Well, I finally repeated my experiment in smoking ribs. I increased the smoking time to six hours, saucing the ribs after the fourth and fifth hours. Bingo! This is definitely the formula. The ribs were not the greatest I’ve ever had—that distinction belongs to the much-lamented Big John’s in Peoria. But they were in the top five and better than several professionally done products I’ve had.
They do need a tiny bit more smoke. Next time I’ll add some more hickory chips after the third hour.
I use chunks of hickory (or mesquite, or whatever I’m in the mood for) that have been soaked in water for several hours. I usually add a little dish soap to the water to break the surface tension, but I’ve got no evidence at all for that getting the wood any more saturated. Soaking the wood makes it generate more smoke.
I usually use a combination of chunks and chips that I’ve soaked for a couple of hours beforehand. I’m starting to develop quite a little collection of various woods for smoking. Right now I’ve got hickory, mesquite, and apple. A little quick googling tells me that quite a few others are easily available: pecan, alder, oak (!). Hmmm.