple juice. When the apple juice runs low, I add a bottle or two of lager or stout beer. After that- just water
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Tips:

Try and not peek at your product! Opening the top of the smoker disrupts the process and challenges your heat consistency. At about the ½ way point I will pull the ribs out, recover with honey and sugar

Don’t look for a ton of smoke coming out of the smoker- even less than grilling burgers! When you open the trap door to add coals, the “smoke” should feel more like steam

Set aside a day for smoking where you have some stuff to do around the house, but no commitments. When heat wavers- you need to act fast! I check my temps about every 15 minutes until consistent, then about every 45 min -hour or so.

Wear old clothes and warn the household you will smell like a smokestack the rest of the day

Covering the drip pan in foil is a good idea- no so for the grills. This disrupts heat flow and creates a challenge for consistency

When monitoring heat, put the thermometer in and let stand for at least 5 minutes. This is how to get a true reading

I have played with adding halved apples, and oranges directly to the fire- all in the name of flavor! This will add steam and taste!

Keep a log of what works and what doesn’t

Good luck and have fun!