I have obtained a smoker from Lowes. I decided to go with a Brinkman charcoal smoker, mostly because it was cheap, and I didn’t want to invest a lot of money. I have a habit of buying toys that I use a few times, and then just take up space.
Tonight we will be making Memphis style dry ribs, with a little Jack Daniels BBQ sauce that I have found a recipe for on the side, along with corn on the cob, and some cole slaw. Bitter will post the recipe later on her food blog.
UPDATE: Could be heard emanating from my house today, “How the hell is it that you have to be shown how to get charcoal going by a damned Yankee?” Considering this, and the fact that she doesn’t like Carolina BBQ, we might have to revoke Bitter’s southern credentials.  But then again, on her mother’s side, she does have the Davis family. Yes, that Davis family. So I guess that trumps not knowing how to light charcoal :)
UPDATE: Ate the ribs. While I could identify the ribs as BBQ — as they had a nice smoke ring, had a delightful smokey flavor, and fell off the bones fairly well — the rub was problematic.  The rub was heavy in brown sugar, which rather than form a nice, caramelized crust on the outside, formed tough, charred exterior, which did not taste all that good. Ribs don’t have enough meat on them to sacrifice the exterior layer.
I used hardwood lump charcoal to power the BBQ, and while think this good for providing flavor, it also burns through very quickly, and does not burn all that consistently. I had a hard time maintaining temperature in the ideal range. It’d get too cool, I’d add more coals, and it would get too hot. I think I probably got the temperature a bit too much on the hot side for too long. I’m thinking that f0r smoking, Kingsford might actually be the best, since the smoke is provided more by the wood chips than the by coals. If I were to try again, I’d reduce the amount of sugar in the rub, and use a more consistent burning charcoal.
