The 6am Smokers
Today, amid a heatwave in San Jose, I woke up extra early to start a pork rib smoke. I found two simple baby back ribs. One I planned to keep plain and simple with salt and pepper, the other with a pork rub and Kansas Style tangy sauce.
I started at 220F with Smoke level 5 on my WoodWind Pellet smoker. After 2-2.5 hours, I wrapped the ribs for 2 hours. Then I finished them off unwrapped. After 20-30 minutes rest, it was lunch time.
I was able to control the temperature very well. There were no big temperature swings. The final temperature for the ribs was about 189F.
The result tasted great. It was less juicy than I wanted, though it could also have been the meat.
Hour 2
Hour 3
Hour 4.5
Hour 5.5
Ready
I especially enjoyed the early morning quiet. Sipping a cup of coffee, reading, and watching the chimney of my smoker. (It was too early to play the banjo.)