Heartburn free baby backs

Powak · July 2018

We love ribs at my house but I have the tendency of making em too smokey(is that even possible?). I usually use 4-6 chunks of hickory for 2 racks and either go with the 5-6 hour unfoiled till done or the 2+2 method of 2 hours unfoiled and then 2 hours foiled with coffee depending upon how much bark I’m shooting for. Either way generally yields a little too much smoke making for some solid heartburn later on. Any recommendations for some smoke taste but not too much? Maybe 2-3 chunks of hickory or less? Maybe a different type of wood?

SonVolt · July 2018

3-2-1. If you're seeing thick white smoke coming out the vent then use less wood, that's the bad kind of smoke and one of the "cons" of these type of cookers.

Powak · July 2018

Is that 3 hours unfoiled, 2 foiled, 1 FTC?

Powak · July 2018

I’ve noticed over 2 years of use my egg requires less and less smoke wood to give meat plenty of smoke flavor.

SonVolt · July 2018

1 hour back on the grill with whatever you're glazing it with. Hours are just a guideline though.... go by feel and internal temp. Or just skip the wrap step completely and maybe only add 2 chunks of wood... I was just suggesting wrapping to block the smoke.

It's easy to get bitter smoke with the egg... I learned that right off the bat coming from an offset.

gdenby · July 2018

4 - 6 chunks seems too much. I don't think I've ever used more than 3, usually 2. Fruitwoods are considered much milder for smoke flavor.

Technically, smoke does deposit spice chemicals, but I'd be more inclined to think there is something in the rub, or that there's not enough fat rendeing out. Consider adding some ginger and/or tumeric in sauce, or just take some turmeric extract after eating. It does wonders for heartburn for me.

HoustonEgger · July 2018

Try just 1-2 chunks of wood - like cherry or pecan. A lighter wood will do just fine and you'll get a mild flavor

dstearn · July 2018

Hickory is very strong which is why I use milder woods like post oak or my new favorite peach wood for pork. If you use hickory I would limit it to 2 chunks.

DoubleEgger · July 2018

Eliminate the wood chunks and coffee as a starting point and go from there.

GoldenQ · July 2018

I agree with DoubleEgger

abtaylor260 · July 2018

I think it’s already been said, but 6 chunks is quite a bit, I use 2-3 and place them on direct flame when I get my fire going, let it burn for about an hour to get that clean blue smoke, not the stinky white smoke. I have acid reflux and this does not bother me. Still getting that good smoke flavor as well.

FrostyEgg · July 2018

Agreed with others, hickory is very strong smoke wood. Use less or try out different wood types. My favorite for pork is pecan wood. It smells incredible.

Theophan · July 2018

Powak said:

We love ribs at my house but I have the tendency of making em too smokey(is that even possible?)...

We all have different tastes, but I've never had ribs that were too smoky for me. I like really smoky ribs.

But I've never heard of smoke causing heartburn! I agree with others above that maybe it's something else that's causing the heartburn. There certainly are people who don't like a lot of smoke, but that's just whether they like the flavor or not.

Maybe try NO wood one time and see if the heartburn goes away. If it's still there, then you know it's not the smoke. And if there's no heartburn, then you know it IS the smoke, and maybe try just one chunk and see how that goes.

Powak · July 2018

I’m rolling with one chunk of cherry today. Should be good!

Powak · July 2018

Here’s the ribs 2 hours in right before foiling. The meat fell of the bone, just looking at em.

Powak · July 2018

tgs2401 · July 2018

I use 3-1-1 to avoid the ribs getting "mushy". Cherry wood is really good with pork and milder than hickory.

pgprescott · July 2018

4 hours naked all the way through is about where I like mine in the egg. If you are going to use some variation of 3-2-1, it will have to be substantially less time than 5-6 hours total. Also, I feel BB’s require less time than Stl. Good luck.

Cornholio · July 2018

For ribs I get my fire going until it’s burning clean then I add a few apple chunks the plate setter, drip pan, grill grate and inverted v-rack. Then I let the chunks smoke off the heavy white stuff for about 30 minutes before I even add the ribs. That’s my biggest change from when I first started smoking, I used to think all that heavy smoke was going to add flavor and didn’t realize it was not good to get my meat on when it was billowing out.

I also used to put apple juice and apple cider vinegar in my drip pan in addition to spritzing with the same 50/50 mixture every hour but have since ditched any liquid in my drip pan and only spritz every hour now. For some reason my ribs were a little off tasting with the liquid in the pan. Car Wash Mike method is pretty much how I do mine.

DoubleEgger · July 2018

Well did you get heartburn?

womaus · July 2018

DoubleEgger said:

Eliminate the wood chunks and coffee as a starting point and go from there.

I second this advice. When I was well into smoking I found that I was going deeper and deeper into the abyss, putting too much smoke on the food. I started new "smokes" without any, taking notes along the way.

You don't need a lot of additional smoke in the chamber to get a good result.

Lighter woods make a difference too. Pecan is a good mild source of flavor.

Powak · July 2018

DoubleEgger said:

Well did you get heartburn?

NONE! No heartburn for me or swmbo. Cherry and only one chunk of it was perfect for the BB ribs. I too let the smoke wood get burning for about 25 minutes before throwing the ribs on.

Theophan · July 2018

I am amazed! Thanks for reporting on this! I've never head of smoke causing heartburn before, but good to know that some people experience this.

Heartburn free baby backs

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