1 rack of St. Louis pork ribs and 2 racks of baby backs

[Libohunden]

I have 1 rack of St. Louis pork ribs and 2 racks of Baby Backs that I'd like to cook in my #3 on Sunday.  I'd like to try smoking potatoes with them as I just read about people doing them also.  I've only smoked a few things in my new #3. Never tried ribs.

Can you guys give me some good recipes or tips on the best way to smoke these?  Everything I've smoked has been with recipes on this forum and they have all been winners!  Thank you all!

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[NDKoze]

There are a lot of great rubs in the Rubs section. I would look through and find one that you like and try it.

With ribs, I typically coat with plain old yellow mustard, apply the rub the night before and wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.

Then cold meat into a cold smoker with 2.5-3.0 ounces of wood for 5 hours without opening the door.

I haven't tried the potatoes yet, but plan to. I typically use store/online purchased rubs. But many here rave about the Memphis Dust rub. It is posted in the Rubs section, but here is the link to the thread:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1387.new#new

Famous Dave's Rib Rub is another popular one, and I have tried this one and thought it was really good.

I would suggest placing your St Louis cut below your baby backs as they typically take a little longer to smoke.

[Libohunden]

Thanks Koze!

I have my own rub. But, I'll try making those also.

What internal temp do you cook to!  Which should I stick the maverick probe into?  I don't have an auber yet. 

Do you smoke potatoes also?

[NDKoze]

I haven't tried potatoes yet, but I will be on my next rib smoke. Sounds like a great idea.

Regarding temp, most of us never probe the ribs and go more on time. I would go no-peak for 5 hours at 235 and then check doneness with a toothpick next to the bone and see if you can pull the meat back without breaking the toothpick.

If they are not quite done, close the door and smoke for another 30 minutes and check again until they are done. Your baby backs "may" finish before your St Louis cut rack.

[DivotMaker]

Gregg's dead on the money!  No need to foil, spritz, or mess with your ribs during the smoke.  "No peeky" is the way to go!  Ribs are a timed cook, which can vary up to an hour.  It's a feel thing, that you'll learn after a smoke or two. 

Start checking them around 5 hours.  If they look done (good bark, and some surface moisture), and the toothpick goes in easy, and you can pull the meat sideways without it breaking, you are good to go!  If not, give them another 20-30 minutes and check again.

I'm not sure if you've ever smoked ribs before in any other smoker, so I want to remind you to remove the silver skin (the membrane on the bone-side of the ribs).  If you don't, you won't get any rub/smoke penetration on that side, and it's really tough when cooked.  Start with a butter knife in the middle of the rack, and work it under the membrane from one side of the rack to the other side.  You create a "pocket" under the membrane.  Grab the pocket like a handle, and pull up.  The membrane will remove from the middle out, nice and clean!  Once you get this technique down, you'll skin 3 racks in about 2 minutes!

Check out the pork section for recipes - lots of good ones for ribs there!

[Libohunden]

Thanks guys! 

I've never been good at ribs. So, I appreciate all the help I can get!

I thought I had read somewhere that people were using vegetable oil to coat the ribs and then apply rub.  Well, that's what I needed up doing so, I guess we will fing out how that works out!  Lol. Mustard is my usual go to but figured what the heck... Everything else I've tried in this forum has been incredible!

Divot, yes, I did remove the silver skin.

I'm going to put potatoes under the ribs to get drippings. Btw, ended up with 3 racks of baby backs. Left the St. Louis rack in the freezer.

Cooking these for my brothers birthday. Hopefully, it's a memorable one due to the ribs!

[DivotMaker]

Be careful about putting very many potatoes below the ribs - they'll act as a heat sink and can have an effect on how the ribs cook. 

[Libohunden]

Be careful about putting very many potatoes below the ribs - they'll act as a heat sink and can have an effect on how the ribs cook.

I'll be smoking 4 of them. Should I increase the no peak time?

[Libohunden]

I have a few hours before I start them. I'm thinking of adding some mustard to help improve the bark, even though I have already used canola oil.  Any thoughts?

[DivotMaker]

It might increase the cook time a bit (more mass in the smoker), but probably not that much.  I wouldn't add mustard, at this point, since you've already coated with oil and rub.  The oil should do just fine.

[Libohunden]

I've been in the smoke for a little over an hour now.  I do not have an auber yet. I dialed her to 175 for about 10 min before cranking her to 235.  Now over an hour later, my maverick is reading an inside temp of 205. I have it placed on the top rack in the very back.

Should I crank it all the way to 250 to see what inside (smoker) temp I can get?

[DivotMaker]

Just leave it at 235.  You'll see some high/low temp swings, but it will average-out to 235.  Don't stress much about watching box temp - trust that your smoker is doing its thing.  Go watch a little football and have a cold one!

[Libohunden]

Just leave it at 235.  You'll see some high/low temp swings, but it will average-out to 235.  Don't stress much about watching box temp - trust that your smoker is doing its thing.  Go watch a little football and have a cold one!

We'll, 205 has been the highest temp I've seen on the Maverick so far.  If I took the average, it would be somewhere around 190.  I'm just concerned that come the 5 hour mark, they won't be ready.  Are you sure, Divot?

I really do need to get an Auber...

[DivotMaker]

When you've checked the temp, was the red light on top of the smoker on or off?  Also, is your probe very close to the meat?  Plus, if your potatoes are below the probe, you may be shielding the upper shelf from heat....that's the one of the reasons you want to put potatoes and other things above the meat. Just give them a check at 5 hours, and let them go longer if not done.  I suspect you're not really getting accurate readings from your Maverick box probe.  Placement can be a big factor, and cause some errant readings.  If the ribs are not good in 5-6 hours, I'll be surprised.

[Walt]

Tony is right on.  Only critique is I never miss an opportunity to allow rendered pork fat to drip on anything.  Potatoes definately belong under the ribs.