Conquering the Weber Grill: Smoking Ribs

I recently acquired a new to me Weber charcoal grill, and was very excited to try smoking some different meats on it. I have never cooked with charcoal before, but it couldn't be that hard could it? Well, the first few times were not as easy as I first thought it would be. I could not keep the temps high enough to actually cook much at all on the rotten thing, so it was back to the drawing board.

I started doing some research, which lead me to a forum for smoking meats! Yes such a thing does exist! On there I learnt the Minion Method. The concept behind the Minion Method is simple: Place a small number of hot coals on top of a full pile of unlit briquettes. Using the top and bottom vents control the amount of air entering to keep the fire burning low and steady. The unlit fuel catches gradually, resulting in longer cooking times without having to add more fuel. With a few pieces of mesquite scattered throughout the briquettes I had a nice slow and low smoke going on!

I decided to make some ribs for this meal. I didn't know whether to get back or side ribs so I got one of each, and the night before applied a good rub and refrigerated overnight. The next day I got grill going and with on oven thermometer inside got it up to 225-250 degrees Celsius. I put the ribs on and every 15-20 sprayed them with a squirt bottle filled with a mixture of apple juice and Forty Creek Canadian Whiskey. 

After a few hours they started to get a nice bark on the outside, and looked very yummy....also enjoyed a little Forty Creek during the process.

In the last five minutes I brushed the ribs with a layer of BBQ sauce, and they were done!! Served with some baked beans and coleslaw, it was an awesome dinner!!

Here is the link to Smoking Meat Forums: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/