All great ideas. I'll try to post something in the next few days.

No, 250-300 definitely isn't too high if that's what temp you are holding. Hmmm, I dunno then. Interesting. I'll think some more about what could be going wrong then. As far as wood recs I'm a huge Pecan fan. I think it's really versatile. Poultry, beef and pork all go nicely with pecan.

i mean i very easily could be screwing up and cooking them too long or something. how long would you do a rack/halfrack untented in an oven/smoker at 300ish for? i generally cut the racks in half since one end is always thicker than the other. sauce a couple times in the last ~20 mins or so, or sooner?

while i've got you on the line here, these are my rub ingredients in approximate order of amounts, am i missing anything?-

brown sugar
paprika
emeril's cajun seasoning
salt
black pepper
mustard powder
onion powder
garlic powder

Rep are the ribs that you feel miss the mark dry like crunchy or dry like tough? If it's the latter they are undercooked. Same as brisket they need to render out connective tissue to be juicy.

It's tough to get definitive optimal methods for BBQ, since cookers, regions, and personal preferences and personal superstition vary so greatly.

Also BBQ competition methods are not going to be the same as home methods even for the same cook.

Your rub ingredients look fine but maybe consider swapping a more flavorful chili for paprika.

I treat tri tip like a large steak, reverse sear on the grill is the ticket. Or I sous vide it, but that's not BBQ. The traditional CA Santa Maria preparation is effectively a reverse sear with a movable grate.

Tri tip gets murdered above ~135f, it must be med rare.

dry like tough and chewy, and dont want to peel away from the bone. that's interesting, i never really considered that they could be undercooked but it makes sense- the one time i absolutely overcooked a rack of ribs, they came out kinda crunchy like you described, much different.

hearing now that they were probably undercooked and the connective tissue wasn't allowed the time to render down makes me think that's definitely the main source of the problem with my untented ribs. so i guess tenting really just speeds up the cook time more than anything else.

i've only had tri-tip sirloin a couple times at bogart's bbq in st louis and it was pretty slammin. def med rare and i think i could def get a good cook/sear on it, but i'd be super lost on how to do a proper marinade for it and i almost never see the cut in the grocery store. i guess some type of vinegar would be a good starting point, but ???

i know that bbq has lots of variance but there's generally always a few key pointers for improving the success of a cook that has a slow or detailed process, or for getting a regional flavor/technique right. and recommendations aren't like, laws that are set in stone or anything, they're just pointers to use as a guideline of sorts and people can deviate in whatever ways they like.

thats sorta the thing tho, if you want to learn about bbq'ing you generally have to go all over the web and read through all kinds of different *******s' stupid techniques and recipes/ingredients, which is tedious, time consuming, and generally sucks. i've found over the years that when it comes to niche discussions about food, art, politics, etc, there are always at least a handful of really bright, well-informed posters here who are capable of setting the record straight or giving some really good advice. i see no reason that this thread couldn't be a little more "authoritative", in the same way that we feel about the steak thread, for example.

The traditional seasoning for CA Santa Maria tri tip is just salt pepper garlic and parsley. I don't see a lot of room for improvement with a kiss of oak smoke.

A marinade won't do a lot to tenderize a big hunk of meat like that. Another thing with tri tip is that the grain changes direction so it's easy to slice it with the grain by accident.

I'm no pro but I just did minion method(?) with ribs at 250-300 the whole cook when I had a Weber. Are you placing water in the oven to prevent them from drying out?

I use a Weber bullet now and do same. 250-300 until temperature is reached. I use apple wood for ribs and pulled pork often. Not sure what the pros use other than your stronger flavor woods.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html

As to winning competitors ITT poster slamdunkpro can be a little gruff but he is the real deal. Google for his comp team page.

i can handle gruff, we're all adults here

interesting. it def had a certain tang/bitterness in STL that went beyond the ingredients you listed. where do you generally get your tri-tip cuts and do you have to request them specially from the butcher?

No idea how they cook it in STL. I get it at Costco in a trimmed twin pack, or at restaurant depot in untrimmed 5 pack. My Kroger brand store king soopers carries it too.

k tks i'm gonna try to find some in SC and give it a go. maybe i'll whip up some sloppy yellow mustardy **** and do it nusr-et style

The thing with BBQ is there are so many different types of meat and so many different methods of cooking. A sticky would be nice, but how do you decide what info to put there? I have a cabinet smoker, so I am reluctant to tell someone how to do something on their stick burner. Also, one of the fun things about BBQ is experimenting. I tweak things all the time and while the results aren't always to my liking, I still end up with some tasty meat.

What this thread does do well is answer direct questions about BBQ. Whenever someone poses a question, it usually gets answered fairly quickly and by someone with some knowledge.

Usually about 3 1/2 - 4 hour mark baby backs will be done. I never cut them in half. I don't sauce my ribs. I'll have sauce available on the side but I don't sauce them on the smoker. I know some people that'll sauce like the last 20 minutes or so over direct heat to get some carmelization. Saucing just really comes down to personal preference. Play around with a couple different things. A lot of bar b q comes down to experimenting and tweaking. There are a few base rules but really after that you can do what you want. I think people feel afraid to cater to their specific tastes or styles because they think barbecue "HAS TO BE" X. If you are cooking for a crowd most people's expectations are probably going to be based heavily on whatever region you are in. If you care about that sort of thing then cook accordingly. If it's just you in the backyard and a few family members and friends, then whatever, do what you want. It's your time, money, and taste buds. Do what makes you happy.

Your rub seems fine but I'm very straightforward with rub. For me I just really want the meat and smoke to be the stars so I try not to get too complicated with the rub.

Equal parts: kosher salt, ground black pepper, brown sugar and paprika for for poultry and pork. I omit the brown sugar for beef. That's it. I usually just get the bulk individual spices and then just mix it up in a smaller shaker bottle.

I want.

Share some base rules with us.

Some brisket from a recent cook:



I had a rack of ribs and pork butts left over from the Royal and I picked up a Costco brisket to do as well. I had planned to cook on Sunday over the 3 day MLK day weekend. So everything was prepped on Sat but I got hit with a really bad cold on Sunday so I was feeling like **** all day. I had planned on taking a lot of pics, but wasn't into it. I ended up just bagging up everything and put it in the freezer. I didn't even sample anything until I pulled stuff out to eat.

Edit: It looks dry due to it being reheated. I just put the vacuum bag in some boiling water to heat it up.

smokingmeatforums.com is my go to for tips and help

This would really help me out, anyone ?

Two Really good ones

Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and Other Smokers: An Independent Guide with Master Recipes from a BBQ Champion

Wicked Good Barbecue: Fearless Recipes from Two Damn Yankees Who Have Won the Biggest, Baddest BBQ Competition in the World

Thanks slamdunkpro, exactly what I was hoping for!

I think there is probably only on real base rule when it comes to bar-b-q. Meat+Wood/Smoke+Time. That's barbecue at it's core. After that there are techniques and tips you can do to give yourself a better chance at success as far as meat education and selection, wood choice, fire management etc. A lot of just comes from experience and tinkering.

For a bunch of good starting points for beginners I would highly recommend: http://amazingribs.com

doing a prime 13-14 pound brisket from costco this weekend on my 22inch WSM. I go with the basic (but I think the best) beef rub of salt pepper and garlic powder.

Plan on firing up the smoker at 11 pm and hoping to have the thin blue smoke rolling by midnight. Brisket goes on at midnight, wrap in butcher paper around 6 and plan on having it probe tender by 10. Wrap in towel and let it rest for 2-3 hours than eat.

Will post pics of cook

Experience is the key. If you want to make better BBQ you need to cook more BBQ.

Yeah for sure. That's why I said experimenting and tinkering which in other words is just experience. There can be a bit of a overload of the senses with barbecue information if you are beginner. The different kind of smokers, wood, meat, styles, sauce or no sauce, then all the regional "rules", this is barbecue - that isn't barbecue, on and on. That's why I said if you just get it down to meat / wood / time then that's the core. I think it's also important for beginners to know that it really isn't that complicated. After the core it's just a lot of personal preferences. Another big things for beginners to know is that you don't need to have all this fancy equipment, rigs, gadgets, etc to make good barbecue.

Case in point:
Nothing fancy here. Meat, smoke, time.