July 21

Lip-Smacking Ribs and Pig Shots on Big Black

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Recently we loaded Big Black, my Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker trailer with a case of baby back ribs, several racks of St. Louis style ribs, and a tasty batch of pig shots. The results were fabulous as you can see in the photos. Feast your eyes on the fun and flavor in the photos below.

Reverse Flow Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Baby Back Ribs and Pig Shots on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer

There was enough room to hold the 17 or so racks of ribs and several trays of appetizers.

Prepping Jalapeño Cilantro Sauce
Prepping Jalapeño Cilantro Sauce
Prepping Jalapeño Cilantro Sauce
Alabama White Sauce

We mixed up a batch of jalapeño cilantro sauce, a variation of AmazingRibs.com's Alabama white sauce, and Jeff Phillip's famous barbecue sauce the day before.

Prepping Kielbasa
Prepping Kielbasa
Prepping Bacon
Bacon-Wrapped Kielbasa

The pig shots were prepared the day before. We sliced kielbasa into small rounds and wrapped them with half slices of bacon, and then secured each one with a toothpick. I cut some of the kielbasa into larger pieces to wrap without stuffing.

Next we stuffed each one with a cream cheese mixture. (You can use a plastic bag with the corner cut off or an icing dispenser.) And finally, sprinkled the tops with barbecue seasoning.

I bought four 14-ounce packages of kielbasa and four pounds of thick-cut bacon. It was enough to make 64 pig shots and 20 bacon-wrapped kielbasa bites. We used 3 jalapeño peppers, 4 boxes of cream cheese, and 1 teaspoon of barbecue rub for the filling.

Prepping Cream Cheese Mix
Jalapeño
Prepping Pig Shots
Prepping Pig Shots
Prepping Pig Shots
Prepping Pig Shots
Prepping Pig Shots

Here they are ready to cook!

Firing Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Torch and Charcoal
Firing Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Firing Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer

I fire my Meadow Creek tank smoker with 100% hardwood charcoal briquettes, a couple of splits of smoking wood, and a propane torch.

Prepping Baby Back Ribs
Prepping Baby Back Ribs
Seasoning Baby Back Ribs

To prep the ribs, we simple removed the membrane, trimmed off some excess pieces of meat, and sprinkled them all over with Meadow Creek Brisket Rub.

Baby Back Ribs on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Baby Back Ribs on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Baby Back Ribs and Pig Shots on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Baby Back Ribs and Pig Shots on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Meadow Creek TS250 Offset Smoker

We smoked the ribs for about 3 hours and then wrapped them in foil for a couple of hours or until they were tender and the meat pulled back on the bone. Then we unwrapped them, brushed the top of the rack with Jeff's homemade barbecue sauce, and set them back on the smoker for 30-60 minutes.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Smoked Baby Back Ribs

The ribs were delicious, and in my opinion, beautiful!

Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Firing Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker
Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer

We fired the BBQ42 Chicken Cooker on the front of the trailer with 100% hardwood charcoal briquettes and grilled several kinds of sausage links and bone-in chicken thighs.

Sausages on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Smoker Grate
Sausages on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Smoker Grate
Sausages on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Smoker Grate
Sausages on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Smoker Grate
Sausages on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Smoker Grate

After each batch of sausage was grilled, we put it in aluminum pans covered with foil and set the pans in an empty ice chest to keep them hot until serving time. 

Then we cooked a full case of bone-in chicken thighs in one batch. After a little trimming of the thighs, they were ready to put on the grill and season.

Chicken and Sausages
Prepping Chicken
Chicken Thighs on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker
Grilled Chicken Thighs on Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker

About an hour later, the thighs were perfectly cooked and ready to serve.

Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer With Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker

The lid helps control the airflow and temperature in the grill. It also helps more smoke penetrate the meat.

Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer With Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker
Trim Package on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer
Smoked Pig Shots
Warming Box on Meadow Creek TS250 Tank Smoker Trailer

After the pig shots were done, we kept them warm in the warming box.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Are you hungry yet?

Meadow Creek TS250 Offset Tank Smoker
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Meadow Creek TS250 Offset Tank Smoker
Smoked Baby Back Ribs

These ribs were easy to make, yet fabulous!

Click here for more stories, videos, and photos of "Big Black", the customized TS250 tank smoker.

Sliced Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Are you looking for a bigger smoker to handle crowds of 50 or 100 people or even more?

Nothing makes an impression quite like an offset smoker... and a decked out Meadow Creek Tank Smoker, such as Big Black, is the ideal rig if you're looking to serve small crowds with this type of cooking style.

These smokers feature reverse flow draft, which helps maintain more even temperature, and we offer a wide variety of customization options, including stainless steel shelves and trim package for making a great impression on the road!

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Tags

bbq smokers, Big Black, tank smokers, ts250 smoker


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    1. Chris, the ingredients I used for the pig shots are listed above. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions. As for maintaining the temperature, once you have it dialed in, it’s mostly about adding the right amount of fuel at the right time. When the temperature in the smoker dips about 25 degrees, you can add more wood or charcoal, and you should see it recover.

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