First Ribs in my new SI#2

[Pork Belly]

The salt acts as a dry brine, which helps the meat retain moisture.

Salted meat expels moisture, not retains it. This is the first half of the reason a brine works. Meat soaking in salted water expels moisture from the cells. In a attempt to correct the moisture balance the cells then draw in moisture from the brine. This drawing in of moisture is how flavor added to the brine and excess moisture is added to the meat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKr1rByVVCI

I think a better term the "Dry Brine" would be "Dry Cure". Mustard and rub on ribs overnight in the fridge is a short dry cure, no different than my seven day Maple Syrup and Salt Cured Bacon than sits for seven days expelling moisture, adding flavor and changing texture.

[CUTiger80]

Brian,
Thanks for the chemistry/biology lesson.
My rub had very little salt, so I'm not sure that was the issue. There was a lot of moisture (maybe as much as a cup) that came out of the 2 racks.
Tony,
As far as the wood goes, I have always foiled my wood chunks.  I did have the infamous belch the last time I smoked some pork chops (my smoker looked like my Dad did when he used to smoke a pipe when I was a kid). This time I soaked the chunks for 30-45 min, made foil boats & ramped up the temp.  Worked perfectly. I may not have needed to do all of that, but hey, it worked.
I'm going to smoke 1 rack today.  I didn't have time to brine/cure overnight. I'll put the meatier cut on the second rack & less meaty on top & let it go for 5-5.5 hours & test.
I'll try to remember to take & post some photos.
Thanks for all your help. You guys are the greatest!

[DivotMaker]

This time I soaked the chunks for 30-45 min, made foil boats & ramped up the temp.

I think soaking and ramping up the temp, when using the foil method, is overkill.  Soaking, especially.  That does nothing but produce steam and take longer for the wood to smoke.  You shouldn't get combustion with foiled dry chunks, at least I never have!

And, Brian and I disagree on how brining works, but that's OK - it's OK to disagree!  Here's a couple of links on the subject:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1504.0

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/dry_brining.html

The last link is why Meathead, at amazingribs.com, no longer uses salt in his Memphis Dust rub.  These links talk about the chemical reaction between the protein molecules in the meat, and the salt.  Not to start a whole new subject - just wanted to address my understanding of how the dry brine method works.

[gunner28]

I might try 1st ribs this weekend.  I'm seeing comments about "belch" and placing foil under wood to prevent.  As a new smoker user can someone explain this technique. Is it something you folks always do, for all smoker cooking, place foil under wood pieces in wood box?  Thanks.

[Walt]

Some of us never foil wood.

[gunner28]

Thanks Walt.

Others: After writing I noticed a post in the beginner section that explains the foil boat technique.

[CUTiger80]

Ok guys, it has taken me a while to get around to it, but here is what I did and the results achieved.
This was for one test rack of ribs.
I did not brine overnight in the refrigerator, but prepared the ribs with mustard & rub, let them sit for about 15 minutes and put them right in the smoker on the second (from the top) rack.  I used both probes of my Maverick during the smoke, one on the top rack and one on the second rack and found the temperature to be within 3-4 degrees of each other consistently.
I went ahead and soaked the wood chunks and foiled them.  (Based on Tony's comment, I'm going to try to skip the soaking step next time.)
I started the smoker at 150 deg for 30 minutes then ramped up to 235 degrees for 5-1/2 hours.
When I took the ribs off, they could not have been more tender.  In my mind (and mouth), they were perfect.  I did not put on any sauce, just ate them dry.
Following are some pictures (as requested). (Note that this is my first time to post pictures, so let me know if I have done something wrong.)

[Pork Belly]

Looks great, those were some nice meaty ribs.

[CUTiger80]

Brian,
They were actually Smithfield (previously frozen) St. Louis style that were on sale at the local grocery.

[BedouinBob]

Ravel, mighty nice looking meal. Made my mouth water. 

[NDKoze]

Looks great! Those are some pretty meaty ribs for Smithfields which usually tend to be on the less meaty side.

One suggestion would be to reduce the size of your pics a bit so the aren't zoomed in so far when you click on them.

Here is a thread that discusses ways of doing it if you don't know how:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1272.0

[DivotMaker]

Nice job, Ravel!  Those are some great-looking ribs (and taters!)!!