The reader Frobozz’s comments to the early June pork ribs post hit the nail on the head in a lot of ways.

He’s right: there’s no need to have coals on both sides of the Weber, a single pile of coals on one side is enough (and don’t use a coal rack or anything like that, just pile them loose. Another tweak (learned from an amazing book called “Mario Tailgates Nascar Style“): after soaking your wood chips for an hour or more (depending on thickness … I sometimes use mesquite chunks I chip myself with a hatchet), put the soaked chips into foil packets and punch holes into the packets before putting the foil packets directly on the coals. Smoke city.

Here are before and after pictures for some beef rib slabs we bbq’d up this weekend.

Whatever you do, the secret is: use patient low temperature for a long time. In many important contexts (cooking ribs is definitely one of ‘em), slower is better.

Temperature Control: how about putting a thermometer on your cooker? Don’t bother with one of them fancy wireless ones, they aren’t very reliable. A simple Teltru BBQ thermometer such as ones you can find at KCK.com is rugged and will do a great job. You can achieve success without a thermometer of course, but using one is an easy way to tell that it’s time to add more coals (and how many) without opening the kettle.

Be careful not to rely too much on your thermometer. The first (and only) time I cooked a whole hog, I was convinced based on a meat thermometer reading that the old boy was done after about 12 or 13 hours. An old hand gave me good advice: throw your meat thermometer away, just take out a knife and cut into the meat to see. Sure enough, he wasn’t done, he needed another 6 hours.

Lesson learned: technology is fine, but nothing beats experience and common sense.

Anyone (even a New England Son like me) who has ever spent even a little time in East Texas knows how much pride East Texans take in their barbecue.

For incredible flavor, great service and a terrific eating experience, it would be hard to beat Lufkin Bar-B-Que in Lufkin Texas, self-proclaimed “Best in Texas.” There you can get a wide variety of BBQ including mouthwatering beef brisket, chipped beef, pork, ham, “hot links” (a kind of homemade sausage with a spicy hot finish), chicken and turkey and a full array of sides including some of the best beans you ever ate. But if you like pork ribs, the ones you get at Lufkin BBQ are to die for. The meat is tender and falls off the bone, the collagen is so soft it has practically dissolved, and the spices are perfect – complementary but sufficiently gentle that you can taste every bite of pork.
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This is what 23 pounds of beef short ribs looks like, or about $60 worth of meat from the warehouse store.

Whenever my extended family gets together, my two brothers and I engage in a little — ok, quite a bit — of friendly competition. We each agree to make the main meal for one of the nights we’re together, like we’re doing over this weekend. I agreed to make dinner for the first night. What we decide to make is all very hush-hush, top secret. At the end of the get-together, all the kids decide which was the best meal. (Unfortunately, I think the one they last ate always seems to win out, regardless of who made it or what it was.) Anyway, this time, I chose a recipe that I figured I could start here at home, and then pack up in a cooler and finish it off with minimal effort at the place where we’re gathering. Unfortunately, the recipe I was working from was designed to feed 4 people. I need to feed 18. So I quintupled the quantities. I’m hoping that since I’m starting off with a slow braise of these short ribs in a relatively cool oven, upping the volume won’t play havoc with the cooking time. I may add an hour to the braise time, just in case. I’ll let you know how it all works out in a couple of days.