Char Griller 5050 Reverse Flow Modification

Well, I’ve been looking at some of the issues with my current smoker. I currently have two smokers, one a Smoke Hollow electric upright smoker and a Char Griller 5050 Dual gas and charcoal with offset firebox.

The problem with the offset is that there is a hot spot on the left where the firebox was. As a result you must rotate items to prevent them from over cooking.

In an effort to fix this I decided to modify the configuration by adding a steel plate inside the charcoal side to channel smoke and heat to the left side away from the firebox. The next issue was the vent stack. With this being mounted on the left hand side, smoke would flow straight up. Off to Loews to buy a 3 1/4 inch hole on the right side. I moved the vent stack over to the right and covered the old hole on the left.

To prevent heat and smoke loss, I used a 700 degree silicone gasket sealant to fill the gaps.

Here is my video of the modifications.

My YouTube Smoker Modifications

Making Pork Ribs – St Louis Style

Start with St Louis Style ribs.  If your ribs have the Briskets attached as below either trim it or have the butcher trim it for you.

Then turn the ribs meat side down and bone side up.  From there use a small paring knife to start to remove the membrane off of the back.  This is something you want to remove otherwise it makes the back of the ribs very rubbery.

Now that you have gotten this membrane started you will find it is very slippery.  DO not use a knife to remove this.  Use a paper towel (or paper napkin works too) and grab that small start.  Now simply lift and pull.

The membrane pulls right off.

Next prepare a brine solution.  ¼ cup of Brown Sugar (I like Dark Brown Sugar) and ¼ cup of Sea Salt to a quart of water. Make enough to completely cover your ribs.

 You can heat the water to dissolve everything and then let it cool.  Place you ribs in a container that fits in your fridge.  You want to cold brine them.  Cover the meat with brine solution and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in fridge for 8-12 hours (whatever works for your cooking timeframe) given you still need 4-5 hours for marinade and 6 hours for cooking.

After the brining is complete, remove the ribs and wash with cold water.  I use my sink sprayer for this.  Then dry with paper towels.

Next is the rub.

I use the Classic BBQ Rub from Gordon Food Service,

If you don’t have access to Gordon’s Food service, you can use the Famous Dave’s Rib Rub as Gordon’s is not in your area.  You can get it at any local grocery store.

Cover the top and bottom of the ribs generously.

Then cover with plastic wrap and into the fridge for 4-5 hours.  I usually do four.

 

Now that the ribs are trimmed, brined and marinated, remove the ribs from fridge and let set on the counter still wrapped up. Let them rise to room temperature.

What I do is add a pile of whole chuck charcoal (briquettes work too) into the fire box.  Then using a charcoal chimney, I light 15-20 pieces of charcoal.

This prevents any chemical tastes from liquid starter fluid. Once the coals are started dump them on the coals in your firebox.  Remove the ribs from fridge and let set on the counter still wrapped up.

I keep my top vent wide open and my side vent on the firebox closed completely. In about a half hour your charcoal is ready. This should maintain a constant 250 degrees.  Mine is perfect this way.

Add the ribs to the chamber.  Add your wood to the fire.  Some places say to soak the wood, some say not to.  I don’t.  Cherry and Apple are the most typical woods for smoking.

Now remember your right hand side of the coals chamber is hottest if you have the side firebox.  If you are doing multiple ribs like this, you need to accommodate for the heat.  I use the 3-2-1 method of cooking.  This means three hour smoking, two hours cooking and one hour finishing.  For the first three hours ,every hour I go out and move the far right ribs to the far left and move everything else one spot to the right for three hours. That’s the first part of the 3-2-1 method.

I now take my ribs and put them in a large aluminum tray.  I add one can of beer, you can use apple juice or any liquid.  Cover tightly with foil.  Now leave them in this smoker for two hours still covered. At this point the smoke will not penetrate anymore and the steam will help the meat to finish cooking.  This is the second part of the 3-2-1 method.

The last hour open the tray and remove the foil.  If you can, try and salvage the foil.  Remove the ribs from the tray and place them back on the smoker.  Remove the drippings from the tray and again salvage it for later.

They will remain in the smoker for the next hour.  This is the third and last part of the 3-2-1) method.  DO NOT ADD SAUCE yet.  If you do sugars in it will burn and leave a nasty taste.  Remember your firebox location and address for that.  (Notice my ribs on the left are already falling apart)

The last 20 minutes of Cook time is when you add your sauce. Adding it now will give you a nice flavor and stickiness without the burn.  You can use any commercial sauce or make one of your own.  Sometimes I like to offer different sauces for the people I’m feeding so I sometimes leave it be and add the sauce on the side.

Once you remove from the ribs after the end of the 6^th hour, return them to the tray you used to cook in and recover with foil.  Rest these in the oven for a half hour.  The time is done.  Now cut into one to two bone portions and enjoy.