My first ribs on the smoker...

I know what you're thinking "Q" fans...first time doing ribs? Well, yes, sorta. I've done ribs on my grill, but this weekend was the first time I did some using the smoker I recently was given. Anywho, I started out with a rack of loin back ribs, St Louis style.

You want to rinse the rack under cold water and pat dry...then it's on to prep.
There's a membrane on the back that you will want to remove. If cooked, it will be tough and not taste good...not to mention it keeps flavors from getting to the meat.

I placed my rack of ribs on a sheet pan and turned them so the membrane was facing up. Slide a knife just under the membrane by the end of the last rib. Once loosened, you can pretty much just pull it off.

 
Now if you're doing this, you're going to want to get your favorite rub. This time, I used a blend I've been working on. Take some oil and give the ribs a light coating, just to get the surface tacky and give the rub something to hold on to. Generously coat the rub all over both sides of the ribs.

I put the rack in the fridge for about an hour or so. You can keep them in longer if you'd like, but an hour is sufficient. Remove the rack from the fridge and let them sit.

While the ribs sit out, I got the smoker up to temp, added my wood (hickory this time) and waited. Once it started smoking, I placed the rack on the top shelf. (I had to cut mine in half in order for them to fit.)

After an hour, I checked the temp and color and everything was looking good. I closed the smoker and checked back another hour later. The ribs were almost at 170 so I grabbed some Original Doomer's "Q" Sauce and gave the ribs a good coating.


While the sauce imparted it's flavor into the ribs, I began to prep the rest of dinner. I started my grill up and grabbed some boneless chicken breasts and hot dogs.


I used some Pirate Johnny's Original Rub for the chicken breasts and finished them with Original Doomer's "Q" Sauce. I served up sides of baked beans, green beans, a summer slaw and broccoli mac & cheese. The family thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you do too!

As a side note, Pork in the Park 2012 is quickly approaching. It will be our first event of 2012 and we're really excited. If you can make it, the fest is great, BBQ Pitmasters will be there filming season 3 along with lots of great bbq teams, vendors bands and so many fun things to do. It's at Winterplace Park in Salisbury, MD, April 20-22. Hope to see you there.

Just "Q" it!