Question by Richard_lasvegas: How do I keep the temperature constant when smoking ribs…?
the last time I smoked ribs I used the whole bag of charcoals, is that normal?
Best answer:
Answer by Janice F
takes a lot of practice, make mental notes of what you do and how it affects the temp. I have a two probe remote thermometor, one goes in the meat and the other monitors the smoker chamber, the data is transmitted to a unit you keep with you in the house. I got it on smarthome.com and highly reccomend it, takes alot of guess work out of smoking
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{ 2 comments }
Best way to smoke ribs is by NOT using charcoal. Get the pre-charred cooking wood (charcoal is made from wood shavings if you didn’t know), get the fire started and burning steady, add a pan of water in the grill area and let it come to a boil. Place your ribs in the grill and then only open the lid when you need to add more water (no more than a cup at a time) to keep the smoking process going. A well smoked rack of ribs using this method will take 2 to 3 hours of cook time, but the meat will fall off the bones!!!!!!
I use a CharBroil H20 water smoker. My specialty is beef brisket and it takes a long time and a lot of charcoal.
The thermometer that came with my smoker had ranges of Low, Ideal, and Hot, or something close to that. I didn’t like that. I wanted a thermometer with numbers so I went to my local home improvement store and bought a Brinkman thermometer to replace it with.
http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/View.aspx?category=Outdoor+Cooking&subcategory=Charcoal+Smokers+%26+Grills+Replacement+Parts&sku=812-3301-0&title=Temperature+Gauge
I punched out the glass and drilled a hole through the round metal base of the thermometer that fits in the hole in the lid and left it in place. I didn’t want to chance that the Brinkman would not properly fit the hole. I mounted it into the original CharBroil thermometer base and now have a temperature reading I can understand.
Keep your smoker out of the wind as much as possible. Shield it from rain if you can. I am thinking about drilling additional holes in my fire pan for better air flow to the coals too.
225 degrees F is said to be ideal for smoking. It’s hard to keep it there. My buddy uses an electric smoker and he claims his water doesn’t boil so based on that, I’m thinking I’m trying to keep it too hot.
I don’t check the fire or water for four hours once I get it all going well. I then poke the fire, add water, add some more charcoal, add some more wood for smoke and fuss around with it until I am satisfied. I have to vent the smoker through the access door to regulate the temperature too. It’s always too hot or too cold. I’m trying to get it perfect myself.
It was a real challange to smoke a turkey one thanksgiving morning in the rain and wind when it was in the 30′s outside. No matter what the weather, I have always been happy that I put the effort into it when it was time to eat. I’m open to easier ways of doing this myself.
Jack
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