Text — Smokeout - 12/29/07

My buddy Neil picked up a Weber meat smoker, so as to eventually create competition-class (aka “weapons grade”) barbecue. We did the first run this past weekend. Started with three big racks of baby back ribs from Costco. Next time around, we’re going to go the proper route - that is, a meat market. Costco is not a meat market, I don’t care what you say. Ottomanelli’s, now that’s a meat market.

The evil-R2-D2-looking dealy below is the Weber Smokey Mountain. Filled the bottom with Kingsford charcoal, filled water pan, lit, tossed in some hickory we got at Hill Country (from an adorable waitress), assembled, and ready to go.

Using charcoal, air vents to control the temperature, and despite the cold wind, this bad boy was sitting pretty at 250°F for around six hours - only an occasional stoking and air vent adjustment needed.

After six hours, the ribs were done. For our first time, they came out pretty good - way better than you’d find at any neighborhood “barbecue” joint. They weren’t Rub’s nor Georgia’s, but good. Too much on the smokey-side (charcoal-smokey, not wood-smokey), the rub wasn’t potent enough, but consistency was great. A little barbecue sauce and they did the trick. We’re going to adjust the formulae and get darn better results the next time around. Not too shabby for a weekend project!

More photos can be found in the gallery.