I got four nice racks of St. Louis ribs at Publix. Last night I trimmed, cut and pulled the membranes. I coated them with Bad Byron's Butt Rub. This is a basic rub with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chipotle powder. I have tried many rubs and most of them have sugar in them and it always seems to taste a little bitter, so I've decided to try one without sugar. This is the first time with this rub, so we'll see. I have had some issues with flare ups with this smoker, especially on windy days, which today is. I usually watch the smoker for the first 30-45 minutes and when I see the color of the smoke change and the box temp rise rapidly, I cover the exhaust with my hand for about 30 seconds and it smothers it. It also seems to help if you soak the wood. I soaked a 2 3/4 oz hickory dowel for two hours and put in the smoker box along with ribs and an 8 x 4 loaf pan with apple juice and going to try the 5-ish hour set it and forget it method. Will let you know the results. Happy smoking!
